Upstairs radiators not heating at the tops.

TwoShedsJackson

As per topic, recently the radiators upstairs in our place heat up fine at the bottom of the rad, but the tops generally stay lukewarm, at best. The downstairs ones are working perfectly.

The boiler was replaced a year ago, does this sound like a problem with a pump? It's not a huge problem as we would be downstairs most of the time but I am wondering if this is a symptom of something that will eventually have to be fixed anyway.

James_M

You need to bleed them by the sounds of it.

Get a radiator key and open the valve at the top of each radiator until all of the air comes out. Once you get water make sure you close it ASAP!

DMC

Have you bled them? Might be some air in there....

Xterminator

Sorry to piggyback, but where would one get this key, and what does the bleed 'keyhole' look like?

X

James_M

Xterminator wrote:

Sorry to piggyback, but where would one get this key, and what does the bleed 'keyhole' look like?

X

The key is like a small hexagonal spanner and there is a little nut on every rad which it will fit (usually at the top back corner)

You can get the key in any hardwar store

DMC

It looks like a square, on the inside at the top right or left corner of the rad. Its fits an Allen key type head.

Any hardware store will have one.... just as for a radiator allen key.

James_M

DMC wrote:

It looks like a square, on the inside at the top right or left corner of the rad. Its fits an Allen key type head.

Any hardware store will have one.... just as for a radiator allen key.

Yikes, someone else with as little to do as me!

DMC

It actually is spookey!!

logonapr

Presume you have bled the radiators?

If not it really has all the symptons of air being trapped in the rads. If so you'll need a thing for opening the nut at the top of the rad to let the trapped air out. As soon as water begins to coime through you tighten it again.
If you haven't one of these gadgets you'll get one from a plumber suppliy company?Woodies etc for around 1 euro

pipers

Get a vent key from any hardware shop.

rooferPete

Hi,

A lot of the new radiators have the vent valve at the top of end of the radiator or top corner.

Also some have both a "key option" and a slot for a small screw driver, the screw driver size is similar to a phase tester.

Don't over tighten the valve when you have vented the rad and it works best when the heating is off as the circulating pump can cause a surge.

Vent each radiator at least once a year, air build up in the system is normal, the only way to avoid it is to install a unit invented by a man in Cork, I can't recall his name.