Radiators not heating up

japanpaul

Hi
I'm living in a new rented apartment with gas central heating and have a problem with the radiators taking too long time to heat up. The radiators used to take about 5 mins to start to heat up but now it takes at least 30 mins, sometimes 1 hour. In heat up I mean if you touched the bottom of the radiator there would be a small bit of heat. After the 30-45 mins the radiators are heating up fully as normal but this is a waste of gas and you know the prices at the moment.
I have told the landlord but I don't know if he believes me or thinks it is only a small problem. I am worried that come XMas they wont heat up at all and he wont be able to get anyone to fix it.
I bought a radiator key and bled them but no joy. I am thinking it is the thermostat knob on the wall. I have it set to 33 degrees at the moment but still takes the same length to heat up. The room temp is around 16-17 when no gas is on.
Anyone come across this problem before??

Thanks

garthv

Sounds like a dirty boiler. Get your landlord to get your boiler serviced. I worked in Bord gais for a while and faults like this would usually mean the boiler needs to be serviced

japanpaul

Thanks for the reply GaRtH_V.
The apartment is about 4 years old and we've been living there about 7 months. How often do boilers need servicing?

garthv

Once every 4 years or so iirc

maco

Have the same problem last month, called the plumber to check it out. He said it was not distributed properly, I think it need to balance the distribution of the heat, it all works now . . .

Spfeno1

Japanpaul,

had the same problem myself in our house - had to do with the balancing (as stated below) of the system. Don't know the ins and outs but it required finding the heating system taps and adjusting them slightly. Had to get a plumber friend over to sort it out.
I'd mention it again to the landlord, give it a few days if he doesn't respond and then tell him you'll have to mention it in the form of a complaint to the newly formed Residential Tenancies Board - he'll be over to you like a fart thru fishnets

lomb

if its all of them are cold, probably the boiler isnt reaching temperature or the pump isnt pumping properly. unlikely to b balancing, how could it b fine b4 and not now? anyway for ur info to balance a rad use the lockshield valve, is the valve on the other side of the radiatior to the knob u adjust, to increase the pressure to the other rads close the valve slightly on the hottest one with a vice grips.

rooferPete

Hi,

If the radiators used to work properly when you moved in then I think balancing the rads is not necessary because it takes a lot to of manual interferance to upset the balance of a system.

GaRtH V has offered a very good solution as all systems will perform better after a proper service, it could be the system needs to be topped up or if there are Thermostatic valves fitted they may be stuck, this has been known to happen over time.

While you are in the cold with a big gas bill I would expect the landlord will pay for the major service, however it may be a good idea to check your lease agreement first.

.

lomb

as rooferpete says check the TRVs if u have them, unscrew the head of them by turning th knob to the highest setting, (usually 5) then unscrew the silverish plastic collet, then get a vice grips and pull the brass spindle thing out. now turn on the heating and c what happens.

japanpaul

Thanks for all the replies lads.
I forgot to say yesterday that although the radiators aren't working properly, the water is heating up grand. Take this morning, gas on from 0630 to 0710, the radiators hadn't heated up but there was enough hot water for me and my girlfriend to have 2 quick showers as has always been the case.
Don't know if this info would narrow down the source of the problem. Going to ring the landlord tonight and tell him some of the advice you have given me.

Thanks

lomb

japanpaul wrote:

Thanks for all the replies lads.
I forgot to say yesterday that although the radiators aren't working properly, the water is heating up grand. Take this morning, gas on from 0630 to 0710, the radiators hadn't heated up but there was enough hot water for me and my girlfriend to have 2 quick showers as has always been the case.
Don't know if this info would narrow down the source of the problem. Going to ring the landlord tonight and tell him some of the advice you have given me.

Thanks

sounds like the divereter valve is knackered tbh. this diverts pressure to the rads and the hot water. obviously theres shag all pressure to the rad circuit. a individual trv sticking would only affect one rad. looks like a job for a competent person.

JamesM

japanpaul wrote:

The radiators used to take about 5 mins to start to heat up but now it takes at least 30 mins, sometimes 1 hour. In heat up I mean if you touched the bottom of the radiator there would be a small bit of heat. After the 30-45 mins the radiators are heating up fully as normal but this is a waste of gas and you know the prices at the moment.

It certainly seems to be a circulation problem - I would think that you need a plumber.
One consolation - if you are not heating the rads, you are not actually using or wasting extra gas !

Jim

japanpaul

Funny thing. Had a party on Friday night and just happened that one of the guests was a bit of a handy man. He looked in the hot press and said the "thermostatic valve" was broken. He went at it with a screw driver and fixed it in 2-3 mins. He said this is a very temporary fix though and we need a new one which costs about E35.