Central heating help
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Central heating help
Right, its nearly that time of year to start putting the heating back on, but before I do I wondered about sorting out a few probs, Firstly it was all brand new when I bought the house, new radiators all through, new combi boiler etc.
But, a couple of the radiators dont get very hot at all (barely warm) the house suffers form really poor water pressure, is it the pressure or will they just need bleeding? the house is very cold anyway so having shit all warmth in 2 main rooms is a pain in the arse.
Second thing is my bedroom is on the front of the house and the front still has the old wood sash window's (rest of house double glazed
) which makes it even colder, would it make any difference to swap the rad to a double thingy type or would it be easier/cheaper to get an oil filled electric rad or similar?
Best part is my old man's worked for BG/Transco for 45 years but wont help
But, a couple of the radiators dont get very hot at all (barely warm) the house suffers form really poor water pressure, is it the pressure or will they just need bleeding? the house is very cold anyway so having shit all warmth in 2 main rooms is a pain in the arse.
Second thing is my bedroom is on the front of the house and the front still has the old wood sash window's (rest of house double glazed
) which makes it even colder, would it make any difference to swap the rad to a double thingy type or would it be easier/cheaper to get an oil filled electric rad or similar?Best part is my old man's worked for BG/Transco for 45 years but wont help
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From: the 2nd worse place in britain
try bleeding the rads first mate after that u have to know wot the btu rating of the boiler is, although in a two bed place i cant see that being a problem
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Right just kicked it up and bled the rads, the one in the bathroom was blowing air for at least 4-5 mins without a drop of water coming through, i take it this wasnt right 
The one in my bedroom doesnt have a bleed screw for some reason
although it gets fairly hot so shouldnt be a prob, pressure dropped from over a bar to just under a bar after i finished bleeding, i take it thats ok? how long should i give it to sort it self out?
The one in my bedroom doesnt have a bleed screw for some reason
although it gets fairly hot so shouldnt be a prob, pressure dropped from over a bar to just under a bar after i finished bleeding, i take it thats ok? how long should i give it to sort it self out?
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From: In my GTR Skyline as often as poss ; )
It MAY be that they need bleeding .. (No-ones really helpin here!) but it sounds like a circulation issue.
Test this by running the system (when calling for heat) Feel the radiators at the inlet pipe and up towards the top .. If a uniform temperature, then it's likely you don't have air in them .. but if unsure, bleed anyways. (top system pressure up to 2 bar first and again afterwards)
Radiators work most efficiently when there is a certain temperature drop across them .. approx 18-20 deg C. No drop means water is rushing through, and dropping your efficiency. A lot of drop means not enough flow. This is what you probably have . Usually this happens when a system is installed and all the lockshield (outlet) valves are left fully open. What then happens is .. The radiators nearest the boiler pump have water rushing through them (easiest path, remember?) and the furthest ones hardly get any flow. The favourite is the bathroom one.
You can "balance" the system like this ...
Open all the rads to full. Start at the rad nearest the pump (boiler in your case) turn the lockshield valve down to a trial amount of say 1 turn open .. then progress in the same way working away from the boiler til you get to the last (usually the coolest running rads) Leave a while and then check the temp drop across them .. 20C is hard to describe .. like difference between hard-to-hold and just hot (temp testers are good for this job) Dont go down much more that 1/4 turn open on the lock shields. In turn, see what you get. This will balance the system so all rads get the approx same flow and heat up at the same rate.
Only other things I can think of is .. especially if 8 or 10 mm Microbore ... there is a manifold with air in it.
Keep your system pressure hot around 1.5 to 2 bar max. Blow off is set to 3bar in most boilers (thats 42 psi)
Hope that helps .. !
Test this by running the system (when calling for heat) Feel the radiators at the inlet pipe and up towards the top .. If a uniform temperature, then it's likely you don't have air in them .. but if unsure, bleed anyways. (top system pressure up to 2 bar first and again afterwards)
Radiators work most efficiently when there is a certain temperature drop across them .. approx 18-20 deg C. No drop means water is rushing through, and dropping your efficiency. A lot of drop means not enough flow. This is what you probably have . Usually this happens when a system is installed and all the lockshield (outlet) valves are left fully open. What then happens is .. The radiators nearest the boiler pump have water rushing through them (easiest path, remember?) and the furthest ones hardly get any flow. The favourite is the bathroom one.
You can "balance" the system like this ...
Open all the rads to full. Start at the rad nearest the pump (boiler in your case) turn the lockshield valve down to a trial amount of say 1 turn open .. then progress in the same way working away from the boiler til you get to the last (usually the coolest running rads) Leave a while and then check the temp drop across them .. 20C is hard to describe .. like difference between hard-to-hold and just hot (temp testers are good for this job) Dont go down much more that 1/4 turn open on the lock shields. In turn, see what you get. This will balance the system so all rads get the approx same flow and heat up at the same rate.
Only other things I can think of is .. especially if 8 or 10 mm Microbore ... there is a manifold with air in it.
Keep your system pressure hot around 1.5 to 2 bar max. Blow off is set to 3bar in most boilers (thats 42 psi)
Hope that helps .. !
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From: In my GTR Skyline as often as poss ; )
Oh! ... and dont miss the bleed in the top of the boiler exchanger .. is letting out any air. It's got in somewhere! Just regularly check the pressure and bleed all the rads to see if it settles. If not, air is getting in somewhere!
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Cheers Al for taking the time to explain that, but it all went over my head
The pressure gauge on the boiler always used to show about 1.4 bar, Since i just bled them 10 mins ago it has dropped to about 0.9 bar. How do i set it?
is messing with the lockshield valve's different if all the rads have thermastatic valves?
The pressure gauge on the boiler always used to show about 1.4 bar, Since i just bled them 10 mins ago it has dropped to about 0.9 bar. How do i set it?
is messing with the lockshield valve's different if all the rads have thermastatic valves?
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From: In my GTR Skyline as often as poss ; )
Hey mate ...
Follow those instructions .. Easy, and will save you on heating bills!
1. Top up the pressure from a flexible "fill loop" This is maybe already fitted between mains water and system .. or dangling ... or not one fitted at all!
Usually looks like a braided stainless steel hose. It has a 1/4 turn slotted valve at each end, usually. open slowly after connecting to the mains, and watch the system pressure rise to 2bar. Then follow what I said about bleeding, balancing, etc!
2. The lockshields will usually be on the outlet ends of rads, except some Thermo valves can be fitted as an inlet OR outlet controller. Thats usually the dear liquid filled head type with chrome caps. So you cant do much wrong.
Only time you should be careful is with a system that has no bypasss valve (NOT a combi) You should make sure that circulation CANNOT be completely stopped.
This is why some bathroom rads that you see have a lockshield at both ends
Back later mate
Follow those instructions .. Easy, and will save you on heating bills!
1. Top up the pressure from a flexible "fill loop" This is maybe already fitted between mains water and system .. or dangling ... or not one fitted at all!
Usually looks like a braided stainless steel hose. It has a 1/4 turn slotted valve at each end, usually. open slowly after connecting to the mains, and watch the system pressure rise to 2bar. Then follow what I said about bleeding, balancing, etc!
2. The lockshields will usually be on the outlet ends of rads, except some Thermo valves can be fitted as an inlet OR outlet controller. Thats usually the dear liquid filled head type with chrome caps. So you cant do much wrong.
Only time you should be careful is with a system that has no bypasss valve (NOT a combi) You should make sure that circulation CANNOT be completely stopped.
This is why some bathroom rads that you see have a lockshield at both ends
Back later mate
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right I'll go look, the bathroom rad bleed screw has been open for about 5 minutes with nothing coming out, pressure has dropped to near as damn it 0, only problem I've got is that who ever fitted it closed it in with minimal working space, I'll got get some pics and come back....
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few pic's I've just taken, also just switched it off at the mains as it was making some scary noises, bit like a kettle with no water in it
Space I have to work in
Pics of pipes and gubbins
Is the braided pipe with inline tap in the last pic what you were on about to turn the pressure up?[/img]
Space I have to work in
Pics of pipes and gubbins
Is the braided pipe with inline tap in the last pic what you were on about to turn the pressure up?[/img]
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Didnt turn anything off Andy, just left the bleed screw undone in the bathroom rad, I'm guessing this lost the pressure and was causing it to make noise's.
Shut everything off, refilled to 2 bar, bled rad's, pressure back at 1.8bar, all rads are now on 1 full turn of lockshield valve's and I'm waiting to see how they do at that, finally got my head around what you were saying Al after i put the stella down
should just be a case of balancing them as you said earlier, cant believe i went through last winter with them like this, cheers dad
Cheers Al
Shut everything off, refilled to 2 bar, bled rad's, pressure back at 1.8bar, all rads are now on 1 full turn of lockshield valve's and I'm waiting to see how they do at that, finally got my head around what you were saying Al after i put the stella down
should just be a case of balancing them as you said earlier, cant believe i went through last winter with them like this, cheers dad
Cheers Al
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From: In my GTR Skyline as often as poss ; )
Hi mate .. been out welding all afternoon.
Right .. yes, I can see the fill loop in that pic : ) Obviously you sussed how to top up the pressure then.
Over the course of a few days use .. keep bleeding/topping up pressure until it (hopefully) stops dropping.
You will find that as you get most of the air out, the pressure comes up quickly ... only needing a few squirts.
Leave the rads furthest away from (most likely slowest ones to heat up) open more on the lockshields than the near ones.
When the system is balanced, another bonus is that you can knock the pump speed down to possibly minimum .. depending on system volume and circuit length. This will save on lecky, too .. and is quieter in operation!
Remember .. the thing you want to get is that 18-20C drop across the rads if poss.
SYL
Right .. yes, I can see the fill loop in that pic : ) Obviously you sussed how to top up the pressure then.
Over the course of a few days use .. keep bleeding/topping up pressure until it (hopefully) stops dropping.
You will find that as you get most of the air out, the pressure comes up quickly ... only needing a few squirts.
Leave the rads furthest away from (most likely slowest ones to heat up) open more on the lockshields than the near ones.
When the system is balanced, another bonus is that you can knock the pump speed down to possibly minimum .. depending on system volume and circuit length. This will save on lecky, too .. and is quieter in operation!
Remember .. the thing you want to get is that 18-20C drop across the rads if poss.
SYL
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