Radiators Not Getting Very Hot Downstairs

I went to look at the central heating system of a lady who was complaining that the radiators downstairs were not getting very hot. When the central heating came on the radiators upstairs all got nice and hot straight away, but the radiators downstairs would take an hour before they started to get hot.

I got to the job for eight in the morning so I could see what was actually happening as the heating was set to come on at 730. I looked around the radiators downstairs and only one of the small radiators downstairs was significantly hot. The others were just lukewarm except one which was stone cold. I looked around the radiators upstairs and they were all nice and hot as expected.

Looking in the airing cupboard where the programmer was located I could see that the heating and hot water were both set to be on. I checked the motorised valve and it was in the mid position, 'M'. Being a Drayton MA1 valve there is a sticker on the side which an indicator points to show the position the valve is in. The cylinder thermostat was set to 60°C and so I turned it down and the valve moved to the 'H', central heating position.

I waited for a few minutes and gradually the radiators began to heat up downstairs including the radiator that was completely cold. It appears that the water is going through the cylinder in preference to going round the radiators downstairs. When the hot water was set to be on at the same time as the heating and the cylinder thermostat was demanding hot water the radiators wouldn't heat properly downstairs until the hot water thermostat was satisfied. I checked the settings in the programmer and could see that both the heating and hot water where set to be on from 7am until 10am but in the afternoon the hot water was set to be on 3-5pm and the heating 5-10pm. I asked the lady if she noticed that the problem had only been occurring in the morning which she said it had, but"'assumed the downstairs radiators where working because they had got up to temperature in the morning".

I set the hot water so that it would come on from 6-7am which should be enough as she lives alone and will heat quicker than if on with the central heating. If that wasn't enough on some days the timer could always be put on for an extra hour. The system is fairly old and could most definitely benefit from a powerflush. Unfortunately this is something which she cannot afford at the moment but will probably have done in the summer. It would also be prudent to fit a gate valve to the hot water cylinder return to help balance the system.

One Cold Radiator In Extension

I was asked to a look at a radiator recently that had not been working since the heating had been turned back on. The radiator was upstairs in the master bedroom which had been extended a few years previously and the radiator relocated. All the other radiators were nice and hot, and there was 16 other radiators. The customer had tried bleeding the radiator and to remove the head of the thermostatic radiator valve, but neither of these attempts got the radiator working successfully.

I removed the remainders of the head from the thermostatic radiator valve and pushed on the pin which was moving up and down perfectly. I then checked that the lockshield valve was fully open at the opposite end which it was. If there was an issue with balancing or circulation I would have expected one of the bigger radiators below to have been affected rather than an upstairs bedroom radiator.

I ensured the room thermostat was turned up fully and went around the house turning off all the other radiators. I checked back at the problem radiator and it was getting hotter to the pipe but the water was still not circulating through it. I looked in the airing cupboard and the system had two zone valves fitted and a bypass. The hot water was satisfied and the zone valve was closed accordingly, and I closed the bypass off. As soon as I turned off the bypass the full force of the pump pushed some air out of the pipework to the radiator and I heard it gurgle. Almost instantly the radiator was hot all over, and so I went around and turned all the other radiators and bypass back on.

The radiator continued to heat with the rest of the system up and running. I expect that over the summer air settles in the pipework to the radiator and prevents the circulation around that radiator. I expect when the radiator was relocated the installer used plastic pipe which because of the way it is often coiled never lies completely flat and leaves high points in the pipework for air to collect in.

Ideal W2000 No Hot Water

Was called by a customer as their hot water was not hot. They found it was cold, so put the programmer on for an extra hour only to hear a screaming noise coming from the airing cupboard after a short while. They turned it off and called me to have a look.

I put the hot water on and the boiler fired up straight away, so I went to have a look at the pump after turning the boiler thermostat off. The pump was running although it was a little noisy due to there not being enough water in the system. I suspected that the cold feed may be blocked and I ventured up into the loft to find that there was no water in the feed and expansion cistern, as the ball valve had been tied up for some time.

I isolated the water to the cistern and replaced the ball valve in case it had been tied up because of a dripping overflow. I then filled up the system, including bleeding the iring cupboard and radiators. I had to stop the pump a couple of times to allow all the air to filter out as the system had air-locked slightly. I ran the hot water for a few minutes to ensure it was circulating well before running the central heating to make sure there were no more air-locks.

Disclaimer: The works described in this blog are a record of work undertaken and should not be taken as guaranteed to solve your problem. Work should only be carried out by persons qualified and competent to do so.

No Central Heating After Draining Down

A friend of mine who is a recently qualified plumber drained a system to connect an extra radiator onto it. After refilling the system everything appeared to be working okay but the next day the central heating was not working. He asked me to go and have a look because he was unsure what the problem was and didn't know for certain if the motorised valve was working.

When I arrived the central heating was set to be on and the pump was running. The valve was a Sunvic SDMV230 valve. I removed the motorised valve head and switched between the heating and hot water to make sure the valve was moving, and the that the spindle was in the central heating position which it was.

The pipework was not set out as it should be to remove air efficiently from the system and their was a lot of air trapped in the airing cupboard pipework. There was an air vent in the airing cupboard which I opened regularly to bleed off air. I also opened the screw in the centre of the pump to release any air in the pump. After releasing as much air as I could from the airing cupboard I walked around the radiators. The three radiators upstairs were hot but there was not much heat in the three downstairs radiators.

I turned off the radiators upstairs and one of the radiators downstairs got hot so I turned this off also. Then both the other radiators started to get hot and there was some gurgling. I left these radiators running for five minutes to make sure all the pipework was clear of air before turning on the rest of the radiators. I left the central heating running for some time to ensure that the central heating was working correctly and that all the radiators were heating equally.

Disclaimer: The works described in this blog are a record of work undertaken and should not be taken as guaranteed to solve your problem. Work should only be carried out by persons qualified and competent to do so.

Radiator Tail Leaking

I was left a message on my answerphone overnight due to a leaking radiator connection which by the morning had slowed. The lady had wrapped a kitchen towel around the connection which was quite damp. The radiator had been replaced at some point but was not quite as wide as the original radiator. Because of this the engineer had used an extendable radiator tail and this is where the leak was coming from. Where the tail extends on an o-ring I was able to flex the joint a little which caused water to seep out. I also noticed that the door was unable to open fully because it hit the radiator valve. I guess that the door had hit the valve causing the joint to move causing the leak.

I turned off the radiator valves, drained the radiator and removed it from the wall. I then removed the extendable radiator tail from the radiator using an 8mm allen key. In my vaan I had an old radiator union tail to fit the existing valve and a solid 20mm radiator tail extension. I fitted both of these and reinstated the radiator. Hopefully, being a more solid joint will prevent leaks even if the door does contact the radiator valve.

Disclaimer: The works described in this blog are a record of work undertaken and should not be taken as guaranteed to solve your problem. Work should only be carried out by persons qualified and competent to do so.

Broken Towel Rail Brackets

I got asked to look at a chrome towel radiator which was in danger of falling off the wall today. The brackets were unusual in that they clamped round the rails rather than between the rails. As can be seen from the picture below the nearest bracket is intact, but the claw of the furthest bracket has broken.

I have tried to find a supplier of these brackets, and not knowing who manufactured the towel rail or where it came from has made it impossible. I have found one solution though, you can buy the alternative style radiator bracket from B&Q. They sell brackets for both straight, curved and Kudox towel rails both in chrome and white.

Disclaimer: The works described in this blog are a record of work undertaken and should not be taken as guaranteed to solve your problem. Work should only be carried out by persons qualified and competent to do so.

Heating Working Upstairs But Not Downstairs

A nice simple job for a change, the customer was complaining that the hot water was working fine and the central heating upstairs, but none of the radiators downstairs. The boiler, Potterton Netaheat, was running fine and not making any unusual noises.

Looking in the airing cupboard at the pump, it was very hot and didn't sound as if it was running very quickly. I replaced the pump, and the radiators downstairs were soon working again.

Disclaimer: The works described in this blog are a record of work undertaken and should not be taken as guaranteed to solve your problem. Work should only be carried out by persons qualified and competent to do so.