[Closed] Help fix my heating - 2 out of 7 radiators stone cold, other 5 piping hot

Air. Turn off all valves of the hot radiators and leave the 2 cold ones open for a bit, should flush it through.

Are the cold radiators controlled by a separate motorised valve? If so check it is opening when it should. You may be able to manually open it.

air block is my guess stopping the heat passing through but pressurising the water so you can bleed

You may find a loop at the lowest point of your system is just trapped with air and this needs bleeding to allow the hot water to reach the rads

Not sure of the fix though- try tracing heat on the hot pipe till you find the cold low bit - should be a bleed valve

We've had the same thing happen, but ours was an upstairs / downstairs split. Upsatirs hot, downstairs cold. Neighbour, who is a plumber, is currently in sorting with a powerflush

bleed the rads that are cold

Sympathy. Half of my house has no heating and the power flush didn't help. Currently awaiting floorboards being lifted and microbore being replaced as there has to be a blockage in the pipework. Also in a very hard water area.

A worry for you all. 🙁

Are the cold radiators controlled by a separate motorised valve?

Not sure, but wouldn't have thought so. It looks like quite an antiquated system in an old terraced house.

bleed the rads that are cold

Not sure why you wasted your time writing that and I wasted mine reading/typing this.

Air. Turn off all valves of the hot radiators and leave the 2 cold ones open for a bit, should flush it through.

Looks like a starting point. Thanks.

try tracing heat on the hot pipe till you find the cold low bit - should be a bleed valve

Another good idea...I'll borrow my nephew and lower him through the floor board traps 🙂

and the power flush didn't help

Mmmm 🙁

Google valve balancing. If these two are furthest from the boiler and you've bled them you may have to balance the system .

Google valve balancing. If these two are furthest from the boiler and you've bled them you may have to balance the system .

Thanks, yes these two and the cooler bedroom one I mentioned are the furthest from the boiler.

I'll take a look.

Doosuk - mail me and I'll send you some notes I produced for the NHBC regarding balancing as I got feed up explaining it to individual inspectors!
timATj-twren.eclipse.co.uk

Cinnamon - surprise surprise power flush not worked, massively over sold operation that is usually carried out poorly.

Get someone to physically remove the affected radiators and flush with a hose, while sloshing water through them if possible.

Worth trying before lifting floors etc.

Thanks to those who pointed me in the direction of valve balancing and thanks to Bear for providing his notes.

Heat is restored to all radiators now and the house is pretty toasty.

Had less luck with the house alarm, but managed to shut it up after 1.5hrs of it constantly going off on Saturday afternoon. Neighbours must of been so happy 🙂 All sorted and restored to full working order now too though.

Any chance of somebody sending me those notes on valve balancing. email in profile.

MSP - I've sent them through as I'm sure Bear won't mind.

No problem, glad they helped.

Be interested on any feed back those that have had them.

timATj-twren.eclipse.co.uk

have a similar issue, can you send me those notes Bear, email in profile, appreciate that.

Is it house moving week on STW? first night in new house last night & similar problems here too 🙁 any chance of those notes, email in profile thanks. 🙂

Really appreciate those notes as well, email in profile.
Google results always seem complicated!
Thanks,

Oooh valve balancing notes, please could I have them too. 3 storey victorian house with varying degrees of radiator warmth is causing me a few headaches. Email in profile, very much appreciated

@ Bear, would be interested in the notes.
crofts2007ATaolDOTcom
Have attempted to balance my system, (S plus system) with reasonable results but have 9 rads on downstairs zone and 8 rads on upstairs zone, most with TRV's and independent wireless stats on each zone.
Do I do the balancing with everything on or each zone separately?
With or without the DHW on as well?
(Goes to lie down in dark room.)

You've started something here. Me too, please (-:

Please may I have a copy, I have to do this.

Pleeease me too 🙂

At work will mail them tonight. If you all mail me I'll attach them by return.

Bear - I've just emailed everyone above to save you a job tonight...I just sit at a desk all day, so much easier for me no doubt 🙂

dooosuk could you send them to me please?

alastairhaigh at gmail dot com

Thanks!

Another one for the valve balancing notes please if you don't mind. I've had rubbish heating all winter after moving into a new house just before xmas. Can't wait for summer........
adamb7 at yahoo dot com
Cheers 😀

and another one here please?

eastham8 at aol dot com

cheers
in advance

chucky

If anyone can spare the time, me too please!

i.s.penton-voak AT bristol DOT ac DOT uk

Me too! (Sorry) mail in profile 🙂

Sent to all the above requesters.

late to the party i know 😳 but i'd like a copy too please.

thanks.

t DOT bostock AT hotmail DOT co DOT uk

thomthumb - done

Cheers Andy

I bet there will be a lot of balancing going on tonight!

It's very simple and doesn't take a long time. Good luck!

Another unbalanced person here, could you pass the notes on to me too please? 🙂

verses AT verses.free-online.co.uk

Cheers for the info, appreciated. I didn't want it directly for myself so much as it being useful info to have stored in my head.

However. From the document, "One pipe systems are fairly rare and generally only found in older properties." That would be what I have. Any tips for that (other than 'have it taken out and shot')?

verses - email sent

alibongo001 - Member

Cheers Andy

I bet there will be a lot of balancing going on tonight!

I bet there will be a lot of half-done, even-less-balanced heating systems out there 😉

It can take a few iterations to get it right if the system is large, tortuous and very un-balanced.

Before balancing, get your system nice and clean, check that your pump is pumping properly (not just spinning) and give all of your TRVs a bit of a checking over for movement and freeing-up if necessary.

I nominally balanced ours on heating order, then on temperature drop and did tweak it a bit after a few days, with a bit of further tweaking to suit requirements later on.

Have you all got a copy?

Bear, I'd appreciate a copy, this thread has only just come to my attention and I need to sort out our rads! email is msol644 AT hotmail DOT com Thanks

Any recommendations for a wireless stat btw, we've currently got a drayton wired jobbie but the previous owner put it in the conservatory which makes for some random tempertures in the rest of the house?!? 😕

I haven't seen these notes but the problem I've had in the past is finding "the radiator that heats up first".
Is there a way of finding out that is better than the guesswork of running round house and feeling the rads?

Maybe I need to run faster?

[url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SALUS-DIGITAL-ELECTRONIC-ROOM-THERMOSTAT-STAT-RT300-RF-BNIB-WIRELESS-/270947154834?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Hearing_Cooling_Air&hash=item3f15b57b92 ]Simple Wireless one[/url]

[url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Salus-5-2-or-7-Day-Wireless-RF-Programmable-Room-Thermostat-BNIB-Stat-RT500-RF-/170947004042?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Hearing_Cooling_Air&hash=item27cd3c468a ]Programmable Wireless One[/url]

I've had one of the simple ones for a couple of years and it's been great. Friends and family have bought them since and have also been happy with them.

I have the salus programmable one linked above

Does the job fine here

I haven't seen these notes but the problem I've had in the past is finding "the radiator that heats up first".
Is there a way of finding out that is better than the guesswork of running round house and feeling the rads?

The next step is to measure the flow and return temperatures when the system has warmed-up and adjust the lock-stops to achieve the desired temp drops.

Hooray, the rad in the hall that's never worked is now nice and warm!

Thanks for the notes/tips.

dooosuk also passed on this vid which was very handy.

Glad someone else has had success 🙂

Thanks for the info on balancing, have just picked up some cheap thermometers off ebay to do the temperature balancing.
If you can get them for a good price I would recommend the Danfoss TP5000 Si-RF, they are quite versatile, can be used as a standalone stat or programmable timer/stat. Paid £60 for one off ebay.

are the notes anything else other than setting an 11-12 degree temp drop over your inlet and outlet pipes ?

I guess im curious - as i have mine set up as above just wondering you know.

how ever i did do it in the order of closest to boiler - to furthest then checked them all again the next day

Could I please have a copy of the document?

I balanced mine by running around the house making sure everything warmed up roughly at the same time, but it sounds like I could make things more efficient.

sam AT gettome DOT com

thanks.

are the notes anything else other than setting an 11-12 degree temp drop over your inlet and outlet pipes

That's pretty much what's in the notes...however I didn't set mine this way. I just backed them off closed 1/4 turn as in the video and as the radiators fired up just left it at that.

oh ok , i just wondered as bears the expert im just a multi dicipline engineer 😉 ( jack of all master of none)

Trail - nope simple as that 11 deg unless modern condensing boiler then 20 deg.

I got fed up with explaining the process every time I wrote a report fro the NHBC about why the latest heating system wasn't working so came up with an explanation of how and why etc.

sorry to ressurrect an old thread but can anyone who has a copy of the legendary balancing notes please send them to me? Thanks

martindmail-singletrack AT yahoo DOT co DOT uk

got this now, thanks dooosuk