What to do when radiator won't heat.

Legacy_user

According to my husband the thermostat is fully open as is the valve at the other end and it doesn't need bled. He topped up our condensing gas boiler and that hasn't fixed it either. This is the only radiator in the house which won't heat and we don't know why.

Anybody got any ideas before we have to call out a plumber?

cheekymole

Are you (sorry OH) sure that it doesn't need bleeding. Sometimes it takes a long time for all the air to bleed out

grumpyoldgit_2

Are you sure it definitely does not need bleeding? Are the valves opening - how do you know? Eliminate these two first and then consider .............that there must be a blockage either in the rad or connecting pipework.
Before you start taking off rads etc check thoroughly if the pipes connected to the rad get warm at all, or any part of the rad? At least then you will know that is where the block definitely is.
How old is the system? It could be sludge has gathered and the system needs flushing - might be worth doing just the one rad - messy job though involves taking off rad and blasting it through to dislodge blockage.
You can get commercial companies to flush your system for you - been some time since I looked but my recollection is that it can be quite expensive.
Good Luck

System

When he tried to bleed it all he got was water - no air at all. He's stumped !!

The pipework and radiators ar 9 years old. We changed from oil fired to gas 2 years ago.

YorkshireBoy

Pam17 wrote:

Anybody got any ideas before we have to call out a plumber?

Sometimes the small plunger pin sticks in the TRV (thermostatic radiator valve). If you can remove the plastic "dial" mechanism from the assembly, you can gently tap the body or get hold of the plunger with a pair of pliers and gently ease it out. Operate it a few times (it should spring back freely) before refitting the TRV dial.

It's a good idea to regularly operate the TRV's rather than leaving them in one position for long periods.

NOWSE

We had a similar problem the other week. I bled the system endlessly without success. In the end I turned off all the other radiators. After a few minutes the cold radiator warmed up and I turned all the others back on. It solved our problem.

System

Eureka NOWSE we have heat in the radiator.

grumpyoldgit_2

GREAT - don't you just love a success story

System

This is truly a moneysaving site. It's great to be able to come here and have strangers willing and able to offer advice to others free of charge.

Many thanks

Bargainbabe_2

I think the procedure that NOWSE described is called "regulating the system" ?

alanobrien

Bargainbabe wrote:

I think the procedure that NOWSE described is called "regulating the system" ?

Turning off all rads but the suspect one is how you test for a duff radiator in the system.

I think you mean "balancing the system". This is done to ensure all radiators get hot. This is something a good corgi engineer would do when fitting a system or new rads etc.

The process can take some time so some do not do it