One radiator cold at the bottom

Amp47

Hi all,

I have a problem with my central heating for which I'd be grateful for any advice please!

I had a new boiler put in just under 2 years ago, and one new radiator in the lounge. I recently realised that several of the radiators, both upstairs and downstairs, were cold at the bottom. I called an engineer out (under my British Gas Homecare agreement) and he fiddled with the outlet valves on the rads. This solved the problem on all the rads except the new one downstairs. I've tried running the system for several hours with the thermostat turned up, and also turning all the other rads off, but this didn't help. The engineer said to give them a call if I still have a problem next winter, but the thing is, I was planning on not renewing my Homecare agreement when it falls due in about 6 weeks, because of the expense. So I really need to get to the bottom of the problem now.

Does anyone have any ideas why this might be happening?

Thanks in advance.

sulkisu

It sounds like there could be 'sludge' in the radiator (there is probably a technical term for this, but 'sludge' works for me). It's a build up of residue from inside the pipes. Check the instruction booklet for your rads for information on how to clear it - or use the internet (Google it). If the top of the radiator is cool and the bottom is hot, then your radiators need bleeding (an air pocket has formed at the top of the radiator, which needs to be expelled). But as your radiator is cold at the bottom, this points to sludge.

Can't the engineer just come back now? I don't see why you should have to wait until winter to resolve a problem that has been identified now.

gas4you

They need to come back now, as any sludge resting in the bottom of this radiator could progress the onset of corrosion in this radiator.

The sludge could also eventually move round the system, even clog the boiler up.

Amp47

Thanks sulkisu and gas4you - the're coming back out on Thursday. I was afraid you'd say it was sludge!