Radiators are hot but the heating is not on

birkee

keystone wrote: »

Convert it to S plan then.

Cheers

You've got me there keystone. I've never heard of S plan. Any chance you could post a link?
I'll have a look myself later, but I've got to get ready for shopping just now.

Cheers back!

Soke, 's plan' finds it instantly on Google.

keystone

2 x 2 port valves instead of 1 x 3 port valve. Means piping and control changes.

dantheman2010

keystone wrote: »

The bathroom rad on older systems may well be on the primary circuit so that it operates whenever DHW is on to keep the towels warm and also acts as a bypass. But your system may not be configured that way. How is it configured?

Have your others rads got TRVs on? Are they open or shut down?

Cheers

All radiators in the house OTHER than the bathroom one has TRV's.

I turned them bathroom one off, the spare room heated up, I turned that off and the main bedroom heated up, turned that off and then the lounge heated up. Turned all of them off and the bathroom back on and none are on at the moment.

I thought I dont mind having the bathroom one on for an hour or two a day when the hot water is on, but obviously this is not ideal.

Am I looking in the boiler when I turn the heating on and off or am I looking/listening to the small metal box in the airing cupboard?

What lever will move - all I can see is a AUTO MANUAL.

Thanks

ormus

its normal to leave one radiator with no trv. (usually the bathroom one). so it cannot be shut off entirely.
its like a safety device for the boiler.

dantheman2010

So am I right in shutting all the TRV's off and leaving the bathroom one on saftey-wise? But where should I be looking to see whether this is clicking over that someone has suggested in one of the above posts?

If that motor/heater valve (if stuck on open) in the airing cupboard needs replacing what am I looking at?

Thanks

keystone

It sounds as though your valve may look like this one:



This is closed in the de-energised state. When the valve is closed, the AUTO/MANUAL lever is "loose" for about one third of the travel of the slot with the rest of the travel pushing against a heavy spring. When the valve is powered open the lever is loose for the entire travel of the slot.

Sometimes it is possible to free a sticking valve, at least temporarily, by repeatedly driving the valve open manually using the lever (with the system switched off) or by removing the power head (the actuator) and repeatedly operating the valve manually using a small spanner.

If yours has a "pip" on the casing as per the pic it is safe to remove the actuator. Early ones without the pip could not be removed without draining down first or you would get very wet so if it hasn't got one don't do it. If you remove it and operate the valve mechanism manually using a small spanner, be careful not to turn too far or too hard. The small rectangular brass "tongue" which operates the valve below only turns about 45° for the 3 port valves. You must feel for this.

Try this and see what happens. If the valve is sticking operating it manually may free it. If its the accuator not working properly then this can be replaced without changing the whole thing. Alternatively and if you are not confident about it then you should get a plumber in.

Cheers

dantheman2010

Yes it looks exactly like that, and the lever was everso slightly over from the AUTO side, I can move it freely back and forth from auto to manual, currently I just pushed it back to AUTO, but this morning the radiators still heated up whilst hot water was on.

I dont feel confident doing this myself so what would this set me back plumber wise? Is there any issue of turning all rads off through the summer other than the bathroom one and just let that heat up and cool down for the hour/two hours a day, then in the winter turn all the rads back on when the heatings on?

What is the actuator and what is the pip on the pic above? Thanks

dantheman2010

So from your reply am I right in thinking I could free a sticking valve by making sure hot water is off and repeatedly moving the lever from auto to manual back and forth?

Canucklehead

ormus wrote: »

its normal to leave one radiator with no trv. (usually the bathroom one). so it cannot be shut off entirely.
its like a safety device for the boiler.

Incorrect.

That should read, 'the room or area containing the room stat should have no TRV'.


GSR.

garethgas

You can change the synchron motor on these, Fairly cheap to buy and takes about 10 mins tops.
No electrical skills required, its just 2 wires.
Tiny brass screws hold it in place so don't loose them (they're not magnetic).