New Radiators needed?

John_Jizzle

Hi All,

Moved into my house a couple of weeks back and even with the heating on full the house is still quite cold (not freezing).

The radiators look really old and are just single ones (i think thats how to describe them). When i touch them they are red hot so looks like the heating is working fine but the radiators are just rubbish.

Does it sound like I just need new updated radiators? If so does anyone know best place to buy them (would prefer if they could get fitted too).

I'm based in Leeds

Thanks

HappyMJ

Are they red hot from top to bottom. The whole radiator must be hot for them to work effectively. Are they sized appropriately for the room. You need to measure the radiators width and height, the room's length, width and height. Are the windows double glazed? No draughts? Do you have thick, lined curtains. What standard is the insulation? Is it 270mm (about 12 inches) thick. Do you close the doors to the room to keep the heat in?

John_Jizzle

yeah they are red hot all the way through.

Everything else seems fine - double glazing, no draughts, thick curtains drawn when heating is on. U can stand about a foot away from the radiator and can't feel the heat - but to touch it it's hot.

WestonDave

Possibly worth having a look around online and using the various online calculators to tell you what heat output you need for each room. You can then look at some of the options on sale and see whether your size radiators appear to be sufficient. Modern radiators often have convection fins on the back or inbetween which makes them much more efficient at putting out heat. We ended up with some really nice Purmo slimline radiators that sit very close to the wall - most of them double radiators with a single convector in between.

27col

If the radiators are really hot then there is obviously nothing wrong with them. Therefore you have to consider other reasons why the room is not warm. The modern rads which have the fins on the back will give a better heat output for the same size rad, as has been said. Your problem might just be that your rads are undersized for the rooms that they are in. Alternatively, maybe you need to check out the insulation levels in the house. Or perhaps you are just not having the heating on for long enough. These are some of the things that need to be considered before you change the rads. That fact that you can stand in front of a rad and not feel the heat is irrelevant. It is the actual temperature of the room that matters. You can easily find out what it is by hanging a thermometer in the room that you think is not hot enough.

martyn05

I got double panel double convector radiators from Wickes. Fitted them myself without any problems. These have made a massive difference to the warmth in our house.