Central Heating upgrade down stairs

calleyw

earlier this year I had my boiler serviced and chatted to the person about how rubbish my rads are down stairs.

The rads only get hot at the top and that its. It seems to be a common problem in houses in the road.

I have noticed a couple of houses across the road that there hall rad has a pipe running down the walls. And this was what the heating person said. I would need to have drop from upstairs.

Which is fine but I only decorated last year and have coving and not really keen on pipe work on show running down the walls. Should have sort this out before all the work was done in the house, I know hindsight is a wonderful thing.

But If I want to be warm this winter I will have to suck it. But was wondering to minimise the drops if I should get vertical rads. Yes I know they cost a lot more but would mean getting rid the rads I have.

It would be three rads to be replaced. Living room under the window. In the kitchen the rad would be moved to an opposite wall so the pipe drop would be in the down stairs loo hence no pipes on display. And then one rad in the hall way.

I assume the other option would be to dig up the floors and have new pipe work laid? The issue with that is the the entire ground floor is covered in tiles that would need to be removed. Also I have artex ceilings and both the artex and floor tiles have been tested and are do contain asbestos.

Before I talk to the heating person any ideas which is best before I make suggestions and make myself look a bit silly.

Thanks in advance.

Yours

Calley

southcoastrgi

If they are getting hot at the top & the rest is cooler then I'd say all they want is flushing out, remove them from the wall take them outside & blast them through with a hose pipe, gently tapping them with something like a rubber hammer

calleyw

southcoastrgi wrote: »

If they are getting hot at the top & the rest is cooler then I'd say all they want is flushing out, remove them from the wall take them outside & blast them through with a hose pipe, gently tapping them with something like a rubber hammer

I have been told by two different heating people, one who lives in my road and by someone who has worked on a couple of houses in my road. Its to do with the pipe work down stairs.

So I really don't think cleaning out the rads will help that much. The boiler and rads where all new about 10 years. And it has never really got warm down stairs.

I assume that I turn the boiler off and then drain the water from the system until its empty then take the rads off the wall?

Yours

Calley

southcoastrgi

Calley, try turning off all the rads upstairs, what happens to the rads downstairs ?

BoxerfanUK

Best to try cheaper options first such as removing and cleaning the rads or get a professional to powerflush the whole system.


If you fit tall rads that won't really solve the problem as the pipes will still have to go to the bottom of the wall as the inlets are at the bottom of the rads...... unless of course you hang the rads upside down!!!

calleyw

southcoastrgi wrote: »

Calley, try turning off all the rads upstairs, what happens to the rads downstairs ?

Tried it really makes no difference.

The rads upstairs get very warm I hardly have to have them turned on.

Yours

Calley

Le_Kirk

If you have a valve at each end of the radiator (and I hope you do) turn them both fully closed (clockwise), put down some old dust sheets and/or towels, place a large plastic container (old ice cream tub is perfect - but be sure to eat the ice cream first), crack open one of the unions that connect the radiator to the valve, crack open the bleed screw and let the water run out of the radiator. When the tub is nearly full close the bleed screw then tighten up the union, empty the tub and repeat until radiator is empty. Undo unions both ends of radiator, lift radiator off wall and turn it upside down (this is to prevent dirty water falling out whilst you move it) then carry it outside and blast it with hose as advised in post #2. When clean, refit to wall, reconnect unions and do up tight, open valves, repressurise system. Open bleed screw whilst radiator is filling. Close when air is out and water starts to come out. Fire up boiler and enjoy a toasty warm downstairs! Repeat for other radiators.

Jonesya

Have you checked the position of the lock shield valves on the down stairs radiators? Can they be opened further? Then try running the system with the upstairs radiator valves shut.

Is the circulating pump accessible, can you hear it starting up and running?

Before you spend any money getting work done you really need to understand why the downstairs radiators aren't getting warm. Until you know that, you can't make an informed decision on what work is required.

calleyw

Right did a little bit of testing.

I turned everything off up stairs apart from the bathroom towel rail as its has no shut off.

Turned off all rads apart from the living room one. Got very nice and hot all over top and bottom. I believe that its the first on the circuit from up stairs.

Tried the kitchen one with everything else shut off and its gets very luke warm just at the top. The inlet pipe where the thermostat control is, gets boiling hot but the outlet is not cold but not warm if that makes sense.

Tried the same with the hall rad and the same as the kitchen rad. Inlet boiling hot outlet stone cold.

well that tells me that the is nothing wrong with the rad in the living room and no very little to no crud in it.

Obviously don't know about the kitchen and hall rad. I have had the system balanced numerous times over the years. Up stairs is new plastic pipe. Down stairs is what I believe is 15mm pipe.

I believe from what has been said by two different heating engineers that I am not the only person to suffer with this in the street. And as I said i have seen extra pipes in other hallways with a feed coming from up stairs in other houses. Which I can only assume is to cure the same problem.

Is it the pump on the combi thats rubbish and I need a more meaty combi to push it all around the system?

Yours

Calley

Le_Kirk

If the inlet pipe is hot and the outlet isn't then the water is not getting through the radiator, so it is either partially blocked or the TRV is not working.

southcoastrgi

Or the return is blocked or the lock shield valve isn't open enough