Central Heating upgrade down stairs

Jonesya

So on the kitchen and hall radiators, did you check both valves on each radiator, lock shield and TRV/temperature - are they both open, could they be opened further?

calleyw

Jonesya wrote: »

So on the kitchen and hall radiators, did you check both valves on each radiator, lock shield and TRV/temperature - are they both open, could they be opened further?

The TRV's as far as I can tell are all open and on the highest setting which is 4.

I will check the other lock shield end later. But surely if they have balanced in the past they would be fully open?

Yours

Calley

Jonesya

No, when you balance the system you go around closing the valves slightly to balance the flows. If they've been balanced wrong, or someone's shut the lock shield at some point that could give you the problems you're seeing.

calleyw

Jonesya wrote: »

No, when you balance the system you go around closing the valves slightly to balance the flows. If they've been balanced wrong, or someone's shut the lock shield at some point that could give you the problems you're seeing.

I would hope someone who does heating for a job would be more than capable of balancing properly. But who knows the secret of the black magic box!!!!!


Yours

Calley

bsod

you're assuming workmen and women are all competent, give a damn, and tell the truth - they aren't, and they don't. This has been going on for years unsolved according to your posts, so whoever you are consulting/employing is not upto the job.

it's pretty basic, your boiler is producing heat apparently, so the hot water just needs to get from a to b, so what's stopping it, a blockage, or a valve, air in the system, or a crap pump

take (and leave off for now) the trv heads off downstairs, check the plunger is moving freely and not corroded, open up the lockshield (on the other side) valves, fully

turn off or down most of the other valves (trv side) in the house, leaving one fully open upstairs, and bleed all the radiators, wack the heating on for a couple of hours making sure any room thermostats are up/on/calling for heat

if the pipes entering the radiators, are hot/scalding to the touch downstairs, and the radiator is still cold, you either have a valve problem, air in the rad, or a blocked up radiator - any competent plumber should cure that in 10 minutes. - valves off, drain radiator, flush with hosepipe, refit.

if the trv is stuck, the head is not fitted correctly, or on a low setting, then that could account for cold radiators, so remove it (ie the head) out of the picture. same applies to lockshields that aren't open enough.

balancing is designed to heat each room up to the same degree in a similar time, personally I want the main rooms I live in heated up fastest, when it gets there, the trv will shut it off, the rarely entered back bedroom doesn't matter, if that is heating up at the same speed, it's taking away heat from more important rooms - so what the fitter thought was important, is not really. On top of that, balancing is rarely done scientifically, the householder is in a far better position to do it properly

calleyw

bsod wrote: »

you're assuming workmen and women are all competent, they aren't. This has been going on for years unsolved according to your posts, so whoever you are consulting/employing is not upto the job.

Thats what I hope when I am paying them money to do a job. I hope they have done the best they could. And its not just been one person its a been a couple of different people over the years.

I have no idea how good the system was before I moved in. As it was a back boiler. We moved in March and had very little need to use the central heating and it was just the rads down stairs. And it was 10 years ago we had a combi boiler fitted.

I would like it solved as I don't want to freezer down stairs any more.

I will tomorrow do what you suggest and see what happens and report back.

Yours

Calley

bsod

just make sure downstairs are fully open at both valves, and the rad has no air inside, then go from there. count the turn of the lockshield so you can return it back to the state it was before if you wish, but from what you are describing it's probably better to leave dowstairs fully open.

just seen your latest test - it's gonna be lockshield, or trv, or air, or radiator blockage, not pump.

There's a wealth of knowledge on youtube if you're unsure of anything, eg - how a trv works here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFLkgkoAtPI