Get new rads or try flush them?

bretts

I have 5 rads, looks like they either have air or sludge in them, I cant remove the air as the I cant bleed them, the valves have gone bald. Since the cold part of rad is on the top I think its air and not sludge. Is it a DIY job to replace the rads or do I have to get a professional in. Should I be trying to flush them on my own as I have seen some videos on how to do it online, or is it just not worth it.

TheCyclingProgrammer

Replacing radiators can be a DIY job assuming you don't need to modify the pipe work. Are the existing rads imperial or metric? If the former, you may need to use tail extensions or modify the pipes.

I don't know if you can get replacement bleed valves for old rads but you'll certainly want to be able to bleed them whenever necessary.

If you can remove the rad you can try taking it outside and flushing it out with a hose.

I've chosen to replace old sludged up rads before as it was less faff, they looked better and they aren't too expensive (look at Screwfix Kudox rads).

Le_Kirk

If you do as TCP suggests (good suggestion BTW) you will still need to be able to open the bleed valve, a) to assist letting all the water out and b) to allow air to escape when refilling. Best to see if you can remove the whole bleed valve and replace with new.

bretts

Thanks a lot for the replies, I think I will go with new ones then but I will do it during summers, as this winter has almost passed. Do i need to drain the system down as I dont know how to do it. I just had a new boiler installed and they did tell me that now I can do it from my boiler itself but I do not remember how it was.
As for imperial and metric, I have measured them but they are a few mm less or more than the standard size so I might be able to get on without changing the pipework but if there is a lot of difference then I will have to just change a bit on the pipework side which I dont think I will be able to do.

TheCyclingProgrammer

A few mm difference should be fine if you have a bit of play in your pipes.

You don't need to drain the system although that might be easier if you're replacing multiple rads in one go. Otherwise all you should need to do is close the rad valves and drain the radiator (lots of videos on YouTube showing you how to do this). Remove old rad and brackets, measure and fit new brackets to wall, hang rad, reconnect valves and refill.

john-306

When you have drained the old radiator and taken it off the brackets, turn it so that the openings are at the top before you take it outside, it saves having a possible spillage of any inky black sludge over your carpets.

bretts

Measured all the rads last night and it turns out 3 out of 5 are 1300mm wide and they are not available in wickes, i like there premium range type 22 round top one's.
They are very good priced but then either i have to take a 1200 or pay a lot more, almost double at other places to get a round top type22. Any good websites recommended?

bretts

Any difference between the round top rads and the one's with grill on it, I have round top ones at the moment and would ideally like something similar, for some reason I dont like the one's with grill on it, I bought one last year from screwfix, works fine but i prefer the round top, is it coz they are more expensive?

TheCyclingProgrammer

The 1300mm rads sound like imperial ones to me. I just replaced a 1300mm rad with a 1200mm one but opted to have the pipes moved rather than use tail extensions as it looks better.