heating the house

Agusya

Bendy_House said:

*salus thermostat model is RT510TX
 

So, with the boiler running, when you turn a TRV on any rad up to 4 or 5, do they get HOT?

* I've had both living room radiators on for 15 min now and its hot - I cant really hold my hand on it for more than few seconds .63'' / 20'' size of this one which works well. its under the window Temperature didnt go up at all. the other radiator (1 '' bigger) with the possible goo isnt hot hot. Living room is large and has 2 big windows on each end. 
all other radiators are super hot . So all radiators work fine except one in living room and one in the hall. In a bedroom (small bedroom it is) also radiator is very hot and its been 20 min I went there to check and its not even close to how warm it would be already if I had electric heater on during that time. 
As I said it takes forever to heat up living room and temperature doesnt even go higher than 20 (or 19 if its really really cold outside) 

Is there a magnetic filter installed (have a look at the pipes under the boiler - is there a 'thing' fitted to one of the 22mm pipes?)

* I cant see anything on pipes there

*  In theory, when the boiler was fitted, the installers should have ensured that the system was 'clean', so you shouldn't really have any blockages in the pipes.

Im guessing they didnt as they havent noticed hall radiator not working (and they put on it the TRV which supposed to be on all the time)  and they havent noticed or ignored that one radiator in the living room has probably some goo inside as only top half heats up. I wasnt bothered with it at the time (when I discovered it) and I looked into and removing it isnt cheap. 
Is it possible that the broken radiator in the hall isnt working cos of blocked narrow pipe and its next to the living room so it doesnt get good flow to living room radiators? 

What should I do now? How can I improve it and is it even possible without better insulation ? 

Agusya

BUFF said:

Agusya said:

BUFF said:

Is your house detached, semi- or terrace? When was it built?

But, to answer your question directly, I would set the TRVs on them to 1 (~10C) , 2(~15C) or somewhere in between as you don't need those other rooms to be heated to the same level as your bedroom whilst you are not using them.. 

its a semi, looks like a bungalow and its from late 60s

is it gonna cost (much )more having extra radiators at the same time as the bedroom one which is on? 

How is the loft insulation? 
As it is a 60s build can we assume that it has cavity walls? Do those have cavity insulation? Where are you & what is the esposure like (in certain wet/exposed areas e.g. the west coast, cavity wall insulation may not be a good idea - in fact it can make things worse)?

The reason that I suggest having the heating on low is to avoid the potential for interstitial damp building up in the walls (plus the bigger temperature differential between your heated room(s) & unheated the more that heat will bleed out  from heated to unheated rooms).

I am with B_H on that there is something affot with your heating system, whether there is some kind of fault or it & it's controls are not being used properly.

Ive explained everything in my post/s already
There is cavity insulation . loft insulation is poor (maybe 200 , as far as I remember from home report, but possibly less
Im in Scotland
Im sure Im using controls fine, its not a rocket science  

BUFF

200mm loft insulation isn't current recommendation but it's not  bad.
Where exactly in Scotland (the mainland alone is 275 miles N to S & conditions on the W coast are different from E coast)?
You would be surprised how many people don't understand their heating systems/know how to use their controls properly.

What type of design are your rads (e.g.single/double panel, with fins or without)?
I don't suppose that you know their design output?
 63"x20" is a big rad in terms of wall space - if it's a type 22/K2 that's ~8000+BTU, if it's a single panel it could be ~4400BTU. Quite a difference.

Bendy_House

Agusya said:

Bendy_House said:

*salus thermostat model is RT510TX That's a Prog Stat, so good.
 

So, with the boiler running, when you turn a TRV on any rad up to 4 or 5, do they get HOT?

* I've had both living room radiators on for 15 min now and its hot - I cant really hold my hand on it for more than few seconds .63'' / 20'' size of this one which works well. its under the window Temperature didnt go up at all. the other radiator (1 '' bigger) with the possible goo isnt hot hot.

Living room is large and has 2 big windows on each end. 
all other radiators are super hot . So all radiators work fine except one in living room and one in the hall. In a bedroom (small bedroom it is) also radiator is very hot and its been 20 min I went there to check and its not even close to how warm it would be already if I had electric heater on during that time. 
As I said it takes forever to heat up living room and temperature doesnt even go higher than 20 (or 19 if its really really cold outside) 

Is there a magnetic filter installed (have a look at the pipes under the boiler - is there a 'thing' fitted to one of the 22mm pipes?)

* I cant see anything on pipes there

*  In theory, when the boiler was fitted, the installers should have ensured that the system was 'clean', so you shouldn't really have any blockages in the pipes.

Im guessing they didnt as they havent noticed hall radiator not working (and they put on it the TRV which supposed to be on all the time)  and they havent noticed or ignored that one radiator in the living room has probably some goo inside as only top half heats up. I wasnt bothered with it at the time (when I discovered it) and I looked into and removing it isnt cheap. 
Is it possible that the broken radiator in the hall isnt working cos of blocked narrow pipe and its next to the living room so it doesnt get good flow to living room radiators? 

What should I do now? How can I improve it and is it even possible without better insulation ? 

Well, insulation is always key. A poorly insulated house is always going to be hard to heat, and very costly to try. Hard to know what else you can try of significance, tho' - you have decent loft insul, and cavity too? Double-glazed? Q - is your house draughty? That's a biggie (and not helped if internal doors are left open).

Anyhoo, these radiators... You have TWO rads in your living room. One is 1600mm wide x 500mm high, and the other is fractionally larger. Can you tell us if they have a single 'panel' or two? And how many sets of 'fins' are fixed to their backs?

Ok, here's the issue wot doesn't add up: You tell us that a 1.2kW electric heater works effectively? And yet the slimmest (ie single-panel) of 1600mm rads outputs more than this - 1300W - and you have TWO of them in that room!

If these rads have two panels - a double rad - then each should output 1800W, waaay more than your electric heater. And if the rads are double and double-finned, they'll chuck out around 2.3kW EACH, so roughly 4 times the total heat of that leccy heater.

You understand why I'm confused?

Ok, one rad doesn't get properly hot? That's with its TRV fully open? Ok, go to the other valve on that rad (it's called a 'lockshield'), remove the loose cap, and turn the spindle anti-clockwise an EXACT full turn (ie, more open). ('Exact', so that you can return it to where it was if needed). Does that rad now heat up fully?

Ditto the hallways rad - open the TRV fully, and the other valve by a full one turn. Any difference?

If that makes no difference, return the lockshields to where they were, and call a plumber...

Bendy_House

If you don't want a killer bill this winter, and if you don't want to help Putin, then try and cope with 18oC.

Agusya

BUFF said:

200mm loft insulation isn't current recommendation but it's not  bad.
Where exactly in Scotland (the mainland alone is 275 miles N to S & conditions on the W coast are different from E coast)?
You would be surprised how many people don't understand their heating systems/know how to use their controls properly.

What type of design are your rads (e.g.single/double panel, with fins or without)?
I don't suppose that you know their design output?
 63"x20" is a big rad in terms of wall space - if it's a type 22/K2 that's ~8000+BTU, if it's a single panel it could be ~4400BTU. Quite a difference.

I dont think its 200mm actually I think its less, I will need to dig out home report
I live in Lanarkshire (between Glasgow and Edinburgh) 
downstairs radiators are like the regular thick ones . https://www.allstarsystems.co.uk/blog/energy-efficiency-variances-panel-convector-radiators -> like more or less the one on the right. upstairs (bedrooms) the ones on the left 

Agusya

Bendy_House said:

If you don't want a killer bill this winter, and if you don't want to help Putin, then try and cope with 18oC.

what do you mean . that would be a luxury its 15 oC in my house atm . Im waiting and preparing for winter when temperature outside is close to 0 and at home will be below 15 and then I need heating on 

born_again

Agusya said:

Bendy_House

thank you for taking time to help me  and explain things:):smile:
I have controller by some crap company salus which I got with my boiler ( Bosh Worcester greenstar 30I) Since upstairs and downstairs have different temperature there was no point putting it up. I take it with me to the bedroom or living room, where I am at the time. 
I think pipes might be small/narrow as radiator in the hall (the one which meant to be always on) isnt working and I was told pipe is small or something but I didint bother with replacing it. Im guessing maybe pipes everywhere are like this and thats why heating doesnt work great. 
Boiler temperature : water 60, radiators 75 

My electric blanket just died
I also have usb heated outfit which I got powerbank for off ebay ... and it run out of juice after an hr. 
Cat is 17 years old, I cant say no to her  

thank you!!!

Get someone to fix that. As will be affecting other rads.

Cheap heat help. Wrap some tin foil round cardboard & place behind rads to reflect more heat into rooms.

Forget people saying you need stat set too.. Each house is different, so what suits one, will not suit another.

https://youtu.be/hkO-YNve2uE

Agusya

born_again said:

Agusya said:

Bendy_House

thank you for taking time to help me  and explain things:):smile:
I have controller by some crap company salus which I got with my boiler ( Bosh Worcester greenstar 30I) Since upstairs and downstairs have different temperature there was no point putting it up. I take it with me to the bedroom or living room, where I am at the time. 
I think pipes might be small/narrow as radiator in the hall (the one which meant to be always on) isnt working and I was told pipe is small or something but I didint bother with replacing it. Im guessing maybe pipes everywhere are like this and thats why heating doesnt work great. 
Boiler temperature : water 60, radiators 75 

My electric blanket just died
I also have usb heated outfit which I got powerbank for off ebay ... and it run out of juice after an hr. 
Cat is 17 years old, I cant say no to her  

thank you!!!

Get someone to fix that. As will be affecting other rads.

Cheap heat help. Wrap some tin foil round cardboard & place behind rads to reflect more heat into rooms.

Forget people saying you need stat set too.. Each house is different, so what suits one, will not suit another.

https://youtu.be/hkO-YNve2uE

in what way its going to affect other rads?
Ive watched that video. I dont think its going to work for me .As I mentioned already radiators will need to be on non stop on high to maintain the temperature .I can have it on non stop and have 17 deg in a living room but what for .Which gas prices now?what sense does it make. He doesnt even mention if it cost less or more or the same. 

LateStarter

I'm not sure anyone has mentioned this - one of the most common reasons for a radiator not warming up is the TRV stuck in the closed position. Does the pipe feel hot before the TRV valve? If so, it might be a sticky pin - there are YouTube guides to help "unstick" them.