Stat settings Help

Grumpy_chap

BiliousGreen said:

Actually I am not sure they are TRVs I think they are just dials from 1-5. They look very old as opposed to the fancy things I see when I google TRV

That sounds like a TRV to me.

So, you have one valve at one end of each radiator with the settings 1 - 5. This is the TRV that you can adjust to the required temperature (on older TRV's, rather than actual temperatures, it is simply "heat level 1" "heat level 2" etc.
At the other end of each radiator you have the simple lock-shield valve which you turn and leave once the flow balancing around the system is set.

Is that correct?

BiliousGreen

I think so, one end is a valve that turns the radiator on or off the other is a simple valve nothing fancy with numbers on 1-5, they look old! Probably been on the radiator since the house was built in the 80s

[Deleted User]

They might be old, but if they have the numbers they will be TRVs.

Qyburn

BiliousGreen said:

I think so, one end is a valve that turns the radiator on or off the other is a simple valve nothing fancy with numbers on 1-5, they look old! Probably been on the radiator since the house was built in the 80s

That valve is supposed to be used to "balance" the system, restricting the flow at some radiators and not others, so that the radiators nearest the boiler don't hog all the flow. They call them "lockshields" for some mysterious reason. If you've been using them to turn the radiators on or off the balance is probably messed up.

To give an extreme example in our last house if the lockshield on the bathroom towel rail was opened by more than 1/8 of a turn, the radiator in the upstairs West bedroom wouldn't work at all.