aladdin radiator air bleed valves

krishing

hi folks
i have seen advertised a radiator valve by a company called aladdin which screws into where the bleed screw is. they cost about £8 each. apparently they filter out any air in the radiators, so they would never need bleeding. it sounds quite useful if you are going to rent out and be an absentee landlord as i plan to be. apparently they have some kind of cartridge in them that needs to be replaced every 3-4 years. has anyone any experience of these?
thanks in advance.
krishing

country_sport

I fitted a couple and they work fine.
The idea is they let air through but when water hits it a washer expands, a bit like wood expands when it gets wet. It then seals itself. If air gets in again it dries out and the whole process starts again.

Matt95_2

Hi

Just reading about your Aladdin Autovent comments above - I can say that my central heating system has been much better since my old man purchased one for me (after constantly asking him to help me fix a radiator) Heh!

Anyway - he said he purchased one from Heat and Plumb - visit there Aladdin Autovents page - be carefull to get the right one as my old man ordered incorrectly the first time.

landyv8

Firstly is it air or hydrogen gas?

http://www.fernox.com/index.php?cccpage=ps_radiators

Rather than fitting these and forgetting about the root cause of why air/gas is getting into the system.

Solve the problem rather than covering it up and forgetting about it.

Try flushing the system, including chemical flush.
Then add a sealent for pin !!!!! holes etc.

Also try adding a magnaclean

http://www.adeysolutions.co.uk/Professional.asp

cuden

My dad bought a load of these for his house, he has oil heating and he saved 30% on his heating bill this year. They not only sort out the hassle of bleeding your radiators but run much more efficiently. He persuaded me to buy some. They are selling them on an ebay shop (radiator valves online) at the mo. I just ordered some today - I will let you know how I get on!

nmlt

I've used these radiator valves. Basically they self bleed which means when any air does get in your heating system it bleeds out automatically. Therefore you end up with a radiator full of hot water rather than some air and some water. I have got 3 in my house and they work great.

Good luck.

AndreaE

I am thinking of purchasing some of these as part of my 'get set for winter' plan.

Does anyone have any more up to date feedback?

How many do you need? One per radiator would be quite expensive for a whole house. Someone told me that as all radiators are connected in a big loop, really you only need one but I have no idea if that is true or not.

If you need one per radiator and I can't afford to do all rooms, what would be the best place to put one or two? I was wondering if upstairs rather than downstairs perhaps?

Many thanks,

Andrea

Pincher

I expect you just put the Aladin on the first radiator on each floor.

My automatic air vent isn't on the radiators at all. It's an inline version before the flow gets to the radiators. I bleed the radiators every winter, but there is hardly any air.

greenplanetplumbing

I Know this is an old enquiry. The need for air vents on any heating system (Sealed or open vent) is to let the air escape on filling the system. any air ingress into the system after this would indicate a leak or a build up of hydrogen gas caused by the breakdown of the heating system (this gas is explosive so smoking whilst venting could be very dangerous.) Leaks should be found or a leak sealer chemical can be used (small leaks only). To stop hydrogen gas the system needs to be flushed and the correct type and ammount of inhibitor needs to be administered to the heating system. Remember a poorly performing heating system costs you money get your boiler checked annualy and serviced when required. Too many customers call me when the boiler is passed saving and needs to be replaced. Most qualified engineers are happy to service older boilers you dont always need a replacement.