Radiator heating half way

M

megabyte

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When the heating comes on one of the radiators only seems to heat at the top half while the bottom stays loop warm.Also the two pipes going into the radiator from the floor seems only one is hot while the other is not.
Can anyone explain what is the problem.I have done the air lock thing until the water comes out so it is not that.
 
Firstly check to see if both vavles are open (turn anti-clockwise), but it sounds more like a build up of sludge in the radiator, a classic sign is an arc of coolness at bottom of rad. If its happening on one rad others will follow. don't now your DIY level but its possible to slove yourself if you have time and help.
 
Had a similar problem .... 'bleeding' the rads didn't solve it.

Plumber fixed it .... took the radiator outside and flushed all the 'sludge' oud of it .... works fine now.
 
I've this problem but the house is new (2005), would this still be the same problem??
 
yep. Test it and see, draw some off and look to see if there is any contamination, have a look at the fernox site or sentinal site for more info.
 
Very stupid question but where are the valves on the radiator? Are they the things you unscrew a little bit and water comes pouring out? I bled the really problematic radiator (by taking water out of it continuously for about 90 minutes) and it has actually got worse - even the top of it is not heating now. Not good at DIY so will have to use electric heaters over the hols until I can get plumber.
 

The point of bleeding a radiator is to open the valve and allow any air to escape. Once water comes out, the rad does not need to be bled any more and you should close the valve.

In my limited DIY experience, I think that you have depressurised the system, and you need a plumber, or someone who knows how to repressurize the system to sort it out. Its very simple, but if you dont know what you are doing, best left to the experts.
 


There are two valves on a radiator, input valve and output, they are the two you see in this image. the other valve is a tiny bleed valve on top of radiator for bleeding any air out of the radiator.




agree with above poster, think you have depressurised the system, and best phone a plumber. Good luck.
 
To re-pressurise the system there should be a valve in your hotpress beside your tank. Check the pressure on your bolier firstly this should be low maybe at 0 after you have bled the rad. Then go to where your tank is and Twist the valve handle for about 20 seconds, then go and recheck the pressure gauge on your boiler (ideally this should be between 2-3) the above can be repeated if nessacary.

It sounds like you need to rebalance the rads. Are some much hotter than others? Re balancing is a tricky and time consuming job without temp gauges I'd also try get a plumber who will do this for you.
 
Thank you all very much for the advice - you've just confirmed for me that I need to get an expert craftsman in to sort it out. I was hoping to do it myself at no cost, but sometimes one just has to bring in outside help. Merry Xmas to all of you helpers!
 
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