B
BILLJOHNSON
RADIATOR NEVER FULLY HEATS UP
I have a 10 year old Worcester Bosch 30 HE combi boiler, serviced each year by Worcester Bosch. There are 6 radiators - all modest size - and a bathroom towel rail on the system, in a standard size non-extended 3 bedroom 1930’s semi. My Hall radiator – the last I think on the system – did not fully warm up last spring. The lower half was always cold. During the summer, after the annual service, I had the Hall radiator (600w output) upgraded to a larger one (900w output), with new thermostatic valve by a local plumbing/heating engineer.
The man who did the job emptied and refilled the system, bled all the radiators, but the problem remains. Several times afterwards I tried to bleed all the rads, but all I get out is clear water. The Hall rad gets warmish – never hot - at the top, but never heats up at the bottom. The man who upgraded the radiator said I did not need a power flush as, to quote his words, “the system is perfect”. He reckoned some air was trapped in the pipework under the floor, between the last two radiators and tried “walking” the air through the system. Despite his efforts the problem remains. He reckoned the last two rads are linked (the other is in the living room). When the CH system was installed the engineer used coils of grey rubber/plastic looking pipework under the floor, not copper. Could there be a sag in this non-copper pipework that might be trapping the air, even after draining and refilling the system?
Several times I have switched off all other radiators except the Hall one, and left it for 4 to 5 hours each time, but it still never warmed up properly all the way down, unlike the other rads.
Any other ideas as to what the solution might be?
If air is trapped in the pipework I guess that replacement of the pipework between the living room and hall radiator (6 or 8 feet) would cure the problem?
Apologies for the length of this post, but I wanted to include all relevant facts as far as possible.
I have a 10 year old Worcester Bosch 30 HE combi boiler, serviced each year by Worcester Bosch. There are 6 radiators - all modest size - and a bathroom towel rail on the system, in a standard size non-extended 3 bedroom 1930’s semi. My Hall radiator – the last I think on the system – did not fully warm up last spring. The lower half was always cold. During the summer, after the annual service, I had the Hall radiator (600w output) upgraded to a larger one (900w output), with new thermostatic valve by a local plumbing/heating engineer.
The man who did the job emptied and refilled the system, bled all the radiators, but the problem remains. Several times afterwards I tried to bleed all the rads, but all I get out is clear water. The Hall rad gets warmish – never hot - at the top, but never heats up at the bottom. The man who upgraded the radiator said I did not need a power flush as, to quote his words, “the system is perfect”. He reckoned some air was trapped in the pipework under the floor, between the last two radiators and tried “walking” the air through the system. Despite his efforts the problem remains. He reckoned the last two rads are linked (the other is in the living room). When the CH system was installed the engineer used coils of grey rubber/plastic looking pipework under the floor, not copper. Could there be a sag in this non-copper pipework that might be trapping the air, even after draining and refilling the system?
Several times I have switched off all other radiators except the Hall one, and left it for 4 to 5 hours each time, but it still never warmed up properly all the way down, unlike the other rads.
Any other ideas as to what the solution might be?
If air is trapped in the pipework I guess that replacement of the pipework between the living room and hall radiator (6 or 8 feet) would cure the problem?
Apologies for the length of this post, but I wanted to include all relevant facts as far as possible.
