radiator not getting hot water....but I've tried just about everything..help....

Discussion in 'Plumbers' Talk' started by every day is a school day, Nov 20, 2021.

  1. Fair enough, this radiator was on the hall way in the middle story of a three story house with bedrooms etc all around it. All the radiators around it worked fine. The pump was spinning and seemingly working but ended up being replaced as options were running out and it all worked.

    Has the radiator worked at all since the pipework was all replaced?
     
  2. I know this because I had to help him lol.
    pipes were attached to the radiator pipework on the flow side and return side. He put the pipe in a bucket and opened the TRV so water flowed from the main pipe so he knew he had no blockage on the flow. He did the same on the other side and water came out from the return side so he knew that the pipe loop coming through the floors and from the main pipes were not blocked.
    He said he put the non return valve on the return side so as to stop the flows cancelling each other out and sticking in the radiator (so no flow).
     
  3. yes
     
  4. exbg

    exbg Screwfix Select

    You are saying that it has not worked since the replacement work ?

    How can ANYONE rule out a blocked pipe, in the absence of finding the actual fault?
     
  5. Mike83

    Mike83 Screwfix Select

    If there’s nonblocke
    You ideally want to run the water from each valve for 30 seconds or so whilst keeping the pressure topped up. Simply opening the valve for a few seconds won’t tell you much as pressure could build up after the blockage.
     
    exbg likes this.
  6. The pipe size or whether they left the old pipe in is not the issue here as the flow through whatever pipe size is there has been proven.
    They have proven no blockage.
    There might still be a question of flow and what the flow should be but as yet, I can't find anyone who can give a definitive answer on 1.How to measure the flow i.e. specialist equipment needed and 2. what the flow rate should be
    Unless you know the answers to these questions by chance?
     
  7. I spent the best part of a day doing this with the better plumber. I would be making sure the pressure did not drop too far at the combi while he ran water through the pipes for minutes at a time. We had to use walkie talkies to communicate lol
     
  8. Teki

    Teki Screwfix Select

    Just to clarify, you have only tested one new set of valves after replacing the old ones? Has another standard valve been tested in place of the TRV?
     
    exbg likes this.
  9. Wayners

    Wayners Screwfix Select

    If you feel along the pipe where it goes cold is the area of the problem.

    This can be an issue if pipes are under floor however, if the blocked pipe is on the return that's also going to be difficult to locate as never going to get warm but you will know that's the problem.

    What are the chances a pipe has been crushed close under floor board or have a kink? Is it copper? Vs plastic
     
  10. exbg

    exbg Screwfix Select


    To be honest, I think you are the victim of incompetent "plumbers". When we refer to a "blockage" we often mean "restriction". They have not proved that there is a restriction, only that there is nit a complete blockage.

    If a radiator fails to heat (and especially if that rad has been replaced by a straight piece of pipe and there is still not flow through that circuit, then, fundamentally, the problem is :
    1. Restriction in the circuit
    2. Airlock
    3. Lack of motive force (faulty pump)

    There are no other causes!

    The pump is unlikely to be the problem, as other rads are happy, unless the circuit is especially long - which is unlikely.

    That leaves a restriction or air. We cannot see inside pipes, so experience is our biggest guide, which also includes knowing that close questioning of a the user can help massively (assuming the correct questions are asked, and the user answers correctly). If the problem has been there since the renovation, then that is the obvious point at which to consider the options. A simple thing like a nail through a pipe, or a severe kink or flattening in the pipework can cause your issue, and perfectly illustrates my point about them only having proved there is a blockage, as against a restriction.
     
  11. so there were the valves that were on (set 1) they were replaced as a precaution (I was told) and then when the new radiator was purchased, it came with a free set of valves. So the answer is it had 3 sets of valves.
     
  12. exbg

    exbg Screwfix Select

    Sorry, Wayne, but that is not necessarily true. If, for example, a TRV is jammed, there is likely to be cold pipes all the way back to the junction of that rad circuit. Which is probably what you were driving at with the comment about the return?
     
    Teki, dcox and Deleted member 246321 like this.
  13. Teki

    Teki Screwfix Select

    As @exbg has outlined above, that would be the standard line of enquiry. Any competent plumber should be be able to find the cause.

    Just be clear when you hire the next plumber what they are expected to resolve and what has been tried already.

    If you don't have any other recommendations of good plumbers, try the CIPHE: https://www.ciphe.org.uk/
     
  14. Wayners

    Wayners Screwfix Select

    Yeah. How many plumbers has looked at that and can't find a stuck TRV. Must be a more to it. Give that a tap tap and be working
     
  15. What is defined as especially long?
    This idea of "restriction" can be quantified then. So if the radiator requires X litres per whatever, this can be a simple measure right?. So If the value is opened for 30 seconds, collected water measured, you get the answer. Really simple approach.
    The question is then "what is that value/volume going to be"?
     
  16. Teki

    Teki Screwfix Select

    Difficult to tell without knowing the length of pipework.

    You did mention in an earlier post that there are other radiators much further away that do heat up?
     
  17. dcox

    dcox Screwfix Select

    Can't see anywhere in the thread that all the working rads have been temporarily turned off (with their TRVs) so just the problem rad is open. Has this been tried?
     
  18. I did call a number of plumbers who all said that I needed to use gas safe people who were heating engineers as plumbers could not do the work. It would be most odd I would suggest that of the gas safe registered heating engineers I have engaged, they all turned out to be incompetent.. Would you not agree?
     
  19. It was suggested that I do this myself on a regular basis just in case it works. I've been doing this every day for the last 2 weeks.
     
  20. dcox

    dcox Screwfix Select

    To the OP: You say all the pipework was changed a year ago but that after that the radiator did initially work. Is that correct and did it work well? When did it stop working?
     
    exbg likes this.

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