RADIATORS

F.A.Q.

Q.               Why is my bathroom radiator rusty? Is it leaking?

A.                Probably not. Bathroom radiators suffer from external corrosion due to the condensation of the steam of the room hitting a cold metal surface.

Q.        When do I need to bleed the radiators?

A.        Only when they are hot at the bottom and cold at the top.

Q.        How do I do it?

A.        Turn the heating off at the timer.

            Get a cloth and an air release key.

            Put the key in the top end of the radiator.

            Turn anticlockwise ¼ turn.

            (A hissing sound should emit).

            Turn off when water appears.

If you have a combi, re-top up the system with water, or if you have an ordinary system, check the small "header" tank in the loft or high-point

Q.        My radiators are hot at the top and cold at the bottom.

A.        This is due to either poor circulation, or most likely due to sludge at the bottom of the radiator. The radiator will need to be taken off the wall and flushed out.

TIPS.

Some radiators have a release tap at the back of the radiator.  If you cannot find it this sometimes means that you will need a special key to give you clearance against the wall at the back.

If no air or water comes out you will need to top up the system either from the “header” tank or the filling loop if you have a combi.

If the header tank is full then you probably have a blocked pipe from the tank. Test this by trying to drain down the system if you feel competent.

If you always have to release air from the radiators this is due to a bad design fault. You should get an engineer to check the system. As a stopgap you could tie up the ball float valve in the header tank. Clean it right out and then pour an inhibitor such as Fernox MB1 into the tank before releasing the Ball float valve. This will at least mean that the water will not rust out the system, and may even help eliminate air in the system.

FITTING

Q.                 Should radiators be fitted under windows?

A.                  It has become common practice to do this. It is argued that all the heat goes out of the window, but the benefit of warming a cold spot outweighs this. It is often also an area where you cannot put any furniture. Rooms that have radiators not fitted under the window have often been installed to save money as they can be installed with less pipework.

When fitting a radiator it should be the right size for the room. Measure the room, how big the windows are, whether the walls are insulated and which way it faces.

A good supplier will be able to tell you what size you will need.

To fit it to the wall here is the tip.

• Measure the centre of the wall and mark the wall.
   
• Measure and mark the centre of the radiator and mark the position of the brackets on the top of the rad.
   
• Line up the centre of the rad to the centre mark on the wall and transfer the bracket marks onto the wall.
   
• With a plumb line draw a line on each mark down on the wall.

Measure up the bracket for the fixings to the required height.