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Plumbing

Big radiator not heating up unless all others are off

Anonymous user 09/03/2024 - 2.36 PM

After moving into a new flat, we realised that the big radiator (double panel 1.6m) in the living room would only become hot - and only on the top - when all other radiators in the flat were turned off. The landlord sent over engineers who decided that the radiator was filled with sludge and so replaced the radiator. Unfortunately, we're having the same problem with the new radiator. Even with the boiler on maximum it takes several hours to get mildly warm and does not heat up at all at the bottom. When all the other radiators are off (thermostat valves set to 0) the new radiator works well and heats up all over. Another engineer came round and this time adjusted the lockshield valves on all the other radiators so that they were barely open. As a result none of the radiators heated up properly - including the living room one - and the flat was freezing. Is there another solution for this? any advice is much appreciated

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3 Answers

Pilot Light Heating

Rating: 5 out of 5

Leicester

If its not sludge, and its not balancing then your pump is probably on its way out.

Answered4 February 2016

D & R Property and Plumbing Maintenance

Rating: 4.9 out of 5

New Romney

did they check valves for sludge,is this the last rad on circuit it could be bad design /installation ie pipework to small,is there another rad on the wall behind big rad in another room due to poor design if there is it could be its flow or return is cutting off flow or return of big rad if so turn of rad in other room to see if big rad warms up.

Answered4 May 2017

Anonymous user

This could be caused by a few reasons. The pump may be on its way out and not pumping around the system properly. Pipework maybe either blocked or undersized. Radiators may need balancing on the return valves, opening them more the further away you go from the boiler. Or it could be a simple case that the boiler does not have enough capacity to heat the extra size added to the heating system by the big radiator, not enough KW's.

Answered29 January 2021