Bleeding Radiators

[maes]

Just to let everyone know that I increased the pressure & it all worked perfectly, house is now toasty warm! Thank you

 

[Callie]

right, the radiator in me room is being rubbish and it full of air. I bought myself a key and have just bled some air out of it....but there was no water. The sound of air hissing out had stopped and i couldn't hear/feel or smell (!) any more air vacating the rad. I just want to know, do you have to wait until water comes out? presumably if it doesnt that means theres still air in there? help!

 

[maes]

right, the radiator in me room is being rubbish and it full of air. I bought myself a key and have just bled some air out of it....but there was no water. The sound of air hissing out had stopped and i couldn't hear/feel or smell (!) any more air vacating the rad. I just want to know, do you have to wait until water comes out? presumably if it doesnt that means theres still air in there? help!

Same prob as mine... Have you checked the pressure thing on the boiler?

 

[Ms T]

I bled my radiators upstairs yesterday because they weren't hot all the way up. The pressure then dropped on the boiler to the extent that the pilot light went out. Is that normal when you bleed radiators? It was three of them, and there was quite a lot of air in there.

I put some more pressure in the system and relit the boiler and it seems to be working fine, btw.

 

[Callie]

The bleeding did help but the pressure was a bit low (about 0.5 bar). I had a look to try and work out how to get more water in there but it confused me! couldn't see a tap type thing anywhere but there was a little instruction which said something about attaching a pipe might have to ask the landlady if she can get her hubby to have a fiddle with it.

My rooms at the top of the house in the attic so I guess any air is more likely to end up there? and if the pressures low the waters less likely to get up there?

 

[Velouria]

The bleeding did help but the pressure was a bit low (about 0.5 bar). I had a look to try and work out how to get more water in there but it confused me! couldn't see a tap type thing anywhere but there was a little instruction which said something about attaching a pipe might have to ask the landlady if she can get her hubby to have a fiddle with it.

My rooms at the top of the house in the attic so I guess any air is more likely to end up there? and if the pressures low the waters less likely to get up there?

Yup. Brrr

Filling it shouldn't be that hard to figure out. That is, if the hose is there ...

I've been googling and failed so far to find good instructions tho...

Best advice I have found so far (take with a pinch of salt as your boiler will differ ...) is this (under 'Combi boiler problem'). I accept no liability if it goes wrong

If your landlady is fairly good at getting repairs etc done, might be best to wait if you're unsure. I also don't think you should top it up while it's running, btw ...

 

[Supine]

My boiler kept going out for the last couple of weeks. It doesnt have a pressure guage and I've never been into the attic so I'm not sure how to add more water to the system. I can't find where the mains water enters the system.

I pulled a bunch of ivy out of the vent which had grown in over the summer and it seems to be working again!

 

[nogoodboyo]

I bled my radiators upstairs yesterday because they weren't hot all the way up. The pressure then dropped on the boiler to the extent that the pilot light went out. Is that normal when you bleed radiators? It was three of them, and there was quite a lot of air in there.

I put some more pressure in the system and relit the boiler and it seems to be working fine, btw.

Pretty much... it's a closed system, so if you let air out you need to put water in.

 

[maes]

By the way is it dangerous if the pressure is too high?

 

[nadia]

I pulled a bunch of ivy out of the vent which had grown in over the summer and it seems to be working again!


Bloody hell, make sure you keep the vent clear of stuff like that if you don't want to wind up with carbon monoxide poisoning

 

[nino_savatte]

My boiler kept going out for the last couple of weeks. It doesnt have a pressure guage and I've never been into the attic so I'm not sure how to add more water to the system. I can't find where the mains water enters the system.

I pulled a bunch of ivy out of the vent which had grown in over the summer and it seems to be working again!

Many people think ivy looks nice but it can be a real pain in the arse...as you've discovered.

 

[Callie]

By the way is it dangerous if the pressure is too high?

I think it just means water will get pushed out of the overflow pipe?? or your whole street will explode - one of the two

 

[rowan]

Before you do anything have you should bleed each radiator, and that is easy I have just done it.

At the end of each radiator you’ll find a little plug that can be turned by a key this will let the air out.

There will be a header tank somewhere and that will fill your system as the air comes out it will be in the loft and should work off a ball valve automatically

I have to bleed my rads every couple of days to stop it being really noisy. The system is working ok, all rads getting hot, but when heating comes on the pipes in my bedroom make a noise.

Air comes out of all of them when I do it, and I carry on till the water starts to come through then stop.

I've got a combi-boiler (I think, it heats the water as I need it), no water tanks or header tanks. Do I still need to put more water in the system, and is it something I should get an engineer to do?

 

[trashpony]

I've got a combi-boiler (I think, it heats the water as I need it), no water tanks or header tanks. Do I still need to put more water in the system, and is it something I should get an engineer to do?

It should be pretty easy for you to do yourself. There should be a tap type thing on one of the pipes under the boiler and there's a display showing the water pressure. Turn the tap until the needle starts to move and turn it off when it gets to 1-2 bars. You may need to bleed the rads (technical speak ) again after you've done it.

 

[rowan]

Cheers, I'll have a look in daylight

 

[sparkit]

By the way is it dangerous if the pressure is too high?

Only if it's really high (right into the red zone of the gauge). I reckon that all that would happen is that some of the seals in the system will leak. But you can reduce it by doing the bleeding thing again and just letting some water out of the system.