How to Bleed Radiators 'Properly'
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- Опубліковано 21 лис 2024
- Bleeding radiators is important, regular maintenance everyone should know how to do if you have a central heating system. Follow me as I take you through each step of the way.
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Cheers, what I found was for the key is to zip-tie to the pipe at the first radiator!
As someone who already knows how to do this, I can wholeheartedly say this is the perfect video for someone who has never done it before. Short, simple, yet detailed enough to get the points across
I salute you sir!!
Does this apply to a replacement Radiator, or Extra Radiator in the system ? I guess you loosen the Rad Bleeder valve, then open the bottom water tap, to let it flow and fill, while pushing out air YES ?
According to you this vid is for me!
I’m a keen fan of your videos Stuart, but as a heating engineer of many years’ experience, I’ve got to pull you up on a few points on this one:
You’re assuming everyone has a sealed (pressurised) system like yours. That’s not the case, there’s no such thing as a standard system in the UK. The first step is to understand what type of system you have. If you have a combi, or any system with a filling loop, or filling valves, then your advice is generally correct. But if you have a small tank in the loft, or at the high point in the system, then you have a vented system which is not pressurised and has no filling loop/point. There’s a lot of niche system designs about too, which are either pressurised, or unpressurised, but not so easy to identify.
When you do bleed the air out, make sure the system is off and cooled down to avoid scalding. Hot water at 1 bar pressure is no fun when it hits you!
Also, your comment that ‘air’ is what is causing the cold spot at the top of a radiator isn’t always true. Internal system corrosion causes gases which can give the same symptoms. These gases can be flammable too, so some caution is advised.
Unpressurised, vented systems can suffer from “overpumping”, where air is sucked into the system and collects at the top of radiators. My advice would be that if you’re regularly having to bleed radiators, then it requires investigation by an expert.
Lastly, if you have a removable filling loop hose, it shouldn’t be left connected. When you’ve repressurised the system, the valves should be switched off and the hose disconnected and stored where you can find it for next time you need it. I think leaving the hose connected contravenes water bylaws in some areas.
Aye, it’s a fine line between too much info and not enough I suppose. So thanks for your comment.
I’ve a combi boiler in both my home and my static caravan and neither have ever had the filling hose disconnected. Had both replaced over the past couple of years and safety checks by a variety of gas engineers have never commented on this. So that’s a new bit of info to me.
Sad fact is that during a cost of living crisis it’s useful to know this kind of stuff.
Absolute banger of a video! Gone from thinking I needed a plumber out to 'really? that's it, easy and job done!' in the space of an hour. THANK YOU!
I love this channel. All the things my dad did, but never had time to teach me. 💗
Know the feeling, Stuart has become the dad of the internet
This video is great for people with normal radiators. I'd like to add something for people like me who bought fancy pants vertical radiators before knowing anything about bleeding the system. Sometimes the bleed valve is hidden on the back at the top and incredibly awkward to reach...AND a regular radiator key will not fit between the wall and the valve!! Finding a key that does fit is tricky but I ordered an ok one online. You have to bleed it blind, back to front and water spills down the wall no matter what! I would say don't bother but they do look nice!
Super useful. We are useless at diy, and my husband was most grateful I found you. Very well explained. 😅
It now makes sense why I couldn’t get water out the radiator when trying to bleed it. I’ve now found what my issue is. Still need a plumber, but this will save me a few quid as I know exactly what needs doing, found a leak so know why I’m losing pressure, BIG THANKS!!!!
That's a great bit of knowledge 👌 absolutely 💯 👌 brilliant my raidiortors weren't working so I didn't have a clue what to do until I researched it on UA-cam and valor your video showed me exactly what I have to do a big thank you sir.💙🙏🏽
Hi Gary from the UK here I just watched your video about the first quarter of it and know that you know what you're talking about, as I'm an old heating engineer DON'T forget to tell people to get the aluminium vent key and NOT the brass key as the brass key could damage your air vent on your radiator, and all I can say is well done Keep up the good work with the videos
How would a brass key damage the air vent Barry ?
@@johnwhitson5923 hope this explains the question for you, if you are inexperienced you can apply to much pressure on the air vent with a brass key, but using the aluminium key that will usually snap before it damaged the air vent,
AND YOU DIDN'T WANT TO DAMAGE THE AIR VENT
@@garynicholls72 Afraid not as I used the brass and aluminium ones for 30 years as did my colleagues without any problems . ps over tightening of the air vent would certainly create a problem though Gary 👍
@@johnwhitson5923 well I also used brass and aluminium for 60 year's as well and have seen many apprentices snap the radiator vent nipple in the radiator and in the old style radiators it was a bar steward to change the vent but if you snap an aluminium key then you know you may have a problematic vent and be aware of that when venting the radiator so you can take steps to prevent that happening
@@garynicholls72 A vent that’s been over tightened Gary ?
I always seemed to think that bleeding radiators was a huge messy job, but this really helped and I didn’t realise how easy it was! So thanks for that 👍
The filling loop needs to be disconnected after use. After you removed the filling loop attach the caps on either end of the valves. This is so if the valves was to pass then your system will not get over filled and endup blowing off the Pressure relief valve on the boiler. Always get your boiler serviced yearly. Great videos. These help my customers from time to time
My Vaillent Boiler has two taps under the Cabinet. Not so handy.
I knew how to bleed a radiator but not how adjust the pressure but now I do. Thanks for showing me Stuart with a clear, straightforward video. Brilliant!
Looks good. I was told by a gas safe engineer that the filling loop flexi cable should always be disconnected unless you are filling it up. I’ve never bothered disconnecting though.
For those without the modern fancy bleed valves I would suggest placing an absorbent cloth between the top of the rad and the wall as when the valve is loosened the water does not always dripped conveniently down. I have an older installation as many do, which is not pressurised so no need to look for that top up loop. Finally the “air” is more often actually the product of electrolysis between copper pipes and steel rads. Smell it!
Fancy valves huh Iv never seen a rad without one 😂
@@davidcupra4913well then you should see the radiator valves in my house as they are nothing like those fancy valves in this video.
Great video pal, as always! I am a plumber so for once I can add a little value to my comment.
Just ones small thing, after pressurising the system, it is good practice to disconnect the flexible filling loop and blank off the open ends. The caps come supplied with this kind of valve and are usually found hanging off the valves for this reason.
The reason for doing this is (like you say) in case the valves start to pass or are knocked and then over pressurise the system.
Keep up the great work, I made the work bench you showed in of of your videos and it’s great, really solid 👌
I’d add water from the mains first and all the way to the upoer limit of the pressure interval - in this case 1,5 bar. Since the mains is at a higher pressure it will release a tiny amount of air when let down to 1,5 bar. Then wait a couple of days before bleeding the radiators so you won’t have to do it twice.
ONE OF THE BEST DIY VIDEOS IVE EVER WATCHED.
I wish this video existed when we moved into our house! Would have saved me a lot of worries! A little tip Stuart, I hang my key underneath the boiler on a bit of elastic, never loose it! (and got spares but don't really know where they are atm ;) ) very clear and complete explanation! Can't wait for the next vid!
I tried that but couldn't find a long enough piece of elastic to reach all the rads.
@@tttt4029best answer I’ve read in a long time👍🤣
Thank you so much for doing this video this is definitely the best tutorial on how to do do this I have a radiator that's cold at the top and one that's cold at the bottom I never knew that you had to reppressure the system brilliant video thanks Stuart 😊
Very timely reminder of something I had completely forgotten to do for way too long!
I think we were running more on air than water!!
Very useful - Thanks! All our radiators are now heating up properly. 😀
I noticed how clean the water was coming out of your radiator. In my (30 years) experience this is rare - I would just say to people not to worry if their water comes out very dark. I describe that as "dead water" i.e. it has done all its "reacting" and should no longer cause rust inside your radiators. The worst thing to do is keep draining the system and refilling with just fresh water, as this will then start to further rust your radiators. If you use a rust inhibitor then this should also prevent rust, but again it does NOT need doing regularly!
It's not helpful to make crap up like that. "Dead water" that has "done its reacting" is nonsense.
Hi buddy.
My room radiator doesn't work on low numbers (between 1-4). But when I set it on 4 or above, it starts working but it over heats the room. What could be the issue and how can it be solved ?
@@asimalirana7346would suggest it’s an issue with the Termostatic Radiator Valve itself.
Just thinking logically, If hot water comes through and the radiator works, it’s not an issue with the boiler or radiator is it??
@@asimalirana7346I know this was a while ago but did you resolve it? Look up "balancing your radiators". You need to adjust the lockshield valve (usually the outlrt) and the TRVs (usually the inlet) on your rads to allow them all to heat up evenly. Otherwise the radiators furthest away from the boiler will take a long time to heat up (or you open the TRV fully to get more flow and heat like in your case) and the ones closest to the boiler heat up too quickly. This can be annoying as your first radiator in the loop (can usually tell its the first as it will be the only rad that has no TRV) is normally in your hallway with your thermostat which will click on and off at temperature when the rest of the rooms in the house are all varying degrees below this.
Usually you have the lockshield (outlet) fully open on the furthest away rad and then gradually more closed as you go towards the boiler. Loads of videos on it.
Worth saying that radiator keys are available at DIY outlets and your favourite online retailer. Can never have enough.
7:04 Oi, no need for cussing, Stuart! 😂
Love these Basics videos, although some of your info doesn't apply to my house in The Netherlands (like different electrical stuff, and the heating in our house is 'distrct heating' - the heat comes from a nearby powerplant). But nevertheless useful and entertaining stuff!
Great video. Did no know fully about the pressure that needed to be in the system. Once I sorted that all was perfect again
Some boilers don't have an easily readable guage like the one shown in the video. Mine has a digital display for which I have to press a combination of buttons to see the current pressure reading. I only found this out by downloading my boiler's instruction manual from the interweb. So it's still possible to do the re-pressurisation but with an extra step.
Thanks for this, really helped to de-mystify the process (which sounds a bit scary/messy when you don't know anything about it). I live in a 3 story town house and found that only the radiators on the top floor had accumulated air (all the others started bleeding water immediately - boiler is on the ground floor). However after all the air had escaped, no water was forthcoming and everything just went silent. My water pressure is currently sitting just a smidgen over 1 bar. I'm wondering if I need to have slightly higher water pressure than the average home to get the water 30 feet up to the top floor?
Good video for the novice & something we should all do from time to time to keep the heating system at peak efficiency. I have been doing exactly this on my gravity fed system this week after I drained it down to have a new stainless steel HW cylinder fitted & new Tado smart valves on nearly all the radiators. I really struggled for a day or so to get all the air out of the system which somehow "air locked" itself which prevented the boiler from firing - no flow. Managed to clear the air lock by backfilling water into the downstairs rads & then bleeding everything again & again & again until the boiler would fire & stay running. I added inhibitor & three days later I can still hear the odd bit of air gurgling in some rads. I'll leave it week are so & bleed the rads again.
Oh don't this is exactly what seems to happen to me every flipping time😅nightmare
TY you for making me understand why to bleed them! And how
I think it is really smart to fisrt bleed and than check the pressure, saves a lot of time @Eneco
Thanks for uploading. This is a great instructional video, with clear and easy to follow guidance. Much appreciated.
What brilliant timing. Have air in one of my radiators not done this job before. Thank you for making this video will help me to do the job. When I've asked about should I do it with heating on or off got a yes to both😳 very confusing but now I know plus adjusting the pressure a bonus. Probably looks an easy job if your in the know. Thanks
On your earlier energy tips video you didn't mention refilling and I thought given it was aimed more at beginners that was a pretty important thing to miss - if you don't know that you should bleed them and you can't figure out how to do it you're almost certainly not going to know about how to refill the loop or probably even that you need to until your boiler isn't working and you have to call a plumber who will immediately be able to spot the problem then bill you a call-out fee. Therefore this is a nice erata to that :)
I have to agree, really awsome video. Very well explained. I was wondering about the pressure...but you got to it! Thank you.
Any particular reason you say make sure the system is off? I have always done with it on and not had any problems. Also, our Worcester Bosch boiler has on the underside a brass fittting with a blue plastic lever through the middle. All you need to do to add pressure is pull the lever down slightly and let go when up to pressure. One time it hadn't been done for a while and was very tight, I was afraid the plastic was going to snap, but it released with some persuasion, so I would recommend pulling this lever down just for a second maybe every 6 months just to make sure it doesn't seize up.
Nice one mate useful for new homeowners 👍🏻 hope your keeping well
Thanks for this. I have never done this before, but it wad easy.
Thank you! That was clearly explained.. I was going to drain mine when it was on and hot.🤔
Really enjoying your channel.
What about balancing radiators ?
Air travels upwards in water so the highest radiator on the loop will catch all the air. Theoretically this is the only rad that needs venting, always worth checking the others though.
Another top tip is you can hear it too … like a clock ticking also flat head screw driver … and I towel to protect wall ect
Radiator key
1: magnet to the side of the boiler
2: hang on the key rack
Very helpful thanks! Answered all of the questions I had 👍🏻
Can someone define what "heating system turned off" means? Like I have a valve that stops the water I think from entering the radiator. But the main boiler I dont control in my apartment complex. Does the boiler need to be off, or can you use the valve to switch it off instead?
Oppps 02:21, I think you meant to say "I don't think there is a lot of air in here" 🤭
Put the radiator key on a hook next to the boiler. It's where you should end the procedure anyway, when adjusting the pressure. That way, you don't forget to check the pressure after letting the air out the radiators.
Then put stickers in EVERY key bowl and drawer to remind you that you had that great idea, when you search for the key AGAIN in one year...
The best place to keep the rad. key is on top of the boiler, or if this is too high up on the wall, bend a piece of wire into an S hook and hang it on a pipe under the boiler.
Good advert for B&Q jugs!!!
Hi, Thank you for your very kind and easy video nicely explaining how to bleed radiators, I got Elektra Compact 12 C electric combi boiler from electric combi boilers company can you please make a video how to relase air trapped inside boiler, because my boiler makes sound when in use as if air trapped in it,also after few seconds of hot water it gives cold water and then gives hot water after a few seconds wait.please reply .Much appreciated.
Thank god i found this video. The air has come out but no water, is this normal? 😢
Did you ever manage to board your loft? Would be good to see a video on how to do it...
Groovy intro music...
Anyway thanks a lot for that, could not be explained better.
I don't want to add to the pressure Stuart, but how do you follow that, it was a bleedin' good video ! 😜
Very useful and clearly demonstrated information, much appreciated Thankyou🙂
My boiler is in the loft with some pipe work in the cupboard in the bedroom. Interesting watch.
It's worth mentioning that if we have to do this on a regular basis there's probably a leak in the system. Repeated bleeding and refilling will also dilute the corrosion inhibitor so it's a bad idea to tolerate an underground leak long-term.
Best how to bleed radiator video I’ve watched. Clear, concise and also including relevant further/important information. Not many folks include info about the possible pressure drop after doing this, and how to fix it. Many thanks.
Spot on advice
What a great informative video. Just what I needed ❤
Dont forget to start on the ground floor with the radiator furthest away from the boiler
Thanks
Very good way of explanation.
Finding the key is the key problem... It is used once a year for max 30min. A good practice is to put it on a small string and hang it on the drain valve of central heating unit/pump, this way it is always there when you need it.
In my My new build property (2019) my radiator in hall upstairs I can hear water going through it all the time.
The radiator all works fine and central heating is all working,I’ve not tried to bleed the rad just in case it all stop working knowing my luck,
Any thoughts what it might be.
Another great and very informative vid mate.
Thank you sir for your clear and concise video
This was just what I needed
Thank you so much. I found your video really helped me.
Thank you. Did for the first time.
thank you for your demonstration, it's very helpful for me ！
That boiler is very old, like mine 20 years ago. My previous one had 2 keys under the actual boiler to turn, and my new one is just one lever.
A modern boiler might not have an external filling loop!
Some have an cold feed and a tap arrangement integral with the boiler.
I used to loose my rad keys too ..... until I got wise and tied a string loop to it and hang it from the boiler ;o)
It helps to have the bleed valve at the end of the radiator that is highest!
Radiators should not be perfectly level.
When you have finished bleeding, leave the radiator key on a piece of wire, string off one of the boiler pipes, so you can find it next time!
Perfect instructional video. Thank you for clear concise instructions!
What a coincidence. Just about to drain and refill my system, and this shows up in my feed 🤣
If you have open fire back boiler and oil central heating system. I assume you dont need to pressurize the cylinder tank / boiler after bleeding? I came here to find valve for those bloody towel racks lol
Before bleeding and with the boiler switched off I always fully open the TRV and lockshields on all the rads upstairs and downstairs and leave thewater in the system to settle for 24 hours, then I start bleeding the ground floor radiator furthest from the boiler first, release all the air and work my way to the rad closest to the boiler. I then repeat the bleed procedure upstairs starting at the rad furthest away. Then re-pressurise the combi to up 1.5 bar to fill the system back up with the TRV's and lockshields still fully open. Then I'll close all the lockshields on all the rads keeping the TRV's fully open, and start to open each lockshield on the ground floor a quarter turn starting with the rad closest to the boiler up to a full turn for the rad furthest away. Then I'll go upstairs and start to open the lockshield on all the rads a quarter to half turn for all the rads upstairs depending on their distance to the boiler. Then I'd will take off the TRV's on all the rads, get a pair of pliers or a small adjustable and gently wiggle the pin up and down to make sure they are all working before replacing the TRV housing. Then I would fire up the boiler to run for a couple of hours, check which rads are not belting out the heat as much as others, and slightly nip up or open the lockshield on each as required. Then switch off the system and boiler and once cold I would re-bleed the rads again starting at the bottom one furthest away in case of additional air locks and re-pressurise the boiler back to 1.5 bar as required. I would also use the magnaclean or towel rad as a dosing point for a bottle of Fernox inhibitor at this point as the system would be full of additional water. I always like to re-balance the system when properly bleeding rads and check TRV pins are functioning properly.
Well explained,thank you.
Where did you find your radiator key? Wonder if mine's there too. OK I'll get one of Amazon.
You have to check that your vessel inside the boiler is charged properly as this can affect the system pressure
Very well explained. Thanks a lot!
Thank you for your nice teaching 😅🥰🙏😊
Thank you so much for sharing this video ❤❤
Thanks a lot. Brilliant content.
You have missed a very important point, as you start bleeding the radiators you will get to the point where there isn’t enough water pressure to bleed the last few radiators so you have to go to the fill loop and pressurise it enough to push the air out especially if you have a lot of radiators I think you should’ve mentioned this Otherwise air will come out so slowly you’ll be there for hours!
Great tip, thank you.
Think the important thing to remember is, when you are bleeding your radiators is to stop when no more air and water starts to drip. The more water you allow out, the lower your pressure gauge will show, meaning your pressure needs topped up even more with water. 😊
@@caroline9777will the water top itself up once I let the air out?
Thanks. It worked 👍👍
Many thanks!
I live in a building & every year, heat comes up EXCEPT in my bedroom & living room, which are side by side. I have to bleed in the bedroom because there is no valve on the l/r radiator. I get freezing cold water & then hot. But it can take hours before the heat comes up. I live on the 3rd floor & it is a very antiquated system. It is soooo frustrating
I don't have the radiators that have the bleed nipple on the end. Mine is at the back under the lip of the window sill and is very hard to open. I do have air in the radiators but as I don't know which way to open it, I am a but hesitant to do it. I keep forgetting to tell the landlord when the yearly boiler inspection is due.
Bleed nipples should open when turned anti clockwise, and close when tightening clockwise. If it's situated at the back if you can fit a bleed key behind, then from the front the directions should be reversed - so it will look like you are turning to the right to open it and left to close it.
nice one but not everyone has a combi - how to do this on a boiler that is service only would be helpful as ours has no pressure gauge. Or is it likely to pressurise itself in that case?
Yeah, our water is electric and the boiler does the rads. Both my parents died in the last two years and left me alone in the family home with no clue how to adult 😂 think I'm going to have to call for backup
So if you bleed the radiator and water comes out first time, so there's no air but you'll still not getting heat from that radiator what do you do next?
Great stuff.... Again.
Does the pressure rise as the water heats!?
My boiler is off as I type and below 1 bar.
When the heating is on it goes up to nearly 2bar.
Therfore I assume I need to increase pressure? As you have demonstrated
As stated in the video, below 1 bar when system is cold is too low, so you need to top it up.
Yes it does go up when it's on- completely normal - but should be over 1bar when cold.
Yes, pressure will rise a bit as the water heats, but if you have high variation (as it seems to me from less than 1 to nearly 2 bars) you should check the expansion vessel: it could be totally deflated (...but I don't know your system, it could be normal!).
Before checking, the circuit should be at 0 bars, so you can measure the pressure of the vessel, not that of the circuit.
It's an "advanced" diy operation!
Thank you !
Blessings! Thank you
Great vid, thank you
Is there any particular cost or benefit to pressurising the central heating closer to 1 bar or 1.5 bar, or is it just all uniformly good in that region?
Fantastic video
Can you give me some advice e please, my living room radiator isn't heating up as well as all the rest, we flushed out the system, took the radiator off and run a hose through it, bled the radiators and it's still the same. If we switch off all the other radiators it gets hot and works. I've tried to balance the radiators and it made it worse. I'm not 100% sure if I got the right sequence. Our condenser boiler is down stairs in the kitchen and the pump and cylinder tank is in the upstairs bathroom. All advice will be greatly appreciated. Tia
Can you explain how to balance the system.
A very good vid, thank you.
Just because of this video ky landlord put the responsibility on me to takecare if heating that is insane 😂
What if you don't have a pressure gauge?
My pree/gauge is not on my boiler. It is up stairs at my water tank.
What room or floor do you start bleeding radiators..??
Very helpful indeed