How to flush out a radiator. Improve heat and performance from your radiators
Вставка
- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- If the lower half of your central heating radiator is cold, then it needs flushing out.This will make your heating more efficient and save money on your heating bills. You are using the energy so heat the rad!! Al shows you how to do it.
For parts Visit Al`s Amazon plumbing shop www.amazon.co.u...
Got your own plumbing or heating problem? Ask Al at: www.dereton33.com
Not the video you were looking for? Save further searching. We have over 150 plumbing/heating videos that you really can do yourself! There is also an ask `AL tab` tab on our website. www.dereton33.c...
Brilliant, after 2 years of cold rads, we finally flushed one rads. I've never seen so much black dirty water & sludge. Looked like I'd changed oil on my car. I'm so glad i found your video, or I'd never of thought to do it. My rad works a treat, i wanted to hug it. Thank you
Ha ha great.
Thanks for this tutorial, in the past I wouldn’t have tried this but today I cleaned out 2 radiators and they both heat up a treat again - saving me a fair few quid. Good on ya👍
No problem Stuart.
I guess I'm quite off topic but do anyone know a good place to stream new movies online?
@Johnny Ricardo i watch on Flixzone. You can find it on google =)
@Brayden Aidan Yea, have been using FlixZone for since april myself :D
@Brayden Aidan Thank you, I went there and it seems to work :D I really appreciate it !
thank you my man. i am disabled and dont have much money you just saved me £600 - god bless you Sir
No problem.
@Gareth Wigglesworth ouch !! Lol
@Buggs Bunny so fuuny how people judge isn't it??? have you heard of family/housemates/my son ??? - I NEVER ONCE SAID I DID IT PERSONALLY. - you do realise some people have disabilities such as fibromyalgia where they can be 100% one munute and in pain the next??? Here I am changing my tyre on my scooter strange I should have a scooter if I am 100% healthy isn't it??? - ua-cam.com/video/1nW_pebXXLQ/v-deo.html
@Buggs Bunny thanks for your concern. It's going to be a big tough job. Honestly I worry I can't do it alone. Would you help buggs?
@@dereton33 hello mate wandering could u help I have 2 rads in my attic conversion that is my main bedroom and the 2 rads there are only heating up on bottom
Now I'm fairly handy myself being a tradesman so I've done everything like took off rads flushed them out and bled them but still same there isn't even water coming from them when I bleed them do u think I should get a plumber in
I also turned off every rad except these 2 but still same thanks in advance
Great video. The only added advice I'd give is to protect your carpets, Put down plastic carpet protector sheets and cover with dust sheets/old towels. The black sludge is like PRINTERS INK and will STAIN YOUR CARPET! You did not mention closing the air cock once the radiator is empty. I recommend also flipping the rad before carrying it through the house.
Thanks Rob.
Your videos are really helping me , single mum doing as you say thankyou ! I’ve my whole house to de sludge and balance
You got this! Well done Clair.
Have done a few jobs using your video instruction. Great instruction videos that cover the main points you need to know. I never take on too much but have done some small tasks with your help. Saved a few bob as well,Thanks
That`s great.
Do we have to turn Off the central heating?
Yet another brill video! In my case I always take radiators off when I decorate, flush 'em through. etc. Makes everything work better. My system is 40 + years old now an still works fine. (Better than me!) For my TRVs (Drayton) they come with a maintenance cap which shuts off the valve fully and gives a bit more room for grips / spanners etc. When un-doing the unions, I always start at the end with the bleed valve - 'cos (I find) when you slacken off the nut water pisses in every direction except where you want it! So closing the bleed valve ceases the flow. Good point about holding the valve against rotation. My son did a radiator removal without doing this - split the pipe an flooded the house. Should have spoken to the old man first?! I always add a little inhibitor to the header tank as well at this time. BTW I noticed the use of regulation footwear (slippers) also common in this household! Ha Ha Ha!!
Ha ha well spotted Colin, a must have item.
You're a star! Ive just followed your instructions, fixing a 22 year old radiator that was so filled with oily sludge, it barely heated up. Maybe 20 percent heat was being kicked out, or less. 🤝👍👍👍
Great job!
I like your Presentation style.
Thank you.
Used this method today for the first time. Never done it before. Easy and no issues... Thanks Al :)
No problem Rob.
just balanced my rads with your advice and only one rad is troublesome. will flush out with confidence after watching this. many thanks.
Great to hear!
I really appreciate you and fellow people who actually share their knowledge.. as most of the trade people do not like teaching people..
No problem.
Absolutely brilliant video. Saved me a lot of money to get a plumber in. Big thank you.
You're welcome!
Might want to use a cloth or it’ll go up the wall! 😂
Thanks for the step by step - really helped me
You're welcome! (Got Jan to clean the wall off)
Excellent video- very informative full of hints and tips….I’m ready to do all my rads
Glad it was helpful!
Another thing you can do is shake the radiator tipping it backwards and forwards this will help move the sludge and using a soft mallet also helps
Thanks for the info Conor.
dereton33 no worries al keep up the good work mate
Thank you so much for this video. Done so well too.
I love the attention to detail you employ by using a cloth to protect the fittings.
Class in your trade that so many don't have any more
Thank you!
My favourite plumber witha smile and makes me smile
thanks BN
Done by a proper tradesman. - You're the best!! Many thanks.
Thank you.
Great video - Thanks I'll be doing this to one of my double radiators where the front panel is blocked with sludge I reckon
Good luck with it.
Thanks I flushed the radiador out upside down in the garden with both bleed nipples open. There was no sludge in it but no water came from the bleed nipple on the front panel so I removed and found it blocked. Cleared it out with a paper clip. Refitted the radiator and bled both panels and now they are both hot. Thanks very much
No problem.
yes thats greeeeaaaat thats what I have done to every rad in my bungalow,but now I have got to find a way to get Fernox into the system.thanks so much
I have videos on how to do that Jack.
dereton33 Yes I found it and got precious info thanx thanx thanx.My rads when being flushed in garden were very brown/black is there any cleaning material/additive that can help me clean better when being flushed in the garden.Will a bit if washing up liquid help?
Very simple and informative. Not over complicated. Great vid! 👍
No problem Derby.
what i liked about your video is that you were giving some great tips all the way along, and you were honest in sharing your knowledge. So a great big thankyou. God bless you.
Thanks for your kind comments.
Cheers mate you're a legend. Where can I find a man like you these days ?
All these youngans don't have a clue XXXxxxxx XXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx XXXxxxxx
Ha ha no problem
Radiator flushed and hot all over, thank you Al. I even wore my slippers for the indoor bit!
Wear mine to the pub.
Hi and thank you for that easy to follow set of instructions that I followed and managed to get done. Thanks
No problem
Thanks for this advice. I was trying to keep costs down on my home before selling, this helped me save good amount of cash. 👍
Glad it helped!
Really well explained in laymans terms. very helpful
Glad it was helpful!
Excellent instructional video, like all of your others. As someone who knows about electronics, though, I'd like to offer an observation: directly above a radiator is not a very healthy place to site TV monitors: all that convected heat is going to shorten the life of the circuitry! 😉
They have long gone now. Blew up.
Fantastic how-to guide. Thank you very much! I followed your excellent video to the letter and the rad seems to be Ok now.
You're welcome!
2:50 - top tip! Thanks for sharing!
No problem.
Very simply explained. Thanks.
You are welcome!
Very helpful tips and advice
I have to say you are very helpful and thanks for sharing
Thank you 😊
No problem.
Excellent! Just notices your tv screen is too close to your rad, isn't it? Great video. Thumbs up and liked!
Thanks we have moved the TV now
Great video that explains clearly and simply. Have learnt to do some odd jobs with the help of your videos. Thanks for posting👍🏻
No problem Kaz.
Good tradesman . Always happy to help with good advice . Many thanks . Made my day .
No problem Steve.
A propper diy project !!! always go up the garden in your Slippers
Definitely.
Great video and clear tutorial, Thanks. Will try to give this a go and hope it sorts out the bottom half of my problem radiator
Good luck with it.
in Denmark we hawe the supply heat in the top of the radiator, it works better.
I believe they are meant to feed high & return low, or opposite. When its feed and returned straight across the bottom it doesn't mix up through the top..
The also drive on the left side they are just doing it their way - here in holland we also do hot water at the top -
Here in The Netherlands the warm water goes into the top of radiator too
same in France
When i fitted a system in my house an engineer explained that balancing to me, I live in Poland now and nobody has ever heard about this, do a lot British People know about it ? i havn't anyone else mention it, they just open them all fully. I invented a screw to remove radiators with the water in, I've noticed someone else has now and it's for sale in the uk, i screwfix i think, i was amazed when i seen it, i hope i never told someone about it who told someone else lol, bit late now. Nice video
I doesn't matter to much in a single smaller home since there's not so much waterflow for the pump to circulate and the energygains are so small. Once the house is warm and thermostats start working it will pretty much take care of the "balancing" on it's own. It does however matter in larger systems in residential buildings where the imbalances becomes more noticable.
you could have been a millionaire if you manufactured your invention... you polish guys are clever and have beautiful women
Luckily I've just seen this! I was just about to attack my radiator with a hammer in the hope of dislodging the sludge lol!
Good, put the hammer away.
I was thinking to use drill hammer 😂
very professional, easy to follow.
Great video Al, keep it up! Love your positive attitude!
David Henderson Cheers Dave.
Love your videos, mate. Always very clear with loads of top tips and very enjoyable!
Thanks 👍
This is brilliant thank you so much. Will deff be trying this this weekend 😄
No problem Jenny.
Thanks Al
No problem.
Tip for applying the hose to the radiator, 15mm into the hose pipe and a put a nut and olive on and then you can connect to rad with a valve or coupling 👍🏻
Thanks for the tip Ben.
Thank you you have put our minds at rest.
Glad to help
Nice one. Thanks.
No problem.
Very clear, helpful instructions, thank you!
You are welcome!
If it’s a closed pressurised system, may need to top up at the filling loop to bring the pressure back to 1 bar.
Correct.
That's a half turn 😋 thanks for the video.
Yes it was!
Awesome video... thank you. I have an 15yr old boiler system - how do I replace the lost water that was drained off? or does it not matter? thanks
If you have an F and E system it will fill automatically from the tank.
Thank you, lovely clear instructions. Do I need to add inhibitor if I do all the radiators like this? Where do I add inhibitor in to the system?
Yes you do. If it is a combi system add it through the radiator, or filling loop. If you have an F and E system add it into the small tank in the attic.
You're the best!! Very well explained, anyone can understand that. Thank you.
You're very welcome!
Great video from a proper gent.
Thank you kindly
This was brilliant, thank you very much! I'm a single girl and I think I dare to do it myself after watching your video. Only problem - i have no outside to flush it. How about flushing it in the shower - would that work?
Yes that`s OK
I have just done this, thank you for the tips👍
But now my boiler pressure has dropped below one bar🤦🏻♂️
Just top it back to 1.4 bar.
Great video and very good explanation , I have one question , what if the whole rad is cold would that work or is it only for a rad hot at the top and cold at the bottom ?
It should
You nearly got your slippers wet there! :D
It`s ok I had a spare handy.
hi, so the end with the thermostatic valve is where the hot boiler water enters? the other end where you turned 8 1/2 turns is where the water exits. is this correct? so to fill the radiator after everything are tightened, you just open the thermostatic valve to #5 again. am i on the right track? thank you.
That`s it Mark.
Very clear instructions.
. nicely done..
Glad it was helpful!
Here's a tip, when the radiator's drained down have a couple of shaved down corks from wine bottles to bung into the open ends of the rad before carrying away.Sometimes, there's a little black liquid residue which you don't want to get on any white carpets on the way down the stairs. It stains FOR EVER ! .......believe me.
It does that all right. Good tip.
Thanx for the quick reply Al keep up the good work cheers ste
Steven Parvin Thanks Steve. Al.
I did this to all 8 radiators and now they work sounds a wee bit quieter as well is this normal? Great video
Yes it sure is.
Two things Al; Don't wear slippers mate, you could drop the Rad on your toes FFS!! Also, with the full rad still on the wall, use cap end plugs on the rad tails. You can then left the full rad(if not too heavy) of dirty water straight out the door & no need to drain out dirty water in your gaff. Oh 40 plus years in the game mate, man & boy. HTH👌
+Fibre Washer Shame my slippers are so comfy. Ha ha.
This is in the mans own home I'm sure you don't always follow the H&S regs a 100% of the time, super easy to hand out criticism but I don't see you posting videos
Great video, thanks for sharing your wisdom
Glad you enjoyed it!
thanks for your help, brilliant
No problem Matt.
Another great video! Would you recommend putting some Boss White around the radiator tail to prevent any leaks when reconnecting?
Yes good idea.
Do you need to apply PTFE tape to each connection when re-connecting the radiator? Thanks.
No although I like to use boss white.
Why are there left and right thread nuts on either side of the radiator? Great video
They just are.
Great instruction as usual Al. When the rad is reconnected does the pressure not drop significantly? Will my combi boiler need refilled with the small tap underneath?
Yes you will need to top up the pressure afterwards. (With the small taps underneath.
Thanks Dereton
Great stuff mate, I'll give it a go !
No problem.
Is this the same procedure for a closed pressurised system? Do you need to top up the boiler after?
It is the same and yes you will need to top up the boiler pressure after.
This is great. Thanks.
What a brilliantly presented video also.
Thank you.
Just want to say . Great video and keep up the good work 👍
Thank you will do.
Just bought a property with system boiler and all the rads have a drain valve attached. Would i be able to drain each rad in situ into a large bucket until i get clear flowing water.
Yes you can!
Brilliant video
No problem Oliver
Great video thank you. Does it make any difference if the rad concerned doesn’t have a TRV and just the traditional on / off valve? Assume not so long as it’s off/closed?
Not at all
If you do your pipework correct with 1 or 2 drops and 22mm flow n returns then you dont need to balance
In a perfect world that would be the case, in the real world that is hardly the case.
perfect explanation helped a lot thanks
You're welcome!
Hi Al great video thank you 1 question.... If you take a rad off does it affect the pressure in your system?
Andrew Frances If you have a combi boiler then yes but if it is a open vented system then no.
Why didn't water from the rest of the CH system come flooding out of the pipes when you took the radiator off?
Because it was isolated by the radiator valves.
Its better if you take the bungs out of all the holes and wash them all out pressure washer is good
Very detailed tutorial!
Glad it was helpful!
Hi thanks for your very good video do the olives at each valve need replacing ? Cheers Eddie
No need.
@@dereton33 Thanks for such a swift reply ! You certainly don't hang about ! Could I also ask you how do you refill the radiator without causing an airlock , do you keep the bleed valve open ? Cheers Eddie
The qulity of houses in UK is outreagous, mould and dirt everywhere.
The great British build quality.
Hi, If I connect a hose to mains pressure flush my rads is turning off just the trv and not the lock shield on all but 1 enough to isolate the rads to concentrate on the one?
You will need to turn off both the TRV and the lockshield valve to isolate the radiator Drain the water out of the radiator and take it out side then flush it out with a hose pipe.
Top man Dereton!
No problem.
i have this job to day friday its full of sludge not looking foward to it
Good luck
Your videos are really great sir top man
Thanks Mohammed.
Good clear instructional how to 👍 I had an idea on how to do this but watching your vid has confirmed it thanks , one question , I know you didn't in your video but is it recommended to use thread tape when connecting it back up ? I have feeling its not nesseccary but just curious and do you have any idea on a percentage level as to how much this can save on heating bills .
If you want belt and braces then use PTFE tape. Can save around 20% on heating bills.
@dereton33 PTFE , yes that's what I meant, I've always called it thread tape lol I might use some when I get round to doing it and 20% isn't bad especially at the minute, thank you for replying 👍
Hi Dereton. I've taken your advice and applied to help me reheat 4 radiators that were cold. It worked initially but when slightly turning on the closest rads they are now starving the system again! I've barely turned them on but they are very hot and starving teh one further away. How do I balance a system like that?
Just keep those ones that are robbing the heat down to almost nothing.
@@dereton33 I had removed all my thermostatic valves as the pins were getting stuck. I'll try putting them back on aswell. Does WD40 help with sticky pins?
No, not a bit, if it keeps happening only new high quality valves like Drayton will cure the problem.
Hiya, shall we switch off the combi boiler first before fixing ? thanks
Best bet. Although if the valve are off both ends of the radiator you can leave it on.
great video and very informative with all the tips, you mention in another answer down below that the pressure in a combi boiler will change does that just mean to let in a bit more to the system? also how much if any of the inhibitors is needed for one radiator flushed out as in video mine is the same size as yours, cheers again for the video very helpful and well explained
I would not bother adding any inhibitor with a small rad. You will still need to re pressurise the system though.
thats great, thanks for the reply and very quickly too i may add. cheers again
If the radiator is cold on the bottom make sure both valves are open before doing anything else.
Good advice.
Nice video. Can you tell me if it is better to power flush or clean individual radiators by taking them out after fitting new combi boiler?
A power flush.
Great stuff as usual Al, thank you. A couple of questions if I may:
1) Would it not be best to top up the inhibitor in the system before refilling the radiator? and if so
2) Would that go in the expansion tank?
On a different note, I've put on a stone in weight and reckon I've got the best plumbed property in my street since subscribing to your channel. Many thanks to you and Jan and keep up the good work!
GeordieFX No, not for a small radiator as shown in the video, if it was a very large double, then maybe, just a very small amount, put it into the expansion tank, or directly into the radiator, if you have a Combi or closed pressurised system then also feed a small amount back into the radiator before filling. Check the Combi pressure when finished.
dereton33 Cheers Al, got an old 2 metre long double in the living room that needs doing. Also still got an old Potterton Suprima 30L condensing boiler. Has seen a reconditioned PCB and fan since new which I did myself. I then brought the annual service by a Gas Safe engineer forward before using it again. Will stick a little inhibitor in the expansion tank. All the best.
GeordieFX Cheers Geordie.