Period OH in disgrace

[jocelyn plummer]

On Sunday evening I turned the radiator stat down from 6 to 3 because the drawing room was too hot. Next afternoon I noticed that the room and the rad was completely cold, ( to be expected if the room temperature was ok), so turned it up to 6 again to warm the room again. It stayed cold. Assuming it to be an airlock I politely asked OH to bleed the rad, which he did, checking all the others at the same time. Fine, I thought, all will be well now the airlock has gone.
An hour ot two later I checked rad, still cold, water all over the carpet by the valve which was mysteriously hanging loose------- I will leave the rest to your imagination and suggestions as to what happened next.

However, now the valve is back in place the rad is still bl***dy well not working...... all the others are. Any helpful suggestions would be useful.

PS we have taken energy readings every week and have logged 75% less than our provider has been charging us for----------boiler ticks over at 50 and I use the stats to control each room. Gas Esse has been running on idle except for cooking, but does give a gentle ambient heat in the coldest part of the house.

Girls, if you want a job done properly, do it yourself, and whatever you do, don't ask the Navy to sort it out.

 

[philpjuk100]

Is it the older type of thermostatic valve? if so the little pin that operates the valve from the thermostat seizes,if you remove the thermostat,NOT THE VALVE.there is a small screw that holds the clamp onto the valve and if you remove this it allows the thermostat to be "wiggled" off,the pin is the exposed if it is held with pliers you can work it in and out and put a little oil or wd40 on it,if you pull it too far it will come out and a small amount of water will escape but it is easy to put back in.Sorry if this is not too clear but it is not difficult,anyway with a name like plummer it should be easy :lol: phil.

 

[philpjuk100]

Thermostatic Radiator Valves sticking shut. this is clearer than my explanation!phil.
Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRVs) frequently stick in the shut position, resulting in radiators remaining cold. They are likely to stick if left turned off for long periods.

TRVs should not normally be turned to the off or 0 setting, unless the radiator is being removed. It is usually sufficient to turn them down a little, say to setting 1 or 2.

To free a stuck TRV, first remove the plastic head from the brass body. This is usually done by unscrewing a knurled ring or nut, but some TRVs (e.g. Danfoss, Giacomini) have other fixing methods.

When the head is removed, you will see a small pin projecting from the valve body. Normally this can be pressed in (using a flat side of some tool to apply pressure) against spring pressure. On release it will spring back to its original position.

If the pin does not move, the inner part of the valve (the jumper) is probably stuck shut. To free it, apply pressure to the pin as described above, then release, then apply pressure again. Keep repeating this procedure until the pin starts to move.

You can tap with a hammer to free the pin, but not too hard or you may damage the pin or valve. Do not pull the pin out or water may escape and it may be difficult to refit the pin. In most cases it is not the pin itself that is sticking, but the inner mechanism, so pulling the pin has no effect.

Once some movement occurs a few more applications of pressure will return it to its normal state. Open the head to the highest setting and refit

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Thanks Phil, will take a deep breath and look at it in the morning. Yes, the stats are about 6 years old, probably put in when the previous owners did the renovations.

 

[philpjuk100]

Yes ours are 8/10 years old,I turned them all off last spring and in the autmn three did not work,all three responded to this treatment although one is getting a little slugish again,phil/

 

[Penners]

Joss - I agree entirely with Phil's suggestion. TRV's are notorious for problems with sticking needles.