Radiators that don't heat up can be an unpleasant inconvenience, especially on cold days like these
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himRadiators that don't heat up can be an unpleasant inconvenience, especially on cold days like these. Here's how to fix the problem
In these particularly cold days, it is essential that our home heating system works at its best. If this does not happen, we must intervene promptly so as not to risk wasting energy and at the same time having a house that is always cold.
It may happen that one of the radiators does not heat up, despite the fact that the boiler is active and the other radiators in the house are working perfectly. This may be due to the formation of air bubbles inside the radiator elements. In this case, just open the vent valve on the side of the radiator and let the excess air out. To do this, the radiators should be turned off and cold (it would also be prudent to turn off the boiler completely); we will also need a not very high plastic basin to place under the radiator, in order to collect the water that will come out of the radiator. We gently unscrew the vent valve a little: if at the beginning air will come out, it is the demonstration that the bad functioning of the radiator was due precisely to the presence of gas inside the pipes. As soon as water starts to come out, we immediately close the valve and tighten well with the help of a "parrot" key. Now we can restart the boiler and the heating system: the problem should be solved.
(Read also: Is it better to keep the radiators on all the time or intermittently? How to really save energy (and money))
If this were not the case, the malfunction could directly depend on the boiler. To ascertain the level of water in the boiler, we can open any of the taps in the house and check whether or not hot water comes out: the absence of hot water in the pipes is an unequivocal sign that the system is not working. This may be due to a too low water pressure inside the system which prevents it from turning on: in this case, we can observe the position of the needle in the barometer under the system, which should remain between 1 and 2. If the value is less than 1, it can be adjusted with the appropriate tap.
Also too high water pressure it can cause the radiators to malfunction - and we can always check the level thanks to the barometer. In this case, as we have suggested to do even in the presence of air in the radiators, simply open the vent valves and let some water flow away to lower the pressure and allow the radiators to work. It should be noted, however, that there are times when it is normal for radiators to feel cold to the touch - for example when they reached the temperature set by the thermostat and turned off automatically, thus allowing us to save energy and money.
Read all our articles on radiators.
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