Radiators (balance)

For this job, if you decide to carry it out yourself you will need to be quite logical and methodical. It is not a very hard job. The job of balancing is to ensure that the flow of water through your radiators is balanced or (equal), and achieved by adjusting each valve on the radiators, so that they all achieve the required heat. Put in another way, if you open all the valves full, the hot water flow from the boiler will find the quickest route around its system. This will have the effect of the radiators running very hot while others run cold. To carry on you will need two radiator (clip on) thermometers. These can be hired from a tool hire outlet. Hackney Plumbers carry these.Process:Firstly, turn off the heating system. When it has cooled, turn both valves off on all of the radiators. If you now turn the boiler off and feel the radiators in turn, you should be able to work out the order in which the radiators heat up, and the direction the water flows in and out of the radiators. Label the radiators with the order in which they heat up. A Hackney Plumber can balance heating systems.This next part is time consuming. Clip the thermometers to the flow and return pipes just below the valves. Starting with the first radiator, close the lock shield valve and then open it little by little, until the temperature on the ‘flow’ (the hot end) has reached a point about 10/11 degrees C hotter than the temperature on the ‘return’ (the cold water out). Keep making adjustments to every radiator in turn until you get to the end. If you are right, the valves on radiator number three will be slightly more open than those on radiator number two, and so on, to the point where the valve on the last radiator in line will be almost full on.