Introduction

If only a handful of your radiators are heating up, or you've noticed some of them have cold or hot spots, then your system needs balancing. But don't panic, this is much more straightforward than it seems. As long as you carefully follow the instructions below, you shouldn't run into any difficulties.

Why Do We Balance Radiators?

If your radiators are unbalanced, they will not heat up at the same speed as each other, causing some areas of your home to be warmer than others. You might find this affects just one of your radiators or is an issue across your entire heating system. While it's not a major problem, it can be a nuisance, so it's important to check your radiators regularly.

What's The Difference Between Balancing A Radiator And Bleeding One?

Bleeding refers to the process of letting out air that has become trapped inside your system to remove any cold spots in your radiators. Balancing them, however, is the process of adjusting the valves to enable all of your radiators to heat up at the same rate.


How To Balance Radiators

What Do You Need?

To balance your radiators, you'll need an Allen key, an adjustable spanner, a screwdriver and a digital thermometer.

Turn Your Heating System Off

Before you can balance your radiators, they need to be cold, so make sure you turn your heating system off. Don't move on to the next step until you're certain the system has cooled down completely.

Take A Look At Your Radiator Valves

While you're waiting for your system to cool down, take a look at your radiator valves. Most modern homes will have thermostatic radiator valves (TRV), but lockshield valves (LSV) are also common. A lockshield valve typically has a push-on cap, so you'll need to remove this. LSVs are also fitted to the radiator outlet, whereas TRVs are fitted to the inlet. Some older properties might use wheel head valves (WHV), which have plastic caps and can open/close individual radiators.

Open All Radiator Valves

Next, you'll need to open up the valves on every radiator in your house. To do this, turn them anti-clockwise. If you have thermostatic or wheel head valves, you should be able to do this quite easily by hand. However, if you have lockshield valves, you'll need to use an adjustable spanner.

Turn Your Heating Back On

Once all your valves are open, turn your heating system back on. Make a note of the order in which the radiators heat up, although you'll probably find the radiators closest to your boiler get hot the quickest.

We'd advise enlisting some of your family members or roommates at this point so you don't have to rush between each room by yourself.

Turn Your Heating Off Again

Now you need to turn your heating back off and let your radiators go cold again as this will make it easier to adjust your valves to the right temperature.

Balancing radiators is a time-consuming process, so we would advise completing steps one to five on the first day and doing the rest the morning after. Try to avoid balancing your radiators in the winter as your system will need to be off overnight.

Go To The First Radiator On Your List

Now that all of your radiators are cold, you can start to balance them. The first radiator you'll need to check is the one at the top of the list you made during step 4.

Turn the valve on this radiator clockwise until it's closed. Once you're certain it is completely shut, open it again by one-quarter of a turn.

Test The Temperature

This is where you'll need your digital thermometer. Once the first radiator has warmed up, take a temperature reading from the pipework next to the valve. You will then need to take a second temperature reading on the opposite side. Make a note of the difference between the two readings and gradually open the valve until the difference between them is exactly 12°c.

Remember, you will need to wait a couple of minutes between each valve adjustment to ensure the temperature reading responds accordingly.

Repeat The Process On Your Other Radiators

Once you have balanced your first radiator to a difference of 12°c, you can do the same with your slower radiators. However, make sure you do this in the order you've ranked them in.

Note: you may find that the amount the valve needs to be opened by increases the further away you get from your home’s boiler. When it comes to balancing your slowest radiator, the valve may need to be opened completely.

Enjoy!

If you have followed all of the steps above, you should find that your radiators are now balanced, so sit back and relax as your home heats up nicely.

Are You Still Experiencing Issues?

For the majority of people, the steps above should be enough to fix the issue, but if you've noticed your radiators are still heating up at different rates, there may be something else going on. Sometimes, sludge in the system can restrict the flow of hot water.

To check for sludge, bleed your radiators. If the water coming out of them is black or you have cold spots towards the bottom, this is likely to be the problem. Try adding some sludge remover to your system, allowing it to circulate for around three days before draining it completely. You can then add an inhibitor to prevent further corrosion.

Trust The Professionals

While most people find balancing radiators a simple process, if you're not confident enough to complete this yourself, you may prefer to get a professional in to carry out the job instead.

Looking for new radiators or valves? Contact us at Just Radiators today. We're happy to talk to you about our range, which has something for all tastes.