How to Balance Heating System Radiators - Plumbing Tips

[@plumberparts]

*Links to the tools I use everyday here:* www.amazon.co.uk/shop/plumberparts Plus, follow my *Vlog “TimesWithJames”:* kzbin.info

[@robharrison9441]

I have a radiator in my conservatory that hasn't worked right since the day I moved in. Tried bleeding it, flushing it and changing the TRV with no success. Did this and SORTED! Clear, concise and you talk to us like we're not idiots - great job, thanks!

[@plumberparts]

+Rob Harrison Cheers Rob, really glad to have helped you out! Stay warm!

[@adgeebike9173]

Bloody ell years of the rads in my house being crap I watched your video tother day and it's now bloody great, warm all over. Such a good result for a little bit of work. Thanks muchly.

[@Kitty-px1sz]

I've head 2 engineers on 2 separate occasions coming to do the balancing and £160 later they still did not manage. So I've taken it upon myself (a 44 years old woman with no clue) I have watched and listen to you on th8s video and I've sorted it myself. What can I say, you explained it in the most simple, way that can be understood even by myself. I thank you sooooo much and wish you well! You are doing a fantastic job helping others.

[@Adam-tn7yk]

Balancing is fine tuning. You can only do it over a few days in my opinion.

[@sicereluv75]

This young man is a marvel who is first class at getting all this advice across , Ten out of ten for all your advice

[@seanjopson8685]

Mate your clips are the dogs bollocks, you've saved me a little fortune and a headache. Thanks

[@aldorona5921]

Good video. Minor narration mistake, at 02:39 you are closing the Lockshied valve by turning it clockwise, not anticlockwise as you said. Good work.

[@lewispeel]

I would say that’s a pretty major mistake

[@kbabujoseph]

Exactly! you noticed it.😂

[@richardwash4341]

I've read some frankly confusion instructions on line before coming across this fella. Within 30 minutes, the heat distribution in my house was sorted. Thanks very much for the no nonsense tutorial.

[@plumberparts]

Richard Wash Cheers Richard! Glad to help!

[@colincooper8815]

Thanks PP, I have had a cold house for twenty years until I saw your presentation. Every plumber just said a new boiler was needed , not one checked the balance of my system even after a new boiler installation, Thank you, now in a tee shirt on Boxing Day!!!

[@LeelPeel]

Had two radiators that stopped working from one day to the next, researched for hours to figure out what the problem could be and was about to call a plumber but with your help I fixed it myself. Bled all radiators, balanced the system, repressurised - sorted! Thank you!

[@person8203]

I bought a house with an old gravity fed system. The engineer in me is enjoying learning how it all works and these vids are great 👍 replaced some dog old 1700w rads in the bedrooms. Ridiculous sized rads. Anyway, finally have a balanced heat output for the first time

[@ThehouseofmoleCoUk]

Thank you so much! I've had one radiator not working for about 18 months. Paid a very well respected plumber who serviced the boiler and poured some fluid into the radiator, charged me a small fortune and it still didn't work. Followed your video and my radiator is now piping hot!! Thank you so much.

[@stationlightyears1532]

This has just fixed my problem after a few days of pondering why one radiator was stone cold, but the others toasting! Had to drain system to re-fit loose wall bracket on an upstairs radiator; cleaned the system out whilst I had the chance (replaced valve with bleed spigot version - now a doddle!); added inhibitor and consistently had a stone-cold rad downstairs. Followed this guide and all rads now nice and toasty; system cleaned out, with inhibitor, ready for Winter. Thanks ever so much for great advice; put across in such an easy-to-understand way. Expert!

[@iainsells197]

Great tips! Just put the heating on for the first time in our new house and thanks to your advice I've now got heat in 2 radiators that had none! Thank you!

[@johnmcgibbon3484]

Just fixed my double radiator in living room - no more blankets required watching TV - thanks guys for easy to follow instructions - my radiator become hot as soon as the TRV came off which obviously released the tension in the pin - bit tricky getting it back on - at the correct setting - I initially put the TRV switch back on in such a way that it couldn't be turned through the settings 1-5 , but had another go and positioned it properly - now everyone is warm and i'm there hero !!!

[@masroorabbas]

2 video (

[@plumberparts]

Good stuff! Well done mate.

[@welshbrum13]

Mate! After days of scratching my head and arguing with the missus... five mins watching your easy to understand videos, a quick run round the house's radiators and I have heat in the two radiators at the end of the line that were previously cold! A hero! Subscribed, keep up the good work.

[@plumberparts]

No worries fella. Enjoy your weekend!

[@martinlewis1015]

Changed a radiator in conservatory in bungalow heard it filling up, bled all rads felt heat so went to next rad felt heat but lost heat on first. Tried closing all rads opened conservatory one got heat so went to next open valves felt heat in pipes so went to next rad no heat so back to first no heat stone cold. Closed of inline valve one end and bled got heat next rad no heat after bleeding for ages. Tried part opening all rads and bleed from one and with part shut inline valve we felt heat come through so open inline valve he sucked through got some heat in other rads but poor and first rad losing heat. Lots of bucket fills and part worked goto next part work back to first lost heat. Tried several other methods. Was told plumber put pump under floor in lounge great try there.....cant its blocked in and have to rip floor up. In cupboard there is a new system solar pipe heating. Who? Needs heat when its sunny and hot...doh!

[@kevthetrucker]

wow that has solved my problem turned down lockshield valves upstairs now have a hot rad in kitchen happy wife and warm kitchen many thanks

[@RhysDaKingVR]

Once again you have saved me money with your advice this is like the 5th time your videos have helped me fix the pluming. Your a legend

[@someonefair8728]

I watched this before I was qualified and I never had a clue what you was talking about but now I have some years experience under my belt I know exactly what your talking about now I understand your plumbing language. I appreciate your videos

[@plumberparts]

+Dion Clarke No worries Dion!

[@paularoberts8540]

Best plumbing vids on KZbin. I have a trench radiator that doesn't heat up. No air in the rad, heat gets into the feed pipe by the boiler (it has its own feed and return pipes coming off the main F&R for the rest of the rads) but doesnt make it to the trench rad. No TVR, but all valves are open. The only thing left I can think of is sludge. Have i missed something obvious? Thanks for the vids, they have been really useful.

[@manifunk1]

Dude you just saved Christmas!!! Ive had this problem for ages with two radiators at the front of the house never getting warm! I just followed your advice and they are all hot now! Have a brilliant Christmas my friend!

[@nickunick]

Just had a new combi boiler. The gentleman that installed it couldn't get the rads (upstairs & downstairs) to heat up evenly. Your excellent video nailed the problem and makes me think the installer doesn't know as much as he should do, before letting himself loose in other peoples' homes. Harrumph! Good show & Thank you!

[@baseline33]

I’m in a bungalow. The heating has worked fine for 32 years then for no apparent reason two radiators on a spur wouldn’t get hot. Bleeding didn’t help so after watching this video I temporarily closed down three of the other rads and it cured the problem, proving that a bit of balancing might need doing, although it’s a mystery why it should happen after 32 years. Thank you.

[@jacchilds1836]

Trikeman Hello having watched your video tonight carried out your instructions regarding water flow and closing lockshield valves on all radiators upstairs and upon switching system on again It was great to find that all radiators both upstairs and downstairs are now nice and hot. Heating has not been this good since last winter when all the downstairs radiators but one stayed luke warm. Thank you for your advice, one happy person here..

[@lynalllynall9082]

Got to say I have watched a few vids on balancing rads on youtube, and this is by far the easiest to understand.

[@brooklane1561]

Brilliant. I've been back to this video a few times over the years...

[@linsenliu5660]

Your video helped me fix a cold heater downstairs and a tank with no hot water! Thank you so much!

[@blackbeard448]

Bloody hell worked for me !! Heating working better than it ever Has. After decorating etc. and removing rads never realised how important it was to balance the system !

[@jonathanryan5860]

Thanks, someone, who claimed to know, insisted I had it wrong. I've only been doing it as you described for about 40 yeas!

[@RantandRave-ko1ge]

Someone has been out to fix my non working radiator today, fixed it and.left. Turned the heating off for a bit and back on and not working again! Followed your video half an hr ago and all working perfectly! Cheers! :)

[@noreenod]

Trying this tomorrow - kitchen is FREEEEEEZZZING today!! Will keep you posted!

[@plumberparts]

How did it go Noreen?

[@noreenod]

Made no difference - beginning to think that it could be a problem with the system - we have a solid fuel stove and even when it's on full blast the rads are not heating fully. Wonder would a pump issue cause this - if the pump was failing?

[@psymon25]

now walking like a boss after this simple fix resolved my heating issues :D thanks for this and "hold tight!"

[@Marvdogger2]

Thanks for this worked a treat. Had three new radiators added to the system in the summer in a part of the house that has never had any. Two of the new ones had water in but never got even warm so turned the locksheild valves right down on all the upstairs radiators and like magic they got warm. Then just adjusted the vales downstairs to balance the system out. My first thought was that the pump was'nt strong enough to push the water around too the new radiators glad it turned out to be a simple fix.

[@Rob-mt6fs]

Genius! Well done fella. Just tried this method as my last 2 radiators in the new house were not getting warm. Restricted the upstairs ones slightly and hey ho, all rads warm again. Great vid!

[@user-kj5zx6tc2n]

Just to clarify, at 2:43 you say close the valve by turning it anti-clockwise but I think you mean clockwise (the direction you look to be turning it in the video).

[@GhostvaperYT]

yep 2:43 confused me aswell! you are correct

[@corrigenda70]

Do you really pipe the radiators in series?

[@1mlister]

It looks like the video was shot on a go pro or phone. Lots of cameras like that "flip" the video, like Web cams do. So unless you flip it back when editing the video. Left is right and right is left. Possibly.

[@utubby3730]

@@1mlister They guy clearly says “anti-clockwise” to close. Did the camera flip that too?

[@MrDigglepiggle]

Your videos are great! I know a wee bit about plumbing so they all make sense to me and I've learned a lot. My dad's a retired plumber and kept a telling me to balance my rads and how to do it but he didn't explain why. You should have more views...

[@stephenhill6017]

Fantastic video! - Solved my issue of extending a radiator in the living room to another wall and it receiving no hot water. After balancing the other radiators its instantly hot! - who knew it was that simple

[@stephenellis3187]

Excellent advice 👍 I turned a radiator off at Xmas time as it was close to my Xmas tree. Only just noticed (February time) that I hadn't turned it back on and now it didn't heat up! Followed your advice towards the end of your video and managed to release the stuck valve. Thanks 😁👍

[@garnettholness3116]

Fantastic presentation demonstration, all my radiator are now working perfectly, thank you Sir!!.

[@bobollie]

So. After 2 powerflushes and 3 plumbers (to be honest, I am sure our system needed the flush) the two rads in my 'man cave' still wouldn't work. 25mins after watching this... I was complaining to my wife I was too hot! Thank you very much indeed. We will be coming to you/ when we need any plumbing done. Nice one PP.

[@000djw000]

You are so much calmer in these early videos. Fame has got to ya, baby!!! Thanks loads for these vids mate 8-)

[@plumberparts]

+000djw000 Ha! No worries and thanks dude! Please sub >> kzbin.info

[@craigm1823]

I have slowly unbalanced my central heating through years of DIY removal and replacement of radiators for decorating etc. This is soooo obvious once you see it. Thankyou so much.

[@plumberparts]

+Craig M Cheers Craig!

[@adibahkhan4651]

All I can say is thank you! Had a power flush done because one radiator wasn't working, then after the powerflush all 3 downstairs radiators were stone cold. the plumber said my boiler was old and faulty and then tried to sell me a new one! I saw this video and rebalanced all the radiators myself and viola! have heat again!

[@plumberparts]

No worries Adibah, glad to help anytime!

[@biggypsy75]

Thankyou so much i used this information to fix my heating in my house iv been in with my kids for a yr and a half,took a half hour to bleed and balance the radiators and they all work perfect now,im saving for a combi boiler and just for this information i am going to buy all the parts and boiler from you guys,many thanks this xmas from this now warm home,great stuff

[@plumberparts]

Hi Scott. Now worries mate, glad to help! We don't actually sell parts, but you can donate to my Patreon if you like!

[@bartcodger7985]

Great video. Great advice. I had a problem with random cold radiators around the ground floor of my house. Followed your advice and all working well now. Thank you very much 👍.

[@jillmartin2145]

After much persuading my husband tried this to shut me up, glad to say it fixed problem. Still no thanks from hubby but thank you.Plumberparts.

[@byffo]

Well aren't we pleased with ourselves! I can only assume your husband has infinite patience...I suppose it never occurred to you to follow the simple instructions yourself instead of nagging him to do it...equal rights n all that...and clearly it hasn't occurred to you that perhaps it should be you thanking him...but then I suppose he stopped believing in miracles shortly after the wedding lol

[@derrickbennett8024]

I can't thank you enough, sorted my recent cold radiator problem by balancing.

[@BrandonBishopDrums]

Was panicking as son had no heat in his room and is severely disabled>Watched your very clear and easily descriptive videos and OMG problem solved. Thank you heat warrior you saved the day!!!!!

[@plumberparts]

No worries mate, I hope you're all still warm! PP!

[@adambrooks5067]

What a star, was on the verge of calling a plumber, tried this and as we speak the downstairs rads are heating up!!!

[@ThePiggy54]

Brills - was just about to call in a plumber to fix mine. So chuffed I have done it myself and saved money!

[@ruwankumar5481]

Thanks for the demo it has made a massive difference to the heating downstairs. 👌.

[@allanlunn7136]

Great guidance in a well put manner, hasn't let us down yet. Thank you

[@leonardwilliams4037]

Thanks mate I always had a problem with one of the radiators in the bedroom now BINGO thanks to you i now have hot radiators ready for winrer 👍👍

[@rogerj3296]

Good tip, but the boiler installer should do this. I haven't read all of the posts so apologise if someone has already mentioned this. As well as 'balancing' the radiators to get them all working you should use the lockshields to regulate the flow to give the proper temperature drop between the flow and return of each radiator. For a non-condensing boiler this is usually about 11 deg,C, for a condensing boiler the recommendation is 20 deg. C. If, like me, you have had a new boiler fitted to system which was not designed for a condensing boiler then you will probably have difficulty getting 20 deg. An experienced installer can check the temperatures by feeling the radiator pipes but I doubt if this is accurate enough. I bought a cheap and cheerful infrared thermometer, not completely accurate but it does the job. The idea with the condensing boiler is to get it to actually condense. The return water temperature at the boiler needs to be below the dew point of the flue gasses, about 56 deg C. The lockshield on my largest radiator is stuck fully open so I only have a 1 or 2 deg drop on that one. At the moment I have a 12 deg. drop between the flow and return at the boiler so I set the boiler temperature to 68 deg. and now get a constant plume from the flue showing it is working at the maximum efficiency. It will take a bit more fiddling with the valves to get the temperatures right. If you can live with a lower flow temperature then you don't need to worry too much about the temperature drop so long as the return to the boiler is below 56 deg. Another useful tip I spotted on a blog, to save money with a combi boiler, is to turn the pre-heat off. I am fairly sure I am now saving about £10 a month heating domestic hot water. I have to wait another 30 secs. or so for the water to run hot but I don't have a water meter and this is not an issue.

[@johnbull5394]

Good point! No point having a condensing boiler if you aren't making it condense. I have been told that a plume from the flue is not a good indication that the boiler is working in condensing mode though, but water dripping from the condensate pipe is. That said, my condensate pipe at home goes straight into the soil pipe and it isn't possible to view the show :(

[@thejooless]

Wow..... you have helped me out massively! Thanks... i was really struggling but you really have helped! Well done and thanks!

[@143streek]

Great tip for balancing the rads Many Thanks for the tips . Shall look again if i have any more problems ( id put 2 rads in my conservatory and they were only warm not hot ) easy fix only took me 1/2 hr . THANKS AGAIN .

[@AamirYaseen]

Amazing Channel. This video saved me at least £60 today.

[@marshmoto276]

Just one thing, if you turn anticlockwise that's fully on not off.

[@col62]

Glad i saw this as following video advice it was working

[@dovepiranha6543]

In England everything works different way. Maybe that's why!

[@chuksjossie]

This is a really good video on heating system balancing so far. It was quite informative. The problem is I have done the balancing to my heating system just the way you explained and the last radiator was still not getting enough heat. Few times it works but majority of times, there is a delay, like 1hr to 2hrs after the central heating had come on and others working fine. Sometimes the top is warm and the bottom of thiscradiator is cold. I have tried turning off the other downstairs radiators' lockshields and turning them on 3 turns instead of opening them fully, in conjunction to the lockshields adjustment already done upstairs, but I'm still experiencing the same problem. I have a feeling the radiator is full of sludge because inlet pipe to the radiator is really hot but outlet pipe is cold and the thermostatic valve is all the way out. I have turned the lockshields upstairs off on several occasions, in order to increase the pressure of hot water going to the last radiator and to remove the blockage. This seemed to work but I can't keep doing that every time, as it is a pain. I've invited someone to look at it and all they did was switch off all other radiators' thermostatic valves; both upstairs and downstairs and few minutes later, it started working. After like 3 days, back to square one again. What do I do here please? I have a feeling this radiator needs flushing. What do you think?

[@elementalhit1088]

im having exact same problem .. doing this made it luke warm but pretty certain theres sludge in it.. im in a rental so not much i can do and landlord just bought new pump so dont want to ask for the radiator flused

[@GaruusGaming]

thank God I found this video, now I don't have to sleep in the cold anymore. thanks alot 👍 👍

[@plumberparts]

No wozzers Gazza!

[@abedowney1410]

Wow. This is awesome. This dude does a great job describing how to heat balance your system.

[@plumberparts]

Cheers Abe! Glad to help!!!,

[@scottwilson1895]

Thanks had 1 rad not getting full heat in living room in a bungalow and this did the trick

[@jamesbangay6188]

my rads have been driving me nuts with some hotter than others and one not working at all, very clear description and fully understandable, ive now got my rads all sorted hopefully,

[@Gumbasification]

Your tip about balancing was spot on. Thank you.

[@terryallen8911]

Thanks mate. I just replaced a downstaris radiator and none of the downstairs rads were hot. Now it is all working fine.

[@adamcaulton8380]

Thank you ***** - this video worked a treat! Our house is so much warmer now.

[@LPCLASSICAL]

Yipeeee! Thanks mate! I had 1 rad luke warm - tried bleeding - also made sure valve open (broke the damn thing off but it is open) still not hot. Then went upstairs turned rads off. Presto! Luke warm rad now hot! Cheers! Saved me calling out British Gas.

[@richardhenryashley]

fantastic! Simple clear instructions now my heating is perfect throughout the house. Thank you

[@timjhobbs]

Excellent, thank you very much i thought I had a rough idea, but this REALLY helped me with my couple of cold rooms

[@plumberparts]

No worries dude! SUBSCRIBE! ➡️👉 kzbin.info 👈⬅️if you haven't already!

[@duffermod1]

Brilliant Cheer's for the tip . Last radiator on line is really hot now. Thanks again

[@chris329a]

THANKS!!!! We have just moved into a new house and one of the rads in the utility room has been cold since we moved in. I had bled the system and it was always this one that was cold. After watching your clip IT IS SORTED!!! The radiators downstairs are hotter too which will save me having the heating on as much. Keep up the good work.

[@bredawallace1694]

Very good information for households

[@plumberparts]

+Breda Wallace Cheers mate! PP!

[@polomora]

Excellent explanation.

[@rajivvashm6046]

still 11 years younger :) top video & most importantly presenter .. :)

[@plumberparts]

Haha! Thanks man. Old and knackered now! 😂

[@BasilTS]

You are spot-on . the system is working perfect now - Many thanks for great videos

[@plumberparts]

Cheers mate! Glad to help! SUBSCRIBE! ➡️👉 kzbin.info 👈⬅️if you haven't already!

[@kevinhippey9355]

Nice one, couldn't get some of my rads hot now all working great! Spent ages previous messing about wish I'd have found this clip sooner!

[@radfig]

worked like a charm, thank you

[@rogerkirby6586]

Balancing radiators, I have seen so many you tube videos on this subject that are wrong so thought I would correct. This applies to combi boiler systems Why have a boiler and radiators in the first place, it is to heat every rooms air that has a radiator to a desired temperature to make it comfortable to live in, modern radiator have a (TRV) Thermostatic Radiator Valves which allows the air temperature to be set. The valve at the other end of the radiator needs to be fully open to allow TRV full control. The combi boiler has two pipes connected to the rad circuit, flow and return. When working the boiler heats the flow water to the temperature set by the rad temp control on the boiler. At the same time it monitors the return temp, as the return temp nears the flow temp the flame is reduced, when nearly the same the flame is turn off only turning on again when over certain difference is monitored. Always monitor air temp in a room not radiator temp because that is what we feel. If the room is too cold turn up the TRV, if too hot turn down. The TRV should control to this setting. If you think radiators are getting too hot there may be a cold draft entering the room needing more heat to be used to heat to your temp. If the room air is not hot enough and you have the TRV fully open there maybe not enough water flowing in the rad i.e. a blockage or simply the boiler is set too low. I know there are many and various more faults but this is the basics.

[@salikrashidproperty]

This guy is a genius! Thank you so much!!!

[@jonnic2000]

You mean close it by turning clockwise right? You said anticlockwise to turn off lock shield?

[@tomsolaru]

Thanks so much for this! I spent the last two hours trying to figure out why my downstairs radiators weren't coming on, and then balancing it all out like you explained in this video fixed it! Legend.

[@CmwSpeedrunUk]

You have some really good videos very well edited and explained great sketches to this will help tons of people 💪🏽❤️👍🏽

[@stamford70]

Thank you for a straight forward explanation 👍🏻

[@LMandMM]

Perfect. Worked a treat

[@KDBAO]

Mate, thank you for this series of vids. I did have a rad that wasn't getting hot. I changed the TRV and balanced the system and its now pumping heat into our lounge once more. I couldn't have done it with out your awesome vids. Thank you. 🔥🔥🔥🔥👌👌👌🙏🙏🙏

[@andynorman9738]

Straight to the point advice. Thanks.

[@Martimus191]

Thank you for your video, you helped me fix my cold radiator. I have no idea how our lock valve got turned off but that's what needed adjusting :)

[@CmwSpeedrunUk]

Even tho some of these videos are straight forward to a plumber , they are still very well explained thanks for your time doin these 👍🏽

[@jasp3942]

We fitted a couple of radiators and they would hot heat up, flushed them out, nothing, after watching your video 30mins later system working good as new Thanks 😊

[@res1492]

Great, i followed your instructions to the T and proceed to snap off the first lock shield i came to.....you said to close it by turning it "anti clock wise" then open by turning it "clock wise"..soooo...my downstairs is flooded, my cat hates you and i have just been quoted £80 call out for a Sunday visit @ 7 o'clock at night...thanks again plumber parts

[@fatcat1002]

Yes, I'm also confused by that. Says turn anti-clockwise but it shows a clockwise turn.

[@ItsWrecker]

Very useful video!!

[@melaniebarfield]

Brilliant video, we are selling our house and hoping to complete/move in the next few weeks. We were gutted when the downstairs rads stopped being hot this week, and were dreading having to fork out lots of money to get it fixed. Did as advised in the vid and it's now all fixed and all rads are heating up perfectly. Thanks for saving us some dough! :-)

[@autobot72ah]

Thanks dude! All our radiators are working a treat..great tip..so smiple! Adz.

[@tanyasulmoni3041]

Anne S. Great advice, radiator working now, many thanks.

[@plumberparts]

No worries!

[@sajulldin5147]

What a quality video, had 3-4 radiators not wring up, now balanced and now warming up!

[@glynnhancock9546]

Should both the upstairs and downstairs lock shield valves be both open just a quarter turn? Or do you open the downstairs ones more? Thanks for your advice.

[@lesrichards3474]

I've done what you said in the video and the heat in the downstairs rads is certainly much better. Great. Can you confirm exactly what needs to be done with the first floor rads, please? The problem is these do not get as hot now. Do I open up the lock valve or close it, please? Thanks.

[@dannynorris843]

good video. worked a treat. cheers.

[@dcasteaux9181]

Had the exact same issue - worked a treat. Thanks for saving me the cost of getting a plumber.