radiator wont bleed?

[obseen16]

Hi all. i changed some valves on a rad today and installed a new one in a 3 story house, bled the system back up with no problems, only one rad (in the bathroom) wouldnt bleed. i ruled out air lock as the system is a combi, i think it could be one of 2 things. either a build up of sludge or a blocked bleed valve. the thing that got me really puzzled is that the rad filled up 2/3rds of the way but no more. i couldnt hear any hissing of air either.

after filling i thought maybe the warmth of the water would help as the rad did get hot, i took the bleed valve totally out and left it out for 10 mins and still nothing, what the hell could it be?

system is a combi system
bathroom rad is on the second floor
the rad itself is a fancy one where it is part towel rad and in the middle it has a stella rad attached,

the bleed valve is one of the old pin types.

and yes the valves were fully open when i bled up.

any ideas folks?

thanks

J

 

[unguided1]

close both rad valves and take out the bleed plug completely then open one valve carefully if it starts to fill shut the valve and open the other valve. this way you can eliminate if either of the feed pipes or valves are blocked, you can also inspect the bleed plug at the same time, if it is blocked push a thin pin in the hole this should clear it.
Regards
Mike

 

[obseen16]

thanks mike, i tried the shut one valve at a time thing before but it didnt work (unless both pipes are blocked). i think ill be taking a paper clip or needle in tomorrow to poke around the bleed valve lol,

Thanks again for the help.

Regards
James,

 

[obseen16]

fatoftheland any advice is good advice. its not on the top floor tho, its on the middle floor. thanks anyways. it all helps.

 

[unguided1]

Bizare good luck with it and let us know how you get on.

 

[GPS164]

Did you drain the system fully when you were changing the valves? Or just shut off the rads you were changing them on and empty them? I have to admit this has me confused...

 

[MarkB]

I think it sounds like gunk in the bleed valve. Shut off both valves, remove the bleed pin and insert a pin / needle or safety pin, re-insert the bleed pin and open the valves.

Mark

 

[NickH]

I may be stating the obvious but is this a pressurised system and have you repressurised it fully ?

 

[buffy27]

Hi all. i changed some valves on a rad today and installed a new one in a 3 story house, bled the system back up with no problems, only one rad (in the bathroom) wouldnt bleed. i ruled out air lock as the system is a combi, i think it could be one of 2 things. either a build up of sludge or a blocked bleed valve. the thing that got me really puzzled is that the rad filled up 2/3rds of the way but no more. i couldnt hear any hissing of air either.

after filling i thought maybe the warmth of the water would help as the rad did get hot, i took the bleed valve totally out and left it out for 10 mins and still nothing, what the hell could it be?

system is a combi system
bathroom rad is on the second floor
the rad itself is a fancy one where it is part towel rad and in the middle it has a stella rad attached,

the bleed valve is one of the old pin types.

and yes the valves were fully open when i bled up.

any ideas folks?

thanks

J

my pennys worth.the lads and yourself have stated the likely solutions already..


some of these towel rads need to be plumbed with f & r specific.if this was the one u changed??? not sure if it would effect it in this way though.
check the system pressure/expansion/blow offs/top up. has it an auto fill or fill loup.are they operational still.can u run a pump on system ,put preference to this rad .bit of extra pressure and your sorted.likely something mechanical u have over looked.when u arrive today maybe it has filled itself..interested to hear outcome!!!!

 

[obseen16]

hi everyone, my suspicions were confirmed today. first thing i did when i got there was head straight for the obvious one first, i got my smallest drill bit turned the valves down to almost closed position and wiggled my drill bit in the bleed valve, as soon as i did that i heard that nice hissing sound. problem solved,

i have to admit i have never come across a rad with that problem before.
just a thin layer of sludge blocking the bleed valve,

anyway problem solved

thanks for the helpful advice guys.

 

[Carl86]

Yea i always carry a couple of paper clips in my box just the job for this problem!

 

[365drills]

Nice 1

Good to hear problems solved...

I was going to add my bit and say that in the past I had same issue. One single rad refused to come online despite the whole house running perfect. I pulled it to bits.

Turned out I forgot about two isolation valves for this rad up in the loft. They were shut off so no matter what I was doing with the rad it never worked.

Bleedin valves eh....

 

[obseen16]

Nice 1

Good to hear problems solved...

I was going to add my bit and say that in the past I had same issue. One single rad refused to come online despite the whole house running perfect. I pulled it to bits.

Turned out I forgot about two isolation valves for this rad up in the loft. They were shut off so no matter what I was doing with the rad it never worked.

Bleedin valves eh....

hehe, In the words of homer simpson "DOH". lol