[quote=“Tabby, post: 842983, member: 2142”]Haha you would imagine so!
On further inspection both valves will turn (when you move around the right white plastic cover)
How in the name of fuck do I work out which is the on/off?!
And in the event that I do what does the other one actually do?!
My fellow crack pipe smoker is claiming I will cause air locks and other possible disasters by turning the wrong valve.[/quote]
Find out which way the water is flowing… it all hinges on this.
[quote=“Kinvara’s Passion, post: 843061, member: 686”]Find out which way the water is flowing… it all hinges on this.
Dont fuck this up now.[/quote]
How would I do this? Your sarcastic tone has thrown me at the end there.
It’s mad that even here where everyone knows everything no one has a definitive answer to this.
On most radiators you’ll get only one of the valves will actually turn so most people don’t have to think about it I suppose. Maybe this is the third secret of Fatima?
[quote=“Tabby, post: 843074, member: 2142”]How would I do this? Your sarcastic tone has thrown me at the end there.
It’s mad that even here where everyone knows everything no one has a definitive answer to this.
On most radiators you’ll get only one of the valves will actually turn so most people don’t have to think about it I suppose. Maybe this is the third secret of Fatima?[/quote]
Locate your boiler… there will be a pump behind it or near it… look closely at the pump and you’ll see the arrow.
Both sides should be open. If its a single pipe system the water needs to flow through, If its not a single pipe system then one side is only closed as a lock shield, needed when you take off the rad. You should close all pipes, turn on the heating for a few mins, then open the radiator furthest from the boiler and work back, this should balance the system as all the radiators should heat as you work back.
I believe the reason they have two valves is because depending on where the hot water is coming from, you use the end nearest, its not right end or left end is the one to turn off. They just make all rads with two ends so you don’t have to order ten left hand rads and four right hand rads or some such.
Generally on the older rads the end doing nothing has cap over it rather than a knob.
Closest correct answer. The screw adjust on one side is to balance the rads in your system. The hand adjust on the other side is used to turn on and off the rad as required. When your system was originally installed the plumber should have balanced all the rads so that they all heat up equally in each room whether they are close to the boiler or not.
Remember your storage cylinder also acts like a rad and should be balanced so that it does not take all the heat from the system.
So if you have one rad or cylinder much hotter than the others you should adjust the flow into it using the screw adjust. An infrared thermometer is handy for such a job.
[quote=“habanerocat, post: 843450, member: 1513”]Closest correct answer. The screw adjust on one side is to balance the rads in your system. The hand adjust on the other side is used to turn on and off the rad as required. When your system was originally installed the plumber should have balanced all the rads so that they all heat up equally in each room whether they are close to the boiler or not.
Remember your storage cylinder also acts like a rad and should be balanced so that it does not take all the heat from the system.
So if you have one rad or cylinder much hotter than the others you should adjust the flow into it using the screw adjust. An infrared thermometer is handy for such a job.[/quote]