How to Bleed Your Radiators
This is an essential step to ensuring that all your radiators are working to their full potential. It’s nice and simple, so lets get started.
1: Why bleed your radiators
2: Materials and recommendations
3: Preparation
4: Bleeding the radiators
1: Why bleed your radiators
Bleeding your radiators removes air in the system to ensure that the hot water is being circulated effectively around the whole radiator and flowing through the whole system, without any airlocks. The most common reason to bleed your radiators is if the top of the radiator is cold and the bottom is hotter. This means that there is air in the top of the radiator and that water is not flowing through the entire radiator. Bleeding will help heat the house more efficiently.
2: Materials:
A radiator bleed key - a flathead screwdriver may work depending on the type of valve but a bleed key is best
Paper towels or a cloth - the water may be dirty so don’t use your favourite cloth!
3: Preparation
Turn your heating on, make sure it is set high enough that the system is hot throughout the bleeding process.
Open the valves on all the radiators, as though you want all the radiators to be heating fully, anti-clockwise.
It is best to start with the radiator furthest from the boiler, this is usually on the ground floor.
The bleed nipple will be on one of the top corners of the radiator, this is where you will release the air from. This is the same for all radiators.
4: Bleeding the radiators
Holding a tissue around the nipple to catch any water, slowly loosen the nipple. Work just a quarter of a turn at a time and keep the key on the nipple, ready to close it quickly.
The aim is to release the air and have water coming out of the nipple. This means that the radiator is full of water.
You may hear a bubbling or hissing of air. Keep the nipple open until water comes out and you can see it on your cloth.
Once you see water, close the nipple tightly and check it is not leaking.
If nothing happens and no air or water is being released, ensure that the heating is on and move onto another radiator. You can come back to it later.
Move onto the next radiator and repeat.
Once you have bled all of the radiators, they should be hot from top to bottom. If not, wait an hour and do another round of bleeding as air may have moved through the system.
Finally, check your boiler pressure as some pressure can be lost during this process. Top the water up if it is a closed system and requires it. 1-2.5 bar is fine.
YOU’RE DONE! And apologies for the overuse of the word nipple! It can also be called a valve or screw by the way.
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