Helpful Tips
 Helpful Tips & Advice... 

TIP 1

Heating Your Home

Radiators heat the room using convection. When the radiator gets hot, cold air is sucked in to the bottom of the panel and is then channelled through convectors. As the air passes through the convectors it is heated and expelled at the top of the panel. Remove any obstruction between the panels and/or wall (dust, pet hair, kids toys, peeling wall paper, old socks etc.). If you use your radiators to dry washing then invest in clothes horse or radiator rack/airer. Leave at least a 6 inch gap between the radiators and furniture (sofa, beds, cupboards, side boards etc.).

Tip 2

Why/How To Bleed A Radiator?

Heating systems use water to transport heat from your boiler to the radiators. Having air in the system allows corrosion to take place in the radiators, it will only be a matter of time before the boiler will fail. In order for your heating system to run efficiently you'll need to check there isn't air in the circuit. Just follow these simple steps.
1. Always start with a cold system and make sure its turned off.
2. Check the pressure in the system is correct using boiler guide. (Normally between 1 bar and 1.25 bar. Different manufacturers use different pressures always check.)
3. Start on the radiator at the lowest point of the system.
4. Using a radiator key and some tissue, turn the bleed nipple anti clockwise. If air is present it will hiss while it escapes through the bleed hole. when water comes through turn the bleed nipple clockwise. (make sure you do not over tighten the bleed nipple.)
5. Repeat step 4 as you go to each radiator. (The last radiator is normally a towel radiator or attic room radiator.)
6. If needed re-pressurise system back to correct pressure and turn system back on.
7. Put heating system on full and check all radiators heat fully.

**Note**
If you need to bleed your radiators more than 2 times a year, the system more often than not will have 1 of these.
1. A leak.
2. Corrosion.
3. No inhibitor.

Tip 3

Pressurising A Heating System

A huge number of engineer callouts are due to the boiler losing pressure and locking out to prevent damage to the appliance. In most cases bringing the boiler pressure back to the correct pressure and resetting the boiler will clear the fault and you'll be back up and running. Just follow these simple steps.
1. Make sure system is cold, find out correct boiler pressure (normally between 1 bar and 1.25 bar depending on manufacturer).
2. Turn boiler off.
3. Locate the filling loop.
4. Watching the pressure gauge, increase the pressure to the correct pressure. Lock off the filling loop.
5. In some cases the system may need to be bled of air (see Tip 2).
6. Turn boiler back on and reset the system to clear the fault code.
**Note**
If the fault doesn't clear or the pressure doesn't hold then give us a call.

Tip 4  

Checking Your Stopcock/Stop Tap

Whenever you get a leak everybody knows you go to the stopcock/stop tap and turn off the fed to the house. However, a huge percentage of people never check their stopcock actually works correctly. The last thing you want when water is coming through the ceiling is not being able to get to the stop tap or when you use it, it doesn't work. A good time to check is before the winter starts and after the cold weather is gone. New properties tend to have 2 Stopcocks ( 1 external and 1 internal) older properties normally have 1 (external). To check the stopcock is working correctly, simply go to the tap and turn it clockwise til it stops, then go to the kitchen sink and try running the cold tap. There maybe a trickle of water but then should stop after a few seconds. If the water stops then the stopcock is working correctly. Go back to the stopcock and turn it anti-clockwise until it stops the turn quarter turn clockwise. If your stopcock doesn't stop the water then it has to be replaced. External stopcocks are the property of Welsh Water (0800 052 0130) so you would need to speak to them. If you have 2 stopcocks then the internal 1 is your responsibility to change (which you can give us a call).
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