Have been reading up in FAQs how to balance the system. How accurate and how expensive are rad. thermometers and where does one get them? If relying on the hand touch method, should one be able to feel an appreciable difference betw. flow & return even if the boiler is turned up high (i.e. 2nd highest setting).
Radio thermometers
- Thread starter patagonia
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Digital roomstats are normally accurate to 0.5 degrees.
The difference between flow and return should be about 11 degrees on old boiler and 20 on new one broadly speaking. Don’t know if you can feel the difference by touching, as they will both be painful.
The difference between flow and return should be about 11 degrees on old boiler and 20 on new one broadly speaking. Don’t know if you can feel the difference by touching, as they will both be painful.
Bengasman - slight misunderstanding here. I was talking about radiator thermometers to b e used for balancing not roomstats. The article on balancing in FAQs says most plumbers use their hands rather than thermometers and know from experience what the correct difference should feel like. We have clip on thermometers on our primary flow and return but I think they react very slowly and hence are not accurate.
Clip on thermometers will do fine. I would disagree with the story about “experienced” plumbers not needing a thermometer for 2 reasons. Touch can not be more accurate than about 3 C between 10 and 40, this is not accurate enough. Second, if you can hold a metal pipe at 70 or 80, you have enough callous not to feel anything at all.
Typical approach for the kind of guy that thinks he can solve anything because he has done the job for 30 years, but is hopelessly outdated on knowledge
Typical approach for the kind of guy that thinks he can solve anything because he has done the job for 30 years, but is hopelessly outdated on knowledge
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Bengasman - I can touch both ends of our rads without getting burnt and there is an appreciable difference betw. flow and return. Acc. to FAQs this shd be 12 degrees C. I presume one has to balance upstairs and downstairs zones at the same time in a spreadagled house as some upstairs rads may be nearer to boiler than some downstairs ones. A lot of running up and downstairs presumably required.
That’s the whole idea about balancing, theoratically, with a properly designed and installed system, it would make no difference how many rads are on or off, flow and return should be constant.
If you can touch the flow pipes, you either have asbestos hands, or they are too cold
If you can touch the flow pipes, you either have asbestos hands, or they are too cold
You talk about 70-80 degrees C. Should one run the boiler on max. then? I doubt if ours would get up to 80 even then. I wouldn't like to keep my hand on the rad. flow pipes for too long but the return is no problem. If I open the lockshields any more, however, wouldn't that make the return pipes to the boiler even hotter and there isn't 11 degrees difference at the moment. Is this why my boiler keeps cutting out and making false starts? I'm beginning to think our system isn't well designed and am getting desperate. Don't know who to get in to sort it out.
80 degrees is the average max of traditional boiler, and used to be the test temperature for balancing, maybe from the idea that if the boiler performs perfectly under heavy use, it will be fine under lighter use.
If you turn your boiler stat to max, the outgoing pipe should be over 70 C. Look in the M.I. for details
Most systems are poorly designed, if they are designed at all. From all I have seen, most installers can’t really design a system, or can’t be bothered.
Almost all my work is clearing up other people’s mess, which is fine with me as it provides me with near 100% satisfied customers and zero budget for advertising.
Yes, opening l/s shield will increase return temp, why would you want to turn l/s open?
If you turn your boiler stat to max, the outgoing pipe should be over 70 C. Look in the M.I. for details
Most systems are poorly designed, if they are designed at all. From all I have seen, most installers can’t really design a system, or can’t be bothered.
Almost all my work is clearing up other people’s mess, which is fine with me as it provides me with near 100% satisfied customers and zero budget for advertising.
Yes, opening l/s shield will increase return temp, why would you want to turn l/s open?
Why would I want to open l/ss more? Since I can comfortably touch the return pipes on the rads I wondered whether they were turned down too much and my rod type thermometer device wasn't accurate. However, as I think I said before the return pipes to the boiler are very hot. Where do you live?
The return pipes to the boiler are a blend of all the return flows. When you have a high return pipe temperature on a rad, it is usually because that rad has to high a flow. That means that relatively speaking, you have a lot of water coming through that one, hence the return temp at the boiler does not tell you a lot.
I live in se London, why that?
I live in se London, why that?
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