Turning radiator heating down

[Prat123]

Hello , so im trying to turn the heat down on this radiator, I dont know if its left or right side valve to turn, I tried the right side clockwise with pliers but didn't turn, I didnt put a lot of force, should I put more? Unfortunately 2 other radiators in my house are the same, cant tell which valve , thankyou

 

[Stuckinarut]

They’re lockshield valves, so the only way to turn the temperature down would be via the boiler thermostat

 

[Madrab]

As suggested, you can't really turn the heat down at a radiator valve, well you can but it would be such a fine balance adjusting the valve that it's nigh on impossible. For all intents and purposes you can only really turn it on or off. The only way really to make a radiator run consistently cooler is to turn down the output temp of the boiler and of course that affects all the rads

If you want to turn the lockshields on or off then use an adjustable spanner and grip the flats at the top of the stem, carefully turn it clockwise to turn the valve off. Go easy because if it's been jammed open then the shaft can sometimes snap

 

[Prat123]

Ok great thanks, im happy to turn it off but yes would have to be careful, if I do turn it off and on as needed is it the left or right one in the photos? Thankyou

 

[Why Not Indeed]

It doesn't really matter. If either one is shut then very little heat will flow.
You might want to consider some caps:

2 x Replacement White Lockshield Radiator Valve Wheel Heads Handles Caps Only | eBay

You will receive a Pair of White Handles ONLY (main image).

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[ChrisJP]

Be aware that turning the spindle on any of the valves in your pictures, which have clearly not been turned for a long time, will likely cause them to leak

 

[RrogerD]

Someone's not keen on the cleaning!

 

[fixitflav]

As suggested, you can't really turn the heat down at a radiator valve, well you can but it would be such a fine balance adjusting the valve that it's nigh on impossible. For all intents and purposes you can only really turn it on or off.

I'm not with you there. How else can the rads be balanced? It comes up regularly on this forum. I haven't had a rad valve to bits lately, but I'm fairly sure they have a mushroom-type plunger over an orifice. That design is OK for throttling and industrial globe valves use that principle. Only thing is don't expect any throttling from closing it a couple of turns, likely to need to be less than ½ a turn from fully closed to do any good.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Replacing the valves, with TRV's would, make for an automatic control of room temperature.

 

[Madrab]

Its not about throttling the rads down via the lockshield i.e. slowing down their heat up times or slowing down the flow through the rad to achieve the required drop, as happens when balancing.

The original question was about actually turning the rad temp down via the rad valve, which you cant really effectively do.

so im trying to turn the heat down on this radiator

 

[fixitflav]

The original question was about actually turning the rad temp down via the rad valve, which you cant really effectively do.

Prat123 said:
so im trying to turn the heat down on this radiator

I read that as meaning he wants to reduce the temperature in that room, and throttling the rad is the only way to do it, whether on manual valves or a TRV. That's my take on it anyway!