Cold batteries in winter are an emergency that requires an immediate solution. To fix serious problems, you should hire specialists, but some problems can be dealt with on your own. Even if the owner of an apartment or house does not intend to repair the heating on his own, it will not hurt him to know about the signs and causes of malfunctions.
Battery installation and connection
Illiterate installation leads not only to uneven heating, but also to a pipe break and flooding of the room. In addition, if the radiator is assembled incorrectly, in the event of a breakdown, repairs under warranty can be out of the question. Therefore, trust the work only to professionals.
The bypass valve is not installed correctly
The most common mistake. Bypass is a bypass channel in the piping. It is placed in front of the battery entrance. One end is connected to the inlet pipe, and the other to the outlet pipe.
In single-pipe circuits, the presence of the device is mandatory. With its help, they regulate the flow of coolant and perform repair and maintenance work without disconnecting from the central heating.
Shut-off valves - ball valves - are installed between the bypass and the openings (inlet and outlet). When choosing components, take into account possible water hammer.
Incorrect pipe diameter
The diameter of the vertical bypass should not exceed the cross-section of the main pipe. When executed horizontally, it is equal to it. When installed in a private house, the bypass diameter should be one size smaller than the central line.
If the diameter of the pipes is smaller than the diameter of the circuit, then heating of the battery will stop.
Why is the battery cold on the bottom and hot on the top? It’s due to low pressure in the circuit
Due to the design features, the problem occurs more often in new models. Unlike cast iron, modern versions of batteries are distinguished by narrowed passages. Therefore, for stable movement of liquid, a certain pressure is required.
The following reasons lead to a decrease in pressure:
- increasing the number of sections (including in neighboring apartments),
- warm floor,
- faults in the line.
Due to the reduced pressure, the battery becomes cold at the bottom and remains hot at the top. Why is this happening:
- air pockets form,
- The coolant cools down quickly,
- the balance is disrupted.
In addition, if the line is designed for cast iron, it may not be able to handle the pressure required for systems made of other materials.
Heating faults in private houses
Autonomous heating systems of private houses have their own characteristics and are characterized by specific malfunctions.
Problems with the boiler
The most common problems are related to the incorrect operation of the built-in automation system. If you cannot adjust the automation yourself, contact a company that provides service for boilers of this type.
The automation system will not allow the boiler to turn on if there is insufficient draft (the chimney is clogged with soot) or low pressure in the system. To eliminate the causes, you should clean the chimney, check the water level in the expansion tank and the operation of the circulation pumps.
Another cause of problems is insufficient boiler power. Symptom: the automatic system does not turn off the boiler; it works constantly. The solution is to replace the boiler with a more powerful one.
Wrong choice of heating system
Single-pipe heating systems are cheaper than double-pipe heating systems, but are only suitable for heating small houses. The last battery from the boiler will be colder than the previous ones. This problem can only be eliminated by replacing the system with a two-pipe one.
Other problems are similar to malfunctions of heating systems in apartment buildings and are discussed above.
Why is the battery half cold: there is an air lock in it
It is easy to understand that this is the case. When there are air jams, the radiator makes noise and a characteristic gurgle can be heard from it. Where there is air, it heats up unevenly - check with your palm.
The main reasons for the appearance of air:
- lack of tightness,
- wear or damage,
- renovation work (even on other floors),
- installation errors,
- lack of air vents,
- violation of pipeline filling technology.
If the top of the battery is hot and the bottom is cold, you need to find out the cause and eliminate it. In this case, it is necessary to get rid of traffic jams. Where air accumulates, corrosion soon begins. Over time, rust clogs the battery completely.
How to bleed air from a radiator?
To release air, use a special key to open the Mayevsky valve. It is installed on steel, bimetallic and aluminum batteries. If the radiator is cast iron, find the coupling connecting it to the pipe. Usually it is located at the bottom.
Prepare a container to collect liquid in advance. Be careful: it can come out under pressure and splash everything around.
Procedure:
- By hand or using an adjustable wrench, open the clutch (counterclockwise) a quarter turn. If this is not enough, turn it half a turn. If there is air, the water will burst out in bursts with a characteristic hissing sound.
- Release the water-air mixture until water flows in a continuous stream.
- Close all the way.
- Repeat the procedure after 1-2 minutes.
If after 10-15 minutes the battery on top and bottom has warmed up equally, consider that the operation was successful.
Shut-off valve is faulty
It regulates the movement of the working environment, and also completely or partially blocks it.
This includes the following devices:
- thermal heads,
- valves,
- Ball Valves.
With their help, you can adjust the temperature in the room and reduce costs if a heat meter is provided.
There is an arrow indicator on the taps. It indicates the direction of fluid movement. For the highway to work properly, mistakes must not be made.
In addition, for some types of valves there are requirements regarding their location in space. If the devices are installed incorrectly, the circulation of the coolant is disrupted. As a result, the top of the battery remains hot and the bottom becomes cold.
Consequences of problems with return flow
This article has already mentioned that problems with the return flow must be corrected as soon as possible. Now we will provide you with a list of reasons that explain the consequences of slowness in this matter.
- Poor battery heating. It is logical that in this situation the quality of heating will suffer first. The room will not warm up properly and the rooms will have a low temperature.
- Dissonance between temperatures, that is, a very large difference between the temperature at which water is supplied and the temperature at which it returns back to the boiler. This leads to the formation of condensation inside the boiler, which, entering into a chemical reaction with the released carbon dioxide, turns into acid. This acid will destroy the inner walls of the boiler, which will eventually lead to its failure.
Why doesn't half the battery heat up? Because it's clogged!
There are many reasons why the batteries are hot on top and cold on the bottom: the apartment is being renovated, and the craftsmen made mistakes during installation, the seal was broken due to work on the line. But the most common one is a blockage.
The coolant often contains impurities - sand, rusty flakes, remnants of gaskets and sealing rubber. Over time, sludge and deposits accumulate in batteries. As a result, they heat worse.
How to clean a clogged battery?
To do this you will have to remove it and wash it. Prepare a suitable location before starting work. It is better to do this in the bathroom or in the yard.
Procedure:
- Cover the surface of the bath with a thick cloth and install a protective mesh over the drain hole.
- Close the shut-off valves and disconnect the joints.
- Drain the liquid, remove the radiator, and transfer it to a work surface. Be careful not to get burned.
- Gently tap each section to remove any rusty residue.
- Pressure wash with a hose.
After this, reassemble in reverse order and reinstall.
What are the reasons for radiators not fully warming up?
- The last radiator in the heating system does not heat up - the reason is insufficient power of the circulation pump, non-observance of angles and slopes when installing the pipeline.
- The lower part of the heating radiator does not warm up completely - this problem is usually typical for aluminum heating radiators. In some cases, the cause is an incorrectly set mode of the thermostat installed on the coolant supply to the battery.
Room too cold
The battery can be hot at the top and cold at the bottom if it is located on a veranda, an uninsulated loggia, or in a corner room. This is a common problem in climates with harsh winters.
In these cases, the metal surface and working fluid cool down very quickly. According to the laws of physics, warm layers tend to rise. This causes a temperature difference. For the same reason, it is always colder near the floor than near the ceiling.
To correct the situation, it is necessary to increase the temperature of the coolant. This can be done using a climate control system, but not all homes have it. Then using a reflective screen will help. To do this, use aluminum foil or penofol.
The temperature in the apartment should not be lower than plus 18-20 degrees. If it does not reach these indicators, write a complaint to the service company. Submit your application in writing. Make two copies. Leave one (indicating the incoming number) with you, and the second - at the reception.
The master will come at the appointed time. He will take measurements, correct problems and recalculate the tariff.
Why does the battery have a cold bottom - due to the low speed of the coolant
If the liquid medium moves slowly, then when it reaches the return from below, it has time to cool down. If its speed is normal, the battery will be warm in all places.
The average speed of fluid movement through the heating system in private houses and apartments is 0.5-1.5 m/s.
The intensity of circulation is influenced by several factors:
- pumping equipment power,
- state and cross-section of communications,
- battery material,
- coolant characteristics.
If the circular pump has low power or has stopped working, the flow rate of the working medium will be reduced.
In addition, there are gravity-type heating schemes. They work without a pump, so they do not always provide stable performance.
The diameter of the pipes can be narrowed for several reasons:
- poor-quality soldering of plastic,
- small cross-section control valve,
- accumulation of sediments in the old pipeline.
Any heating system contains foreign impurities. They circulate along with water, settling in various places in the battery. In cast iron communications this happens faster than in polypropylene ones.
Heating radiator with ball valve
When the amount of deposits reaches a critical level, it begins to impede the flow of coolant. As a result, the battery remains hot on top and cold on the bottom.
What to do?
Check if the battery is connected correctly. Then open the water inlet and outlet taps to full capacity. If you find any malfunctions, repair or replace the components.
Then release the air lock. If that doesn't help, clean the radiators.
After each heating season, check the operation of the shut-off valves. Install Mayevsky taps if they do not exist. If the heat is distributed unevenly, call a specialist.
Important: not all problems can be fixed on your own. If the top of the battery is hot for several days, this is a reason to troubleshoot. If you are not confident in your abilities, call an REP employee.
The best way to make the temperature in heating devices uniform is to replace old models with new ones. Modern bimetallic products have increased heat transfer rates and a reliable design that is not susceptible to corrosion.
Clogged water filter of the heating system
Sometimes there is an arbitrary decrease in the temperature of the “last” battery in the row. Then it is possible to cascade shutdown of other batteries in front of it. Typically, the reason for such an “abnormal” decrease in temperature is the filters of the heating system. This filter must be removed and cleaned thoroughly. During the first start-up, there may be debris in the water that is pumped into the heating system. To prevent this debris from entering the heating boiler heat exchanger, a filter is installed on the return pipe in front of the boiler. Usually one such filter is installed, but sometimes you can see several installed almost in front of each battery. This setup doesn't make any sense. After cleaning, the radiators in the house will no longer be cold.
Tips and tricks from experts
To improve the efficiency of heating devices, experts give simple but useful recommendations. To avoid the problem of “tops and bottoms”, adhere to the following rules:
- Regularly clean from rust and mucous deposits inside.
- Do not install it yourself.
- When installing, correctly calculate the number of sections. Don't put it in reserve.
- To ensure that warm water is distributed evenly, in a multi-story building, connect radiators in a diagonal pattern.
- Soldering of joints must be done by a specialist. Errors in connection often lead to section overlap and even complete obstruction.
To improve heat transfer, empty the batteries as much as possible. Remove protective screens and curtains. Radiators must not be touched by any parts. Otherwise, the heat will go into the structural element. And even more so, you shouldn’t hide them in a load-bearing wall, as my neighbor did.
Important: do not sound the alarm ahead of time. Steady heating after the first switching on appears within 3–4 days.
