What's wrong with my radiator?!

[DrizzleHair]

Radiator in kitchen doesn't work. Barely gets warm even though it's turned onto highest setting. Other radiators in the house all fine on much lower settings. Don't think they're TRVs, and anyway the kitchen is freezing, even when we're cooking (quite a big room, plus new modern appliances so not much heat loss)

It doesn't need bleeding, and DH tried anyway so double doesn't need doing!

Pipes on one side are hot, on other side not.

Any ideas? Could the radiator just be broken?

We only moved in over summer so this is all we've known...no idea if it went hot last year

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Possibly an airlock in the rad or probably the valve on the other side (with the smooth cap on it) is turned down or off. You prize the cap off and alter it with an adjustable spanner.

I'm also wondering if it is a TRV if it has settings on it. Sometimes when you turn the TRV up, the pin underneath has seized. If you can take the TRV top off (they normally screw on to the valve) and a tap with a hammer (tap not batter it!) frees it up. Replace valve.

I would probably start looking at the TRV side.

This feels like something @pigletjohn will know the answer to.

sorry pigletjohn

full of sludge?

Thanks for suggestions.

If the infamous pigletjohn has any suggestions to add much appreciated...

turn all the others off.

does it get hot?

Is it an extra radiator, added after the rest of the system was built, for example in an extension? How old is the heating system? Is there a pressure gauge on the boiler?

Thanks PJ. Answers:

Whole system is 12 yrs old, as is house.

No extension - all as originally built.

There us a pressure gauge, what sort of numbers might I expect?

It's a 5 bedroom house so will take me an age to turn them all off but I can try this tmrw brrrrrr when wfh

The actual pressure doesn't matter for this.

You could try balancing them, if it heats up when you close the others.

Balancing, if required.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/a2205419-New-radiators-not-getting-hot#50023831

Great, thanks - I'll try this

Yes. As piglet John has said, try closing all the other radiators off to see if it heats up. If not, you might need to take the radiator off the wall, take it outside, connect a hosepipe and flush it out.

If you flush it, take the blank or bleed off at the top and connect the hosepipe there to flush out of the bottom.