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What are Brass Radiator Valves
A brass radiator valve is a self-regulating valve fitted to hot water heating system radiator, to control the temperature of a room by changing the flow of hot water to the radiator. The basic function of a radiator valve is to control how much hot water can enter and leave a radiator, managing the heat the radiator outputs. It’s designed to automatically adjust the amount of hot water coming into a radiator according to the temperature in the room, not according to the temperature in the radiator.
Money Saving
The biggest reason to install brass radiator valves is to save money on heating bills. So if you go into a room that is cold, the radiator is hot and the brass radiator valve is working properly and you turn it up to 10, the radiator will never shut down and you’ll never save any money. The best recommendation is that you turn all of your radiator valves to somewhere bewteen 2 - 3. This will enable you to have a comfortable temperature when needed, without wasting too much energy. brass radiator valves are fantastic at managing heating on a room by room basis.
Higher Functionality&Efficiency
Smart valves can be used in conjunction with a mobile app, enabling homeowners to control their heating on the go. In contrast, lockshield valves provide an additional layer of security to protect against accidental changes. Whether looking to replace a single valve or a whole set of radiators, upgrading your valves can significantly improve the functionality, efficiency, and appearance of your heating system.
Balanced Heating
Not only do thermostatic radiator valves regulate the temperature of individual rooms, but they also allow for greater control over your home’s climate by creating different temperature zones. When all radiator valves are open, heat is evenly distributed across different rooms, creating a comfortable environment throughout your home.
Style
Straight valves would be suitable when the pipework runs directly into the radiator, think of a pipe in a completely straight line with the valve appearing to then simply sit on top of the pipe, with no alteration of the angle. In any room where the pipework runs in a straight line into the radiator, a straight valve would be used - this can often be in a bathroom where the pipe goes straight up and into a towel radiator.
The common alternative is an angled valve, this typically enabling a 90 degree alteration in angle. In many rooms, the pipework comes up from underneath the floor close to the radiator, then switches 90 degrees to enter the radiator itself. An angled valve would be suitable here. A corner valve would be for when pipework goes round the corner of the room straight into a radiator.
Type
The most basic radiator valve is a manual valve, this essentially working just the same as a tap. The valve can be turned to be open or closed, or partially opened - allowing partial filling of the radiator. These valves can be useful if you want a room to always have the same level of heating, for example, when the heating comes on you want this room to be heated fully. This might be true of a lounge / living room for example. The downside is that if the homeowner is not continually adjusting them, they are not working efficiently. If the heating comes on during the day, it might be heating several bedrooms that won’t be in use for hours; similarly, at night, when the main aim might be to heat the bedrooms the heating might be wasting energy heating the kitchen unless the valves there have been adjusted. Manual valves are simple and effective and often cheap to buy, but they might prove expensive in the long run as they offer no nuance to heating.
Thermostatic radiator valves can be far more efficient. With a thermostatic valve, it is possible to set the radiator to a certain level and once this is reached, the valve stops the flow of further water into the radiator. This is independent of the overall heating, the boiler could still be in action producing hot water to heat other rooms, but this particular radiator would now be shut off until room temperature fell once more. A thermostatic radiator allows far more nuanced control of heating, for instance rooms can be set to a low level to allow some base heating but without the wasted energy of heating all the way to the level of a room in current usage. A thermostatic radiator valve is as easy to fit as a manual valve, it simply offers more control of the heating in that location. If choosing between manual and thermostatic radiator valves, thermostatic radiator valves are generally recommended because of the far greater heating control they provide.
These valves control the volume of water that flows out of the radiator to ensure an even distribution of heated water across the property. Lockshield valves therefore manage the rate at which your radiators heat up around the house, making your heating more efficient.
Turn Off Central Heating
The first thing to do is to make sure to turn your central heating off. Before changing your valve make sure that the radiator has had time to completely cool down, to prevent burning yourself.
Prepare The Area
Before you remove the valve prepare the area by putting down old towels underneath your radiator and keeping a bucket or container close by to catch any excess water.
Close Your Lockshield Valve
First, you need to locate your radiator's lockshield valve. This is located towards the bottom of your radiator.
To close the lockshield valve you need to remove the cap with your adjustable spanner. Once you’ve removed the cap, you’ll have access to the valve itself. Use your adjustable spanner to turn the valve anticlockwise until you feel it comes to a stop. It’s a good idea to make a note of the amount of turns you had to make so you know how far to turn the valve when opening it again later.
Remove The Old Valve
Once you have closed the lockshield valve you now need to locate the existing manual radiator valve, which can be found towards the bottom of your radiator where it connects to the pipework. Loosen the bottom nut with your adjustable spanner making sure any slight water leakages are caught in your container of bucket.
Next, supporting the valve with grips you need to need to fully loosen the top nut. Once you have done this make sure you have your new valve to hand, with the decorator cap still attached.
You can now fully remove the bottom nut and carefully remove the valve. Be aware this is likely to result in quite a bit of water loss, so keep your tub at hand to catch the water.
Fit The New Valve
You can now insert your new valve and tighten the nuts. When tightening the nuts, it’s best to use your grips to support the valve and prevent damaging the pipework.
Now’s the time to remove the decorator cap but make sure to keep it safe as you might need it again in the future, especially if you ever need to take the radiator off the wall to decorate behind it.
With the thermostatic radiator valve head fully open you can now reattach this to the valve. Simply push the head into the top of the valve and tighten the collar by hand. Your next task is to re-open the lockshield valve, again using your adjustable spanner, this time turning the valve clockwise, the same number of times you turned the valve when closing the valve.
Bleed The Radiator
Once you have completed the above and your new thermostatic radiator valve is fitted, you’ll need to bleed the radiator. To bleed your radiator, you’ll need a jug or bucket to collect any excess water and your radiator key or screwdriver.
Make sure you have your jug positioned under the bleed valve then simply turn the valve anticlockwise with your radiator key or screwdriver until air starts to escape and you hear a hissing noise. This is when you will get some water leakage. You can now turn the valve clockwise with your radiator key to tighten it again. You have now finished bleeding the radiator.
What is the Working Theory of Brass Radiator Valves
How does a brass radiator valve automatically adjust where that pin is? On top of the pin is the thermostatic part of the radiator. This is the plastic bit that you twist with numbers on the side that correlate to how hot you want the room to be. Usually they have a responsive metal that will expand and contract as it gets hot or cold. The hotter something is the more it expands and the colder it is, the more it will contract.
Similarly, other brass radiator valves will use a small wax canister and that gets warm, the wax will expand and push down. Other brass radiator valves contain a metal coil. The metal coil sits inside the thermostatic part of the valve. According to the temperature you want in the room, you open and close the radiator valve.
The whole coil and plastic bit will move slightly up or slightly down. When the room is cold, the spring will contract allowing the pin to lift up and letting hot water into the radiator, warming the radiator up and therefore warming the room up. When the room is hot, the metal spring will expand and exert pressure on the radiator pin, shutting the valve and then stopping any flow going into the radiator.
One tool that will make your life much easier is a digital thermometer. This tool can be used to take an exact temperature reading at the radiator itself to ensure that all the radiators are providing heat to the correct, or balanced rate. The first step is to turn off the central heating system and let it cool down.
After this, bleed all the radiators in the system to ensure that they are working correctly. Read this guide on how to bleed your radiators. This process will put you in a good starting position to balance the radiators correctly and effectively.
Most radiators have two valves, one that lets the water into the radiator, and one that allows the water to be removed from the radiator. Familiarise yourself with both valves and their operation. Both valves should be turned fully open (anti-clockwise) so that the water can flow freely through the radiator. The lockshield valve normally has a plastic cover over it and controls the flow of the water into the radiator. Remove the cover to expose the value.
Some valves can be opened by hand, whereas other valves may need a key or an adjustable spanner. Once you have done this you are ready to turn on the central heating system. As the system heats up you will need to check each of the radiators to try to determine which order they heat up in. In a large house you may need some assistance with this as it can be hard to do on your own. Most likely the radiators that are closest to the boiler should heat up first.
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