Why the heating radiator in the apartment does not heat well

Hello! 2 years ago they installed a bimetallic radiator Rifar. Worked great. This year, the radiator does not warm the room. The riser is hot, the inlet and outlet pipes are hot (the bottom is slightly colder). And the radiator case itself warms up only in the upper part. About once every 15 minutes, a click is heard in the radiator. She opened the Maevsky crane, but there was no air. The plumber from the EDS, who changed the radiator, says that this simply cannot be and refuses to watch. The fact is that this is a studio apartment (6th floor of a 10-storey building) and there is only one radiator for the entire apartment. Please help me figure out if the radiator has a problem or something else?

Pauline

Expert Answers

Hello Pauline.

The fact that "this simply can not be" your plumber, of course, is mistaken. You are not alone in your misfortune and it is most likely connected both with the features of the heating system of the studio apartment and with other reasons that arise in addition to your participation. Since we will establish the diagnosis remotely, do not blame me if some factors are not taken into account - all assumptions are based solely on your words.

So let's go. The heating worked well in the first years, therefore, critical installation errors disappear. We can only assume that due to the poor quality of the coolant of the central heating system, the internal channels of the radiators (and they have a rather small cross-section for bimetal radiators) are clogged. In this case, the hot water will either cease to circulate at all, or will go along the "small circle" - the area with the least hydraulic resistance. Of course, the probability of such a large-scale blockage is small, but throwing it off the scales is not worth it - everyone knows how much garbage is washed out from pipes and radiators that have not changed since the mid-50s.

The second reason may be associated with a decrease in pressure in the riser. Since you have only one radiator, you can assume that its length is not three or four sections, but more than ten. As long as the coolant pressure was enough, it circulated normally in all sections. Now it has become problematic. By the way, this happens not only because of the negligence of the heat-supplying organization, but because of excessively “smart” neighbors who, by various tricky methods, reduce the hydraulic resistance of heating in their own apartment.

The solution to the problem depends on the wiring used in your home. In one case, the installation of a bypass helps, in the other, on the contrary, the overlapping of this unit with a crane. In the third, replacing the supply line and return pipe with pipes with an enlarged cross-section helps to solve the problem, in the fourth - changing the connection to a diagonal, in the fifth - installing a circulating pump, etc.

All you can advise is to find a good, thinking plumber. Believe me, it will be easy for a specialist to deal with your problem.And the one who said “there can’t be such a thing” should not even be allowed to enter the apartment - these words eloquently indicate unprofessionalism.