Re: [OT] well, sort of. Central heating radiator plumbing

["gwh12001" <yahoo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A good source of information on all aspects of central heating can
be found here http://www.gasman.fsbusiness.co.uk/index.htm

Most likely you will have a 2 pipe system but there are still some
single pipe systems still around. 2 pipe systems has a feed and a
return. The feed comes from the boiler and the return goes back. All
of the radiators are in parallel across the pipes. You can put
Thermostatic Radaitor Valves (TRV) on all of the radiators and have
them set at different temperatures, but you will need to make sure a
bypass loop is installed so that the pump has somewhere to move hot
water if all of the TRVs are closed. The normal case is to leave one
radiator (the towel rail) without a TRV to overcome this, but a
bypass should still exist. Modern boilers have one built-in.

If the system is piped in micro-bore (10mm or 8mm pipe) then there
will be a minifold somewhere, otherwise if it is small-bore (15mm)
pipe, it will be a continous pipe run with radiators T'd off.

HTH

Geoff

--- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, ian.bird@... wrote:
>
> Hi all
>
> I cannot find after a while Googling how central heating radiators
are
> typically plumbed in. I have a conventional heating system i.e.
fully
> pumped but not pressurised and I want to know how the radiators
are
> plumbed back to the pump.
>
> I am trying to control my heating with much better accuracy,
flexibility
> and complexity (it is HA after all). To this end I need to know
what will
> happen if I turn off radiators seemingly randomly around the house
> depending on individual room conditions. I am assuming at this
point that
> none of the radiators are plumbed from one into another otherwise
when one
> turns off then the water won't get to the next!!
>
> Does a typical system have a manifold with individual feeds to
each
> radiator so turning one or more off won't have a dramatic affect
on
> others?
>
> Any help with web links or other advice most welcome.
>
> Thanks
>
> Ian
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>