Does anyone in London know how much it costs to get plumber to come & 'bleed' your central heating radiators?

Question

Our heating isn't working and the landlord said we need to 'bleed' the radiators. I've been told it's a messy job and we want to get a professional to come and do it. Has anyone in London had this done recently and could give me an idea on costs?

Answer 1

Go to any diy shop and by a radiator bleeding tool a brass one they are best. At the top of the radiator on one end is a plug with a little brass square knob inside it. The bleeding tool fits in there. When the system is working turn the tool anticlockwise ( it may be stiff so you might have to start with a pair of pliers) Turn it just enough until you hear the air hissing out then stop. When the air is all out a small amount of water will run down the radiator then you tighten up the bleed tool by turning clockwise and you can just wipe the bit of water with a piece of rag. It is very easy to do and not messy. Once you have done one you will wonder what all the fuss was about.
Do not tighten the bleed tool with pliers finger tight should be enough.

Answer 2

Don't hire a plumber...it will cost you a fortune....honestly. It is a very simple job and I've done it many times myself. You can't go wrong :

1. Buy a radiator key from DIY store.

2. The bolt on the radiator can be located at the bottom of it on one side. Have a bowl just underneath the bolt hole.

3. Use the radiator key and turn 3 or 4 times, slowly till you hear the air hissing out. When water starts to come (don't worry it's not like a tidal wave), turn the bolt back with key.

Hey presto!! Do the same thing for all the radiators.

I promise you....it is soooo easy.

(Plumber £30 call out then add another £40 to £50 on top.)

Answer 3

Bleeding your radiators is very easy. No need to pay someone to do it, and its NOT a messy job. Go to a plumbers merchant or some similar sort of shop and get a radiator 'key'. Make sure the heating is on. Put the key in the radiator 'key hole' (they are usually at the top but can be anywhere, so look carefully) turn it slightly (only a small movement as you don't want to unscrew it) until you hear air escaping. If you put your hand on the radiator you will feel the warm water rising up as the air escapes. When the first few drops of water start coming out, turn the key and tighten it up. Voila! you've saved yourself loadsamoney.

Answer 4

It is the landlord's responsibility to maintain the heating system, at least under US law. Bleeding the radiators isn't particularly difficult or messy; you could do it yourself easily enough. There is a small valve on each radiator, which you can open either with a screwdriver or a special key that you can obtain at a hardware store. You put a container under the valve, open it until you get an uninterrupted flow of water, and then close the valve; you could do the whole house in less than an hour. But, as I said, this is the landlord's job, not yours.

Answer 5

the first thought that came to my mind upon reading this post was 1. WHY is college tuition fee is America ridiculously expensive? WHY do colleges need so much money? A college is NOT a company like Apple or Microsoft. My sister will graduate from her 4 years of university soon and the total coast of tuition pee paid during those 4 years....is OMG too much. the amount is almost as much as the U.S. national debt. 2. do colleges REALLY need a lot of money? 3. America is currently facing an economic crisis; it is predicted to be one of the worst ever in U.S. history. So unemployment is a rising issue, the economy is getting spoiled and there are more innocent citizens suffering beneath the poverty line. And i am NOT against the government but the federal government doesn't seem to be sorting it out well. I don't know that much about the ecnonomy, so I learned from my sister (she's a business / economics major) and i can tell that the nation, the economy and so on are all facing a crisis. Soo....i don't know but unless the government promises to like help the poor pay for college or something I strongly suggest that colleges DO NOT raise tuition fees. Otherwise...America will face an even worse educational crisis. Does the stuff I typed make sense? hope it does. And......the good news is that the expensive tuition fee paid to a great college was actually worth it since my sister got a great job 2 weeks before graduation.

Answer 6

It is not necessary the Landlords responsibility to have this done!! Depends what the Tenancy says. If you have working gas fires he will maintain he is providing heating even if your radiators aren't working properly. If he/ she had anything about them as a Landlord though they would do this for you.

It is usually a piece of cake like everyone says but not always - if it is a combi boiler and you let a lot of air out of the rads - and hence a lot of water goes back in to the rads - the water pressure on the boiler can drop. This means you have to let water back into the boiler to maintain correct water pressure.

Do what everyone says but do it one rad at a time and give it 5 mins before the next. If it is a combi there will be a dial on it. Just make sure the needle on this doesn't go down in between rads. If it does stop and INSIST your Landlord sorts it.

Answer 7

A PLUMBER IN LONDON WILL CHARGE YOU AT LEAST £25 A HOUR.ITS NOT MESSY YOU JUST HAVE TO BE CAREFULL.
1ST OF ALL YOU NEED A RAD KEY,AVAILABLE FROM ANY DIY SHOP.THEN YOU BLEED THE RADIATERS WHEN THE HEATING IS ON.ONLY OPEN THE STOPPERS A LITTLE,WHEN THE HISSING STOPS(AIR RELEASING)A LITTLE WATER WILL COME.I USUALLY PUT A CLOTH OVER THE STOPPER AND LET IT DRIP INTO A SMALL BOWL.REPEAT THIS ON EVERY RADIATOR AND THATS IT JOB DONE.IT WILL TAKE YOU ABOUT 1 HOUR.A LONDON PLUMBER WILL TAKE 4 OR 5 HOURS TO DO THID AND FIND SOMTHING ELSE WRONG WITH YOUR SYSTEM.

Answer 8

A plumber is going to rip you off for such an easy job (especially at London prices!). Just buy a radiator bleed key and do it yourself, I'm sure there are instructions on the internet and some answerers have given instructions here.

Don't be so lame, do it yourself! Anyway the landlord should be responsible for it so you could always get him to sort it out!

Answer 9

Should be the landlords job really. Sounds like he's taking the pee. You can do it yourself. Go and buy a 99p radiator bleed key, find the bleed valve (usually at the top of a rad, on the side), turn slowly anticlockwise to release it and you should hear the air hissing out. As soon as water starts to come out, you close it again, tightening it fully. If in doubt, get your landlord to do it, but for gods sake, don't pay someone else for it. Its not worth it.

Answer 10

bleeding radiators is easy and simple you need a radiator key cost about £1.50 at the top of the radiator you have a valve you twist it and the radiator hisses out air the water then rises to the top of the radiator heating it all up you go round all the radiators doing this heating is best on if most of your radiators are half warm bleeding just rises the water turn the key to close the valve as soon as abit of water comes out or the radiator is fully hot use a teatowel or rag in your hand and there shouldnt be loads of water as basically you are turning valve of at first sign.
look up bleeding radiators online it will say exactly what i've said