How do I turn down the heat on my forced hot water home radiators?

Question

The radiator has a knob that says "off" turn counter clockwise, I turn it all the way and the heat doesn't seem to go down, I would think that less water would go through the radiator. Any know how th eknob works...do I turn it half way to stop the water from passing through? I know this sounds silly but the knob moves up and down but the heat doesn't seem to change.

Answer 1

Most likely, the flow would not change, this switch should regulate the temperature. I would check the gas valve, it may be stuck. Also, if you have an ohmeter, you should see a change in resistance as you turn the temp. control.

Answer 2

The individual radiator flow control valves are better left open except for instances where only a few rooms woud be empty, or to lower the water flow volume say in a hot upstairs bedroom. You don't want to restrict them all.

If the whole house is a bit too warm, then the boiler settings should be lowered to the range permitted in your owners manual. If you don't have this, better get a qualified tech as this is a boiler.

Answer 3

if these are cast iron radiators they will take a while to cool down. the knob controls a restrictor inside the valve, it doesn't shut the water completely off. this is done because, back in the days when houses weren't insulated, the radiator could freeze. the plate inside has a hole in it to maintain water movement at all times so this won't happen. with cast iron rads you are better off turning down the thermostat to control the heat. good luck.