I bled the radiator system and now the house is all warm and cozy. Yeah me. I also saved a chunk of change since heating/plumbing professionals charge a lot for their time.
It wasn't that I didn't think I could do it, I just thought that perhaps there was something more complicated about it that I didn't know about. Nope, bleeding a hot water radiator heating system is a piece of cake.
Things to note:
- buy radiator key at your local Ace Hardware or order online
- Have a container and an old towel handy to catch any overflow
- make sure to open the quick fill valve next to the boiler (ours was above and had a u-shaped valve that you flipped up (as noted by reading a hang tag attached to it), if you don't the system quickly loses pressure after a radiator or two (remember we were refilling the entire system) and you can't do anything.
- take it slowly as the water can really shoot out when it gets up to the top; you can hear the water filling somewhat and also will feel the side of the radiator warming as the water flows in. I noted that there would be a little choking of the sssssssss noise for a few seconds before the water would come which after a few tries allowed me to close the valve up some so as to only lose a few teaspoons full of water instead of a quarter of a cup running down the wall.
- Start at the bottom with the radiator closest to the boiler and then work your way up to the highest and furthest radiator. Repeat from the bottom up to make sure that any trapped air that might have moved around while you were bleeding is allowed to escape.
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