Hi,

I'm having a combi boiler fitted and will be getting my radiator
valves converted to Drayton TRV4s and lockshields at the same time.
I'm told I can save some money on this if I fit the TRVs myself but
before I spend the money on them I thought I'd check whether this is
normally an easy job. I can understand the logistics of draining the
system and removing the radiator and that all sounds fine, but are the
ordinary radiator valves and the TRV4s normally the same size or am I
going to get myself in a pickle with pipework that's then too long or
too short to fit onto the radiators.

Has anyone had any experience of this? Thoughts welcomed...

Steve

Steve Burrow wrote:

I'm having a combi boiler fitted and will be getting my radiator
valves converted to Drayton TRV4s and lockshields at the same time.
I'm told I can save some money on this....

Has anyone had any experience of this? Thoughts welcomed...

Yep, looking at one now as I type this.The fitting is very close to, or
is, the same physical size at the bottom of the rad, as the old 20yo
valve it replaced, so yes, it should be a straight swap.
The extra size is all above the inlet pipe on the rad, so shouldnt cause
a problem, unless the rad is in a very tight position.

As for saving money with these valves, I'm not so sure. If one rad is
getting too hot, I'd adjust the flow rate to it, so it is the same as
others, or whatever I'd like it to be, these valves do it
automatically, though at the initial 3 or 4 times the cost of a normal
valve.
Alan.
--
To reply by e-mail, change the ' + ' to 'plus'.

"These valves do it automatically"

You wish! Got very fed up with having to take the top off and hit pin with
hammer every day or two to get them to let any water through at all. Much
easier to just turn the ordinary valve up and down as required - which is
what people tend to do with the 'automatic' valves in any case - often
wrenching off the end stops in an attempt to get it even warmer... And if
you want to control the whole lot just put the thermo switch high up where
nobody is tempted to keep turning it up.

S

"A.Lee" wrote in message
...
Steve Burrow wrote:

I'm having a combi boiler fitted and will be getting my radiator
valves converted to Drayton TRV4s and lockshields at the same time.
I'm told I can save some money on this....

Has anyone had any experience of this? Thoughts welcomed...

Yep, looking at one now as I type this.The fitting is very close to, or
is, the same physical size at the bottom of the rad, as the old 20yo
valve it replaced, so yes, it should be a straight swap.
The extra size is all above the inlet pipe on the rad, so shouldnt cause
a problem, unless the rad is in a very tight position.

As for saving money with these valves, I'm not so sure. If one rad is
getting too hot, I'd adjust the flow rate to it, so it is the same as
others, or whatever I'd like it to be, these valves do it
automatically, though at the initial 3 or 4 times the cost of a normal
valve.
Alan.
--
To reply by e-mail, change the ' + ' to 'plus'.

"spamlet" wrote in message
...
"These valves do it automatically"

You wish! Got very fed up with having to take the top off and hit pin
with hammer every day or two to get them to let any water through at all.
Much easier to just turn the ordinary valve up and down as required -
which is what people tend to do with the 'automatic' valves in any case -
often wrenching off the end stops in an attempt to get it even warmer...
And if you want to control the whole lot just put the thermo switch high
up where stat - nobody is tempted to keep turning it up.

S

If you are having to hit them then I suggest that either there is some
seepage causing the stem to seize up. Do you have an inhibitor in the
system?

Also - a bit of lubricant on the stem will help prevent sticking.

However, I accept that many people are not patient enough with thermostats
and fiddle with them. Witness an air conditioned office with a remote
control on the system - everyone will want a tweak every few minutes.



J

In article ,
spamlet wrote:
"These valves do it automatically"

You wish! Got very fed up with having to take the top off and hit pin
with hammer every day or two to get them to let any water through at
all.

What make? Like many such things you get what you pay for and shed etc own
brands in my experience simply don't last as long as Drayton or other
quality makes. So be prepared to change every 5 years or so.

--
*'Progress' and 'Change' are not synonyms.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
A.Lee wrote:
As for saving money with these valves, I'm not so sure. If one rad is
getting too hot, I'd adjust the flow rate to it, so it is the same as
others, or whatever I'd like it to be, these valves do it
automatically, though at the initial 3 or 4 times the cost of a normal
valve.

All rads should get 'hot'. A thermostatic valve controls the room
temperature - not that of the rad. It works by switching the rad on and
off to maintain this. But you should still balance the system with the
lockshields even with TRVs to prevent uneven warm up throughout the house.
See FAQ for details on how.

--
*People want trepanners like they want a hole in the head*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 28 Jul, 09:34, "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
In article ,
A.Lee wrote:

As for saving money with these valves, I'm not so sure. If one rad is
getting too hot, I'd adjust the flow rate to it, so it is the same as
others, or whatever I'd like it to be, these valves do it
automatically, though at the initial 3 or 4 times the cost of a normal
valve.

All rads should get 'hot'. A thermostatic valve controls the room
temperature - not that of the rad. It works by switching the rad on and
off to maintain this. But you should still balance the system with the
lockshields even with TRVs to prevent uneven warm up throughout the house.
See FAQ for details on how.

--
*People want trepanners like they want a hole in the head*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Thanks for the info... but my original question was whether radiator
valves and TRVs are physically the same size, or whether I would end
up having to move pipes around. Does anyone have any more thoughts on
this?

Steve

"Steve Burrow" wrote in message
ups.com...
On 28 Jul, 09:34, "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
In article ,
A.Lee wrote:

As for saving money with these valves, I'm not so sure. If one rad is
getting too hot, I'd adjust the flow rate to it, so it is the same as
others, or whatever I'd like it to be, these valves do it
automatically, though at the initial 3 or 4 times the cost of a normal
valve.

All rads should get 'hot'. A thermostatic valve controls the room
temperature - not that of the rad. It works by switching the rad on and
off to maintain this. But you should still balance the system with the
lockshields even with TRVs to prevent uneven warm up throughout the
house.
See FAQ for details on how.

--
*People want trepanners like they want a hole in the head*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Thanks for the info... but my original question was whether radiator
valves and TRVs are physically the same size, or whether I would end
up having to move pipes around. Does anyone have any more thoughts on
this?

Steve

It is most likely that your new TRVs will fit the existing pipework to your
rads.
Check that the inlet and outlet on your existing valves are the same length,
if they are then you should have no problems.

In article . com,
Steve Burrow wrote:
Thanks for the info... but my original question was whether radiator
valves and TRVs are physically the same size, or whether I would end
up having to move pipes around. Does anyone have any more thoughts on
this?

Buy one and compare? All TRVs are not identical as I discovered after my
Wicks ones failed many years ago and had to be replaced. I couldn't get
identical ones and had to modify the pipework. However, I'd say you have a
good chance of Drayton TRVs being a direct replacement for your existing
lockshields. You may have to change the stubs into the rads - but these
come with the TRVs.

--
*Stable Relationships Are For Horses. *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Steve Burrow wrote:

Thanks for the info... but my original question was whether radiator
valves and TRVs are physically the same size, or whether I would end
up having to move pipes around. Does anyone have any more thoughts on
this?

It is an impossible question to answer for sure since we don't know what
your original valves are like. You may find that it is a straight swap,
you may however need to do some slight bending of pipes, or you may even
need to cut and re-pipe them. The other thing to check is if the new
valves fit the existing tails screwed into the rad. There is more than
one size of these. Note that you can get extension tails that can fit
between rad and valve that can also solve some alignment problems.

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

The message . com
from Steve Burrow contains these words:

Thanks for the info... but my original question was whether radiator
valves and TRVs are physically the same size, or whether I would end
up having to move pipes around. Does anyone have any more thoughts on
this?

It depends on what you have. I have certainly had to bend the upstands
slightly when fitting TRVs. That was with a wooden floor so was quite
easy. I think I might have struggled with short pipes coming up out of
concrete.

--
Roger Chapman

On 28 Jul, 12:18, Roger wrote:
The message . com
from Steve Burrow contains these words:

Thanks for the info... but my original question was whether radiator
valves and TRVs are physically the same size, or whether I would end
up having to move pipes around. Does anyone have any more thoughts on
this?

It depends on what you have. I have certainly had to bend the upstands
slightly when fitting TRVs. That was with a wooden floor so was quite
easy. I think I might have struggled with short pipes coming up out of
concrete.

--
Roger Chapman

Many thanks for the pointers... I guess I'll have to suck it and see.

Steve

In article . com, Steve
Burrow writes
On 28 Jul, 12:18, Roger wrote:
The message . com
from Steve Burrow contains these words:

Thanks for the info... but my original question was whether radiator
valves and TRVs are physically the same size, or whether I would end
up having to move pipes around. Does anyone have any more thoughts on
this?

It depends on what you have. I have certainly had to bend the upstands
slightly when fitting TRVs. That was with a wooden floor so was quite
easy. I think I might have struggled with short pipes coming up out of
concrete.

--
Roger Chapman

Many thanks for the pointers... I guess I'll have to suck it and see.

Steve

Make sure you have the hex key for fitting the connector into the bottom
of the radiator - I found that several of my old radiators needed the
bottom connector replacing to get the TRV to connect in.

--
John Alexander,

Remove NOSPAM if replying by e-mail

In article ,
John writes:
Make sure you have the hex key for fitting the connector into the bottom
of the radiator - I found that several of my old radiators needed the
bottom connector replacing to get the TRV to connect in.

I found my 1/2" cold chisel was a perfect fit -- it was
used for fitting the connectors to all my radiators.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On Sat, 28 Jul 2007 11:10:33 -0700 someone who may be Steve Burrow
wrote this:-

Many thanks for the pointers... I guess I'll have to suck it and see.

Also check to see if Drayton has a web site with dimensioned
drawings of the proposed valves.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54