Changing a Radiator Valve without the Need to Drain the System

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Is Changing a Radiator Valve a Simple Task? If you pride yourself as a seasoned DIYer and have experience with radiator issues, changing a radiator valve may be easy for you. This is especially true if you possess a combi boiler system. On the other hand, if you are a novice and have never carried out radiator repair work before, it is best to contact a professional as changing a radiator valve without draining the system can be a complex task. In cases where you have a conventional system with a small F&E tank in the loft, we would recommend that you engage the services of a registered heating engineer as this job will be more challenging for you.

Can You Change Radiator Valves Without Draining the System? If you plan to change a couple of valves on a few radiators, we suggest that you drain the entire heating system. In such cases, please refer to our manual on how to drain a pressurised system before proceeding. However, if you are planning to replace only one radiator, you can change the radiator valve without the need to drain the system entirely. In fact, there are benefits to not draining the entire system, such as not throwing away important chemicals, including heating additives and inhibitors, which protect the central heating system. By not draining the system entirely, you conserve and retain these valuable elements.

Is it Essential to Use the Correct Size of Radiator Valve? If you opt for this valve switch method, which does not require you to change the pipework, it is important to ensure that the new radiator valve is an exact match in size to the valve you are replacing. Note that the size of the radiator valve refers to the size of the valve connection and pipework, and not the design of the valve.