Removing/Disabling TRV's

[freezing butt]

Hi all,

I have just moved house and all the rads including the one in the passage where the thermostat is sited have TRV's fitted.

Our old house had good old fashioned radiators without TRV's and were hot all the time until we turned the stat down and that is what I would like to get back too in certain rooms.

So, my question is................can I disable a TRV without having to replace it so it is on/open all the time or do I need to replace the whole unit?

If the only option is replacement is it just a case of draining down, removing the TRV and replacing it with a conventional valve?

Any advice would be apprieciated, thank you in advance.

 

[stevetheplumber]

taking the head of disables them although leaving them on full usually works as well

 

[doitmyself]

Our old house had good old fashioned radiators without TRV's and were hot all the time until we turned the stat down and that is what I would like to get back to in certain rooms.

I know it's your call, but why do you want to do this?

 

[Dennis]

taking the head of disables them although leaving them on full usually works as well

'Full' tries to get room heat of [IIRC] 93 degrees f on mine!

 

[WHPES]

If your rooms aren't warming up it is that the system needs balancing and not the fault of the TRVs. With the TRVs on full it is the same as a manual valve fully open.

 

[freezing butt]

I know it's your call, but why do you want to do this?

Thanks for all the replies guys but as "doitmyself" asked why I will explain.

First of all all our rads are set to "max"

The system starts off fine once the timer kicks in, all rads become very hot, however in our lounge/dining area we have 2 x rads, once the temp starts to rise it seems they are battling each other to come on/go off, what tends to happen is the dining area rad is always boiling hot and it seems to me the lounge area rad can sense this temp and shuts down, however the room is still cold.

Also we have a rad at the bottom of the stairs and one at the top, as we all know hot air rises so what happens is the hot air from downstairs rises up so the rad at the top is always off because it is sensing the hot air coming up, however the hot air coming up the stairs is not enough to heat the upstairs landing.

Maybe they do need a balance, what is the best way to balance a system with these TRV on?

 

[fuzzy]

i suspect it just wants balancing. The TRV's should actually help the problems that you are expereincing not the cause of

fuzz

 

[doitmyself]

Thanks for all the replies guys but as "doitmyself" asked why I will explain.

Thanks.

1. Do all your radiators have TRVs, or is there one rad without a TRV, where the wall stat is situated?

2. Are the TRVs set to max to try to overcome the problem or because the rooms are not warm enough?

3. The problem with the upstairs rad turning off too soon is unlikely to be due just to the hot air rising. You say that the landing is not hot enough, so the TRV should still be keeping the rad open.

4. Poor balance is very likely to be the cause of the problem.

what is the best way to balance a system with these TRV on?

Read How to balance a CH system for detailed instructions.

 

[Blackcatgas]

If your rooms aren't warming up it is that the system needs balancing and not the fault of the TRVs. With the TRVs on full it is the same as a manual valve fully open.

+1 WHPES is correct. unless the pin is partly jammed and they are stuck on say setting 3. Keep the trvs, they are your friend.

 

[charitynjw]

Just a thought, guys.
TRVs don't react directly to room temp, they sense the water temperature at the radiator.