Radiators Not Heating

A few cold radiators while the boiler still runs usually points at something local in that loop, so call and say which rooms have gone cold.

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When this becomes an emergency

A room or two stays cold while the rest of the house comes up to temperature.
A radiator hammers or hisses sharply once the system fires.
The vent on a steam radiator spits water or has gone silent entirely.
One radiator is warm along the bottom and cold across the top.

What a pro does

Cold rooms with a working boiler mean distribution, not production. On the steam systems still common in older housing stock, air has to leave a radiator before steam can enter it, so a plugged or stuck vent keeps that one unit cold while everything else heats normally. Hot-water loops fail differently. There the same complaint traces to trapped air at a high point or a valve stem that seized part way, and a tech works the loop in order rather than starting at the boiler, checking circulator operation and zone valve position before touching any radiator. Banging usually comes from condensate sitting in a pipe that's lost its pitch.

Frequently asked questions

Why would only the upstairs rooms go cold?

Air collects at the high points of a hot-water system, and upper-floor radiators are where it ends up, which stops circulation through those units first.

What does a radiator that hisses constantly mean?

On steam, the vent is stuck open and passing steam instead of closing once the air is out. It usually wants replacement rather than adjustment.

Is the banging noise damaging anything?

It can be. Slugs of water driven by steam hit fittings hard, and pipe that has settled out of pitch keeps feeding the problem until it's corrected.

Do old cast iron radiators wear out?

They last a remarkably long time. Most cold-radiator calls end at a vent, a valve, or trapped air rather than the radiator itself.

Radiators Not Heating?

Get connected with a local pro now.

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