How to adjust the temperature in the apartment
- If the apartment is often hot enough to make you want to turn off the radiators, consider installing temperature controllers on your radiators. If the battery has a bypass, you can put a thermostat at the battery inlet that will control the temperature in the room.
- If there is no bypass, it is forbidden to install control devices, since with such devices you will set the temperature not only in your apartment, but also for all neighbors in the riser. In this case, you can replace the heating battery and install a bypass.
To shut off the heater, ball valves are required
For those who live in houses with central heating, questions about how to shut off the radiator usually arise in two cases:
- if warm weather has settled on the street, and the central heating has not yet been turned off, since the heating season has not officially ended;
- if necessary, replace, repair or paint the radiator, repair the wall behind the battery.
In this case, the following point should be taken into account: a coolant is constantly inside the battery. It is drained only in case of repair work in the system.
This is due to the fact that the main part of the heating devices installed in old houses, as well as the house wiring, are made of steel.
The liquid inside the radiator contains a certain amount of oxygen in dissolved form, which eventually completely reacts with the metal, as a result of which corrosion stops.
It is impossible to leave the system or a separate heater unfilled for a long time - moisture remains on the inner surface of a steel or cast iron battery, which does not evaporate for a long time in a confined space. This significantly accelerates the corrosion process. Thus, the coolant is drained only in exceptional cases.
If you need to shut off and remove the radiator
Work related to the removal of the radiator, it is best to carry out after the end of the heating season. If work needs to be carried out during the heating season, a number of nuances must be taken into account. If you have a single-pipe heating system and vertical wiring, you can only remove the battery if there is a bypass.
Such a system can be identified by pipes, one of which comes from the ceiling and connects to the radiator, while the other exits the radiator and disappears into the floor. The bypass is a jumper connecting the incoming and outgoing pipes. This is a pipe of approximately the same or slightly smaller diameter than the main pipes. The principle of operation of the bypass is as follows: if the radiator is turned off, the water begins to flow through the riser, passing through the bypass without passing through the battery. In this case, the riser works, the heating in neighboring apartments does not turn off.
If the system is two-pipe, if there are taps, it is enough to close them, after which you can remove the battery.
Remember that the battery is always filled with water
The battery is filled with liquid throughout the year. Drainage of water is carried out only for a short time in the process of centralized repair work. Therefore, if you plan to replace the battery, just disconnecting it is not enough - you need to drain the water. Why is the system constantly filled with coolant? It is highly undesirable for oxygen to enter the heating system. When the water drains, air with water vapor takes its place. This leads to active oxidation - that is, the appearance of rust on the surface of steel and bimetallic batteries. The oxygen dissolved in the coolant does not destroy the metal; does not lead to corrosion. Therefore, in order for the heating system to last a long time, it is always full.
The need for shutdown
Before moving on to the scheme for disconnecting the battery from the riser in an apartment building, we suggest considering the basic reasons that can cause a malfunction in the heating system.
Here is a list of the most likely causes of battery failure:
- an emergency that threatens to flood your and your neighbor's apartment with a hot coolant;
- painting radiators in the cold season, when the heating is already on;
- if there is a need to change the radiator, or flush it;
- in winter the batteries are too hot and you want to lower the room temperature.
In some apartments, residents practice shutting off batteries in the summer without draining the coolant in order to protect radiators from blockages during the autumn heating system. At this time, the water through the pipes often comes with fragments of rust. How to do it correctly, we will tell in one of the sections of this article.
What is required to cover heating appliances
If it is hot in the apartment or you need to disconnect the radiator without calling a plumber to shut off the entire heating riser in the entrance, it is important that:
- Between the supply pipe and the return there was a vertical jumper - a bypass, it is through it that the coolant flow will pass, without getting into the installed battery after you block it. The absence of a bypass automatically means that you are shutting off the flow for the entire riser.
- American ball valves must be installed on the supply and return pipes between the bypass and the heating radiator. They are the ones that allow you to turn it off.
- Ideally, an air valve is installed at the inlet to the radiator.
Based on the foregoing, if there is no bypass, but ball valves are installed, the battery can be dismantled independently for repair or replacement, but not during the heating season.
The bypass (jumper) is mounted parallel to the radiator and is usually a pipe whose diameter is equal to the diameter of the supply pipes or one step less. If you plan to close the batteries after the heating season or install a radiator with a thermostat, be sure to take care of installing a bypass. Otherwise, by your actions, you will lower the temperature of the coolant and the neighbors.
Is it possible to shut down by turning off both taps?
Imagine that you closed both taps at a time when the coolant in the system is still hot.
Knowing the elementary laws of physics, one can easily understand that
:
- When the water in the battery cools, its volume will decrease;
- This will lead to the formation of a vacuum in the closed space of the radiator;
- As a result of the resulting pressure, the battery is deformed or loses its tightness, it will need to be replaced.
So, in search of an answer to the question of how to turn off the battery if it becomes hot in the apartment, you already know that in no case should this be done by closing both taps! Now it remains to figure out whether it is worth using both taps after the heating season, when the coolant has already cooled down.
As we already know, the central heating system is full all year round. In some areas, the coolant is drained if repair work is required, and then refilled. So there is liquid inside your radiator.
If you turn off both the top and bottom tap, the following happens:
:
- Various chemical processes take place in the liquid inside the battery, since the coolant cannot be chemically pure;
- As a result of these processes, gas formation occurs;
- Since the gases have no way out, the radiator may depressurize due to increased pressure.
Thus, if an air vent (Maevsky tap) is not installed on the battery, it is categorically not recommended to close both shut-off valves, even if the coolant temperature is room temperature.
The principle of regulating the temperature of heating radiators
It is directly related to the design features of this element and its installation.The crane is a ball with a through hole.
The operation of the crane is controlled by means of a handle fixed to the ball by a rod.
Important!
To install the device, you need to choose the right location
so that turning the handle does not interfere with other devices of the heating system in the future. The valve and pipe diameters must be identical.
Valve and pipe diameter values must be identical.
Fixing the device must be parallel
as it is twisted using tow or a special tape. They provide the mechanism with additional protection against leaks. The correctness of the installation is further checked by applying water pressure.
Photo 1. Ball valve device for adjusting the temperature in a heating radiator. The arrows show the parts of the product.
Actuating the handle contributes to the movement of the mechanism around its own axis. Rotation of the ball hole to nozzles and pipeline inlets makes it possible for the coolant to circulate through it
otherwise the fluid flow will be blocked.
The ball in such mechanisms can be fixed and movable. In the first case, it is attached to the stem in such a way that it remains completely static. The tightness of such a connection is provided bolts or disc springs.
Movable ball is able to move depending on the degree of water pressure on it
. Because of this possibility, this type of mechanism is more widespread than the first.
How to open a faucet
This is done to supply the maximum possible amount of coolant in order to provide the room with heat. To adjust the mechanism, you need turn the handle parallel to its own axis and the pipe.
For convenience, there are protrusions on the valve body that indicate restrictions on the degree of its opening. Running it counterclock-wise.
How to close
With this action, the circulation of the coolant is completely stopped. It is required to do this in the case when it becomes necessary to reduce the temperature of the radiator to a minimum, for example, in summer.
Device handle in the "closed" position must form an angle of 90 degrees with its axis and the pipeline.
According to the protrusions, the movement of the handle to stop the circulation of the liquid must be carried out clockwise.
Reference.
In both situations, in the absence of a handle, it is possible to determine the position of the crane undercut
. If it is co-directed with the pipeline and the mechanism itself, then its position is “open”, otherwise the fluid flow is blocked.
How to turn a jammed valve on the battery, adjust it
Often this situation occurs if periodically, as a preventive measure, do not change the position of the mechanism and do not develop it.
Before taking directed actions to repair the device, worth trying to do it by hand.
Attention!
It is necessary to know in advance what the crane is made of, since the use of additional mechanical tools can cause irreversible damage to the mechanism. Repair begins with unscrewing the fixing nut
and removal of the handle
Under the handle is the top of the stem
Repair starts from loosening the fixing nut
and removing the handle. Under the handle is the top of the stem.
Some device models have clamping sleeve for hexagon
which puts pressure on the seal. If the stem is rotated only by applying force, then the fixation of the sleeve is made a little looser.
At the same time, the formation of small drips
water at the top of the faucet.
Then with wrench
a stem is developed with slow movements from side to side.
Important!
It is dangerous to apply increased efforts or accelerate restoration work. This can lead to the process of complete deformation of the ball or the mechanism as a whole.
The final step in the repair process is setting the handle back
. Trial turning it to the protrusions of the permitted degree of opening allows you to determine whether it is possible to fix the clamping sleeve. The final adjustment knob is installed in place only after a positive test result and checking the mechanism for leaks.
To avoid further unpleasant consequences in the form of a breakdown of the crane, you should not use a device made of silumin with a wall thickness of its nozzles less than 2.8 mm
At the same time, it is worth paying attention to products with a high level of quality, manufactured by European or Turkish manufacturers.
How to close the battery correctly
The answer to the question of how to turn off the heating battery is extremely simple - just close one tap, leaving the second open. But which faucet to turn off?
As we understand, water is supplied to the heating riser from below.
Consider options
:
- The top valve is closed and the bottom one is open. If repairs are being carried out at the neighbors below or in the basement, or on the branch that feeds the house, the coolant will be drained and your radiator will be empty. If it is steel or cast iron, it will provoke corrosion.
- The bottom valve is closed and the top valve is open. Regardless of any repairs, the radiator will be filled.
So, we have learned how to shut off the battery for the summer season: to do this, close only the lower ball valve.
With the onset of cold weather, follow the announcements at the entrance about the beginning of the heating season. Then close both ball valves so that debris does not get into the radiator - let it all pass through the bypass. In this case, a battery rupture with closed taps does not threaten you - in one or two days, sufficient pressure cannot form inside the radiator. During this time, the apartment will also not have time to freeze, especially since a small heating of the room will be from the riser.
How to turn on the heating battery? There is nothing difficult in this - just open both ball valves, and the coolant will begin to circulate normally through the included radiator.
Conclusion
This will require
:
- Ball Valves;
- bypass;
- air vent.
The work of installing the bypass and ball valves must be carried out by professionals with the involvement of a plumber who will shut off the water in the riser. Please note that welding and related equipment will be required.
Ball valves and bypass are an option
:
- ensure the safety of their batteries from corrosion and contamination;
- do not suffer from heat during a sharp warming during the heating period;
- ensure safety in the event of an emergency - if the radiator fails, it can be disconnected from the system, while the neighbors will not suffer from either the flood or the lack of heat;
- at any convenient time, independently replace the old radiator with a new one;
- remove batteries for washing or painting.
- successfully use modern radiators with a thermostat without disturbing your neighbors.
A competent approach to the organization of apartment heating is a concern for comfort and safety.
The radiator tap allows you to control the flow of the circulating coolant, including shutting it off in case of checking or washing the batteries.
With this fixture you can turn off the radiators without pressure testing the main heating system.
How to do it right
And it will be correct to open one tap, and close the second. I personally always open the top faucet and close the bottom one. Thus, the presence of water in the battery during the entire period: spring - summer - autumn - winter will be ensured, and in this case a vacuum will not form. The battery will be fine.
Attention!
But now, autumn has come. And we read the announcement that the heating should be turned on the next day. What are our actions? We remember that at the moment of water supply, the most rust will go through the pipes.In order not to clog the battery, turn off both taps! Do not worry, even if the next day coincides so that frosts are promised, the water in the battery will not have time to cool down so much during the day that a vacuum forms in it. After all, your battery is still in the apartment, and not on the street.
Yes, by the way, the jumper should always be open during these periods!
So, hot water was served. She ran across the bypass. And great. It is better not to turn on the battery at all for 1-2 days. Let all the rust pass you by!
From the bypass, the water in the battery will start to heat up a little. Heating the water will increase the pressure inside the battery. But don't be afraid. Just heat is not scary! Again we remember our bottle from childhood. Has anyone tried to trick her? Obviously, this was much more difficult to do than to suck the air out of her. The same effect with the battery. A slight increase in pressure due to an increase in temperature cannot in any way lead to deformation of the battery.
After 1-2 days of hot water flow through the jumper, we open both taps on the battery and meet the new heating season.
Well, dear readers, that's all! I hope this brief essay shed light on the fact that the heating in the apartment must be controlled!
From the author:
Hello dear friends! The need to turn off the battery in an apartment building can arise for completely different reasons, and not only during the heating season. The purpose of this article is to sort through the question “How to shut off the heating battery in an apartment?”.
Residents of private houses do not have such a problem due to autonomy
But in an apartment where the battery is part of a multi-level system and is firmly connected to neighboring heating appliances, it is important to follow certain rules. After all, self-shutdown of the radiator can lead to unpleasant consequences.
