Heating

How to bleed air from a heating radiator: remove air plugs correctly

It is difficult to protect yourself from problems when starting the heating system, even in cases where the work is done by specialists in this matter. One of the most common and no less unpleasant of them is an air lock. Why is it so unpleasant for us and ours and batteries, how and with what help to fight it? Let's talk about this in our new article - an air lock or how to bleed air from a heating radiator.

If the battery does not heat up properly and gurgles and hisses are heard from it, oxygen has most likely entered the system. The danger of an air lock is that it leads to corrosion and after some time can damage the entire heating system. Air enters the system for various reasons, it may be an error during installation or filling the entire system with water, or it may be bad water, which contains oxygen in the form of impurities or bubbles.

What can cause the airiness of the heating system

The result of such an airlock is a decrease in the service life of the radiator, and if an autonomous heating system is used, the shaft bearings break, followed by the pump, since the boiler has to distill air instead of water.

How to properly bleed air from a battery

To release all the gas accumulated in pipes and batteries, you will need a radiator key, with which the air valve is adjusted, such keys are sold in all hardware stores and come in different sizes for different batteries. On new battery designs, the valve can be opened with a flathead screwdriver. If you have more than one radiator in your house, make sure you can open the valve on each one, and bleed air from all radiators installed in the house.

A similar operation must be performed with all the batteries in the house, even if there are no problems with them. For prevention, all gases are usually released once a year and after repairs or any other changes in heating.

Procedure:

Find a basin or any other container for draining water, then locate the intake and exhaust valves on your radiator and make sure they are open.
Using the wrench, turn the valve counterclockwise. At the same time, a characteristic hissing sound should be heard, which means that the air safely exits and is replaced by liquid.
This is where a container is needed, along with air a few drops of water will come out and as soon as a steady stream flows out of the valve, tighten it back.

Types of air vents and their installation locations

Manual crane Mayevsky.

Also called the needle radiator valve, it is distinguished by its simplicity and durability, it is made of brass. The design assumes a body and a screw of a conical shape. All parts are hermetically sealed to each other and securely hold water in the battery. When opened, air is released from a small opening on the side. The Mayevsky crane can be of different designs and, depending on this, it can open in different ways.

Installation of such a crane does not require special professionalism. The main thing is to choose the right size faucet. Before installation, you need to drain the water from your battery, and then unscrew the plug in the radiator cap. For greater reliability, you can wind the FUM tape on the thread.

The product can be purchased at a price of 30 rubles.

Automatic air vent.

This device automatically removes all the gases accumulated in the pipeline, and thus is undoubtedly more convenient than the Mayevsky crane. Made from bronze and stainless steel. Can be installed with a shut-off valve, which is needed in order to seamlessly replace the air vent.

An automatic air vent is installed in the highest places of the heating system, since the gas is lighter than the liquid and rises to the top. Experts recommend installing a trap behind the boiler, on collectors and at the highest points where pipes pass.

Prices for such equipment start at 300 rubles.

Air separator.

The principle of operation of this device is based on the separation of gas from liquid and removes all microbubbles and oxygen dissolved in water from the system. Special PALL-rings are used in the design, and all microscopic air bubbles are caught by their surface. In addition to trapping bubbles, separators also trap dirt circulating in the system.

A separator is installed immediately after the boiler, since most of the oxygen is released from the water when heated and it is best to remove them immediately.

Such equipment can be called advanced and the prices for it, respectively, are higher - from 10 thousand rubles.

Multistage system.

It is considered the most effective method of removing air accumulated in pipes and radiators. It consists in the fact that several types of devices are combined in one circuit. It usually looks like this: