Draining water systems

Draining water systems

If you wish to move a radiator or need to do some repairs, first you need to drain the central heating system. At the lowest point in the system (often on a radiator) there should be at least one draincock that allows you to drain the water. You might find others by the boiler or in other pipes..

To drain the system, first you should turn off your boiler or other type of water heater.  Then turn off the mains stopcock located inside your home (more about how to locate the mains stopcock). You shouldn’t have to turn off the water company’s stopcock, but you might as well to be on the safe side.

Then turn on all taps in your home to empty the water from pipes. Then using a hosepipe, drain the water from the draincocks – make sure that the hosepipe is long enough to reach outside or to a suitable drain inside.  Also, make sure that the air bleed valves on the radiators are unscrewed. Ensure that you’ve unscrewed the draincock properly with a spanner – and all water should flow out.

Before removing a radiator, make sure that you remove the carpet or any thing else that matters if it gets wet.

When you have moved your radiator (s), or finished your repairs, the system will need to be refilled with water. This can be a good opportunity to flush the system with a central heating cleaning fluid.

Close all drain cocks and tighten up the air bleed valves on the radiators. Turn on the mains stopcock. As the system fills, briefly turn on the taps again to let out any trapped air. Then bleed all the radiators.  Turn on the boiler and put the heating on.  Check that there no leaks from any of the valves – if there are, just tighten them up.

Read more about identifying gas supply to your home. The next article will tell you how to identify & isolate your electricity.