central heating

[codswallop]

Can anyone please explain why my radiators get hot but don't give out much heat especially upstairs? Thanks

[ethanryan]

have you tried bleeding them

[ann_h]

If the rads are hot, the laws of physics say they're giving out heat.
It may be that you are blocking the circulation by having furniture directly in front of them, or all the heat is going out of a window.
As your rooms will heat from the top down, you should also check your loft and make sure it is well insulated, this is where a large percentage of heating is wasted.

[gasman]

A lot of heating companies just send a sales rep round and give you a price. So you do not get a surveyor or engineer round to measure up properly. They do not bother measuring the room dimensions the size of windows doors etc. type of wall construction, insulation factors and how many internal and external walls are in the room wether its north facing and so on. Without all this information you cannot work out the individual heat loss for a room and then the size of radiator to give enough heat out for that room. my guess is that you're radiators have not been sized correctly are too small and just cannot heat the room up. Even the boiler may be too small and just cannot cope.

[Reverandfunk]

if bleeding them doesnt work you may have sludge at the bottomof them. After you've bled them a couple of days later put your hand on the radiator and see if there are any cold spots. If they are cold at the bottom and hot at the top you need to get them power flushed

[gasman]

Could also be sticking Thermostatic Radiator valves not operating if you have them installed that is. Check that the pin under the head is not stuck down if it is then tap it and pull it up and down to free it.

[codswallop]

Thank you all for your replies,I'll go through them one by one.