How to Clear Airlock in Radiator Pipes Without Using a Hose

Last updated on October 9th, 2024

An airlock in a radiator pipe can cause a radiator or multiple radiators to not work. Airlocked radiators are annoying and will cause rooms to be cold.

I have been a full-time heating engineer for over a decade and have cleared many airlocks without ever using a hose or removing a radiator.

Do You Have Airlocked Radiators?

A radiator not working is an airlock symptom but an airlock is not the only possible cause.

Other causes of a radiator not working:

• The radiator valve is turned off, blocked, stuck or broken
• The thermostatic valve is on the wrong side (only old TRVs as new ones are bi-directional)
• The radiator needs bleeding
• The radiators need to be balanced
• The radiator is not piped up correctly under the floor (only on a new radiator installation)
• The designer radiator flow pipe is on the wrong side (some new tall radiators need the flow going into a specific side)

How to Clear an Airlock

If you have recently drained the central heating system, it’s almost certainly an airlock causing the radiator to not heat up.

Here’s how I clear an airlock:

1. Turn the heating on
2. Close one valve (TRV or lockshield) on every radiator apart from the radiator(s) not getting hot
3. Wait for the airlocked radiator(s) to get hot
4. Bleed the radiator that is now hot
5. Open every radiator valve

If you have more than one radiator airlocked and only one becomes hot after closing the valves, close a valve on the airlocked radiator that is now hot and wait for the other radiators to get hot.

How to Close Radiator Valves

You must turn off the radiators by closing either one of the valves.

Thermostatic radiator valves

Turn the head on the valve clockwise until it’s on zero or off.

Lockshield valves

Turn the lockshield radiator valve clockwise as far as it will turn. You can turn some lockshield valves with your hand, but for some valves, you will need to remove the cap and turn the spindle.

To turn the spindle, you can use:

• An adjustable spanner
• Some water pump pliers
• Or sometimes a hex key is needed

Video

Radiator still not heating up?

If after closing all the valves on the hot radiators, the cold radiators are still not heating up, then it won’t be an airlock causing the problem you have.

Airlock in Gravity-fed System

Having air trapped in a gravity-fed central heating system can be a nightmare. It can cause the boiler to overheat and keep cutting out.

If you have problems with a radiator or two not heating up, you can follow the process above. But if the boiler is not firing up or cutting out, you will need to remove all the air. Removing the air can take all day as hardly anything comes out, you have to just keep plodding on.

Here’s how I do it:

1. Turn the heating on
2. Bleed the radiators
3. Bleed the bleed valve (typically in the hot water cylinder cupboard)
4. Bleed the central heating pump
5. Repeat, repeat, repeat until the boiler stays fired up

Summary

You must turn off the valves on the hot radiators to force the heat to the cold radiators. The full force of the central heating pump will push the air out of the radiator pipes and into the top of the radiator which can be bled out.

I get airlocks regularly after draining and refilling central heating systems, this method gets rid of the trapped air every single time. If it doesn't, it won't be an airlock problem you have.

Feel free to ask any questions in the comments below, and I’ll do my best to help. If you found this post helpful, please consider sharing it.