Should radiators get too hot to touch?

1. Hi Folks

   I had to make an account just for this.

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   • Should my radiators be hot to touch?
   • How hot should radiators feel?
   • Why are my radiators getting very hot?
   • What do you do if your radiator is too hot?

   My uncle was over and he said that the radiators were too hot. That the boiler is probably heating the water close to boiling point. Is this dangerous? Will it cause damage?

   We had new pipes put in recently. They are plastic and not copper. We had problems with the system a months ago with a pipe bursting close to the boiler. Not sure why.

   They are very hot to touch but i just thought this was normal (I know nothing about plumping unfortunately).

   thanks in advance.

2. As we have no idea what boiler you have ,nor the actual temperature of the water that's circulating around your radiators it's a bit difficult to offer any meaningful advice.
   Showing us some pics of the boiler would be useful.

3. Without hurting yourself! If you can hold tight for more than 3 seconds they ain't hot enough. If you have to let go in 2 seconds then they are probably too hot. This Is only a guided but I've felt rads that are way too hot and you don't want to touch them never mind grab.. So take this as advise and be sensible. Have a look at radiators first before you touch if you understand.. They can burn.. It's a silly test but a guide

4. Hi

   Its dark now so i cannot get a good picture. I think it is a Grant Vortex exteranl oil fired boiler. I am pretty sure it is this.

   thanks.

5. Hi

   Thanks for the reply. If i put my hand against them, its about two seconds.

   It would not be quite as hot as a stainless steel kettle that is boiled.

   God i thought this was normal for the radiators. Will this damage the plastic pipes? We only had them put in about a year ago.

   thanks.

6. Just to give you an idea ,I can't keep my hand on my rads for two seconds ,it's far too uncomfortable to touch. My boiler is running at 58 degrees centigrade ,well within its operating range ,and I could ,if I wanted,increase that to considerably higher and still be within its range .
   We need to know exactly what your temperatures are. You may not even have a problem.

7. ok thanks. My uncle said he was ringing someone tonight to see whats the story. So hopefully i am just jumping the gun so to speak. I will see what he says tommorow.

   Can i ask, what is the maximum operating temperature for the plastic pipes? Before they fail or degrade. They are brand new. We got them about six months ago.

8. 

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   It depends which plastic pipes they are? Some are fine up to 90°C.

   Do you have a thermometer that you could use to measure the temperature of the pipes? You could use a body thermometer.

9. No. There is a thermstat on the boiler but it does not show the temperature. You can just turn it left or right. I assume that is to change the temperature.

   Would the thermostat itself not have a maximum temperature it can go up to?

10. Yes it would. But it can fail. Try lowering it ,anti clockwise ,to see if the temp drops after half an hour or so.

11. 

    Teki Screwfix Select

    It is possible that the temperature regulation function in the boiler/controls is not working correctly.

    The flow temperature is usually set around 60°C on a boiler or slightly higher to prevent Legionnaires’ disease in hot water storage cylinders:

    https://www.hse.gov.uk/healthservices/legionella.htm

    60°C is actually quite hot and may feel like scalding.

12. I will try tommorow. I will see what my uncle says as well.

13. Would the radiators be very hot to touch at 60 degree celcius?

    They are hot, but not as hot as putting your hand on a stainless steel kettle that has just been boiled, if you know what i mean.

14. PEX and PB pipes can stand 80 to 90c and failure point is around 100 to 114c but this is subject to pressure too. The higher the pressure lower the failure point. There are other factors like distance between supports, use of compression joints etc. As Wayners says, you would not be able to touch a rad at a temperature near failure point of pipe.

15. I just remembered that myself and my uncle looked at the boiler and we saw what we think was the thermostat adjuster. It was a semi circle yoke and the dial was in the middle. I am not sure whether turning it anti clockwise raises the temperature or lowers it.

    I will have to see what my uncle says tomorrow. Fecking freezing as well. I dont want to go moving things in case i do more damage.

16. I turned off the heating there just two minutes ago and now i can touch the radiator without problems, if that means anything at all.

17. Boiler heating temp tends to be a max of 80 and water 64 to prevent scalding at the taps. Condensing boilers are usually set lower on the heating for efficiency purposes. So somewhere between the two would be "normal"

18. I apologize for worrying but we have had so many problems with this boiler since we had new pipes put in.

    It blew a hole in the pipe about two months ago. Not sure what happened. The electrician blamed the plumber and the plumber blamed the electrician.

    Then we bled the radiators and the pressure dropped too low and we did not know how to fix it.

19. Would something trip (like an electrical fuse) if the temperature was too hot in the boiler? To prevent too high a temperature being reached.

20. 

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    There should be an overheat thermostat in the boiler. As the temperature drops again, the boiler will kick in.

    You would notice the boiler cycling.

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Should my radiators be hot to touch?

How hot should radiators feel?

Why are my radiators getting very hot?

What do you do if your radiator is too hot?