I've read here and on other diy boards and sites that after changing a central heating system there will be a need to balance the system to ensure an even amount of heat to all radiators.
I have also read that the easiest way to do this is using radiator thermometers but I have tried a search and can't find them anywhere. Does anybody have any links to places I can either buy or hire them from.
A first for me.......... an item that doesn't exist on the internet.
Not really - it takes too long to get a reading.
What you need is an Infra-red non-contact pocket thermometer - which you point at the flow and return pipe of each rad in turn, and get an instant reading.
Mine is model IR-88, which I bought from CPC/Farnell for about 30 quid, a couple of years ago. My original links to CPC's site no longer work, so you may need to Google.
Yup these work well. Note that you often need to stick a bit of tape on the pipe (if it is not painted) before you take a reading, since most IR thermometers are not calibrated for the emmistivity of metalic surfaces.
You can often find good deals on these on eBay.
================== This is an alternative to infrared:
Cic.
Got one of these and its very good.
Sounds as if you are not familiar with the balancing procedure at all. If so
Phil The uk.d-i-y FAQ is at
Thanks for the link. Taking it a bit further to the actual product . .
I've just got one of those to set up my system. I was amazed at the (good) accuracy of readings on the white (original) surfaces of radiators. Copper pipe gave very low readings unless covered by small squares of black pvc tape.
It was much easier to set up the system with the instant readout, compared with contact thermometers which were less accurate, and took time to stabilise when moved to another radiator.
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