6. Balancing the system

If your radiators heat to different temperatures when they are full open, the system is running out of balance. To rebalance, you need to adjust the lockshield valves which are located at the bottom of the panel and generally fitted with plastic caps which must be removed.

In the diagram at right, the lockshield valves on the two larger radiators need to be closed fractionally and/or the lockshield valve on the small radiator needs to be opened. By adjusting the resistances applied by the lockshield valves you should be able to balance the system so that all radiators run at the same temperature.

You can check the temperatures with a bulb thermometer. The design temperature for the flow is 180ºF (82ºC.) and for the return is 160ºF.(71ºC.) In practice it is difficult to obtain these temperatures accurately with a multifuel stove because the output is less steady than with an oil or gas burner, but a fair approximation should be achievable.