Yesterday morning I kept hearing an intermittent knocking sound which sounded like a woodpecker. Since the noise was coming from the basement, not an adjacent tree, Charlie went downstairs to find the source. The furnace was making the noise, and some tiny spot in my brain said “I bet it’s air.” The heating man came later that morning and confirmed that it was air.
How did I know this? I remembered some vestige of knowledge from my childhood about radiators. Sadly, I had forgotten the other bit from then that heard my mother saying she had to “bleed the radiators.” We have lived in this house for twenty years and, although we have a 1929 heating system which uses radiators, we have never “bled” them. The upstairs has always been chilly with very little heat coming from the radiators there, but we had never given it a second thought.
The worker began to “bleed” the radiators using the little key pictured above. Apparently there was so much air in the upstairs radiators that the technician had to go into the basement three different times to deal with an override setting when too much water was accumulating. He said he expected the upstairs would be much warmer and that we might need to partially close the radiators.
No kidding! I am now in my office which is even warmer than the dining room “office” gets with the door shut enclosing the thermostat. The bathroom is toasty. Our bedroom was so hot last night I threw off the covers. So adjust them we will. And let’s hope we don’t go another twenty years without thinking of”bleeding” the radiators!
Saved By Words 
What an amazing tale!! Your system is old, yet functions nicely when freed of excess air.
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Wish I could say the same for me many mornings? LOL
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I was pretty shocked myself about how well it now works.
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I’m glad he was able to fix it.
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Who would have known? Glad to hear you’re toasty warm!
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So glad you are now toasty warm!
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Me too.
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The incredible part of your story is that your heating system is from 1929 and still functioning well. My parents were the type who never threw anything away. They were married over 50 years and had the same toaster the whole time. I once looked up the company, and they were no longer in business. Is that what happens when you build something too well?
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Absolutely. They figured out that things needed to break to sell more.
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Aha, a little but lost word sentence and you’ve back in business.
I wish some if our more modern household gadgets had that “easy fix”. I had hoped my nice fridge/freezer had been able to be fixed a short time ago. But apparently not, the guy showing me the “problem” …. so in the midst of that lockdown I was purchasing a appliance unseen! Which does work but the inside fittings are plain weird…
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We had to buy a new washer during the same time. It is weird to not get to see the choices.
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I bought a radiator key as soon as we moved into the house. Then the next month, we had the 25-year old system completely replaced with something more efficient. Even so, air still accumulates in certain parts of the system.
A 1929 heating system that is still working must be something of a world record, Elizabeth! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Our home was built by a carpenter for himself and every aspect of it is amazingly long lasting.
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Better late than never! Enjoy all that extra warmth, Elizabeth.
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I am, especially since it is now snowing.
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I remember bleeding the radiators! Did you have the key, or did the worker have to give you one?
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We had the key, just didn’t know what it was for.
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Good thing!
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We have an old system in our Victorian too, and we need to bleed the radiators at the beginning of every heating season. If we don’t, the radiators throw very little heat. Once bled, they work exceedingly well!
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I have been amazed at the difference.
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If politicians had to bleed before they give out hot air, our habitat would a lot LESS heated!
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Well said.
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That is interesting because we do have radiators.
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I didn’t realize that. Are they steam filled?
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I didn’t know bleeding the radiators were a thing either. But I have seen Mexicans bleed my propane tanks when filling them. I never quite understood why!
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To get the excess air out I imagine.
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