To open a thermostatic radiator valve, you turn it anti-clockwise until it’s on the setting you want it on, or turn it as far it will go to leave it open fully at all times. Hopefully this article has given you a better understand of what a lockshield valve is and what it is used for. I'm fitting new radiators and found that the lockshield valves I bought from Screwfix need a smaller alan key than the one in my tool kit. The lockshield valve should be set to a degree that will allow the radiator or radiators to maintain their desired temperature.

Well, probably not so much but this is why it is good to have another pair of hands or a family member to help you. Because of this flexibility, they tend to be preferred to the old manual twist valves where the valves are either on or off without the ability to react to the temperature in the room. Contrary to popular belief, thermostatic radiator valves do not directly control the temperature of the radiator. It lets the hot water in the system flow through the radiators to heat the room when it’s open and isolates the radiator from the system when they are closed. A lockshield valve is the part of a radiator you look at every day without ever really knowing what it’s for.This is a socket filled with sprung pins to grip various sized nuts, the pins completely filling the aperture; the 9mm-21mm version with pins that leave gaps does NOT grip in this situation. A lockshield valve (LSV) is 1 of 2 radiator valves that control the hot water flow through each radiator. The answer is no, lockshield valves will never be fully open unless you are just about to re-balance the whole heating system. When it comes to your last, slowest-heating radiator, you might find the lockshield valve needs to be opened completely. This can vary from one building to another, and there are many factors that go into determining this setting.

As we have already explained, some of these are push caps, some are screw caps, but some may need a screwdriver. When the room reaches the temperature (setting) you have it set to, the valve will close and turn the radiator off until the temperature of that room has dropped. This is so it’s less affected by the temperature outside the room, and the lockshield will be fitted on the other side. Balancing is the technique of regulating the water flow to ensure that your radiators all heat up at the same time and to the same temperature. Then, you likely read about lockshield valves and balancing radiators, but got overwhelmed by the seemingly complex process.For the other type of radiator valve tails (with 15mm pipe attached), you can just use an adjustable spanner. A big part of being a radiator company is striving to find advances in home heating technology which are more environmentally friendly. You might want to open lockshield radiator valves to switch on the radiators in your office as winter or a period of cool weather approaches. Keep turning the lockshield valve until until the difference between the 2 temperature readings is exactly 12°c.