Everyone knows what happens when you put a full bottle of water in the freezer. The same thing happens in a heating system. Water expands when frozen. However, as it has no room to expand in a radiator that is full to the brim, great pressure builds up. This pressure can reach more than 50 bar. When typical frost damage occurs, the radiator is irregularly deformed. Mostly in the top and/or bottom water pipe. Furthermore, in most cases, cracks can appear in the coating and a lentil-shaped blistering of the coating occurs over the welding points. Leaks are also not uncommon after thawing.

The basic rule is: Never completely switch off the heating during the heating period! This also applies to long periods of absence. Modern heating controls have settings for frost control or reduced operation mode. The thermostatic valves on your radiator should never be fully closed in winter either. Like the heating controls, they also have a frost protection setting. Further details are provided in the operating instructions of your heating system

Noises in heating systems can have numerous causes. We can differentiate between noises in the radiator itself and those which, for example, are transmitted by the pipes and then amplified in the radiator. Noises arising from the heating system only occur when in operating mode. If these noises also occur outside of the heating period, it can be assumed that, for example, knocks to the radiator or pipes are to blame. When in operating mode, the radiators themselves are very rarely the source of the noise. A 1m long radiator expands by about 0.5mm with a 50ºC temperature change. Even if sound-dampening brackets are not fitted, this is not enough to produce noises.

• Ticktacking (mostly shortly before the valve closes): Generally points to inverted flow and return.
• Hissing or whistling: Differential pressure too high due to an excessively large pump or pump stage, no hydraulic balance.
• Gurgling: Air in the radiator.
• Ticking: Tension in the pipes, tight thermostatic valve.