Radiator Gurgling

[dase1ats]

Perhaps somebody has some wisdom to impart...

In our apartment one wall is dominated by a 2 metre long radiator, which has been having issues for some time now. I first noticed a few months ago that it didn't turn off any more, or in fact respond at all to turning the thermostat. At the time it was little more than a minor inconvenience because for the most part, German winters can be a quite cold. However, when I woke up this morning there was, and is a rather loud gurgling noise present throughout the whole thing (i.e. not just from the pipes / valves). Having read as much as I could on the internet, I couldn't find anything to help beyond bleeding the thing, and shimming one end up. Both of these solutions present a problem for me, as I can find no valve through which to bleed, and the thing is wall mounted so I'm not sure how I should go about tilting it. Any thoughts / help on the matter would be greatly appreciated.

The only other cause I can think of is the standard practice of our landlord turning all the heating in the building off as summer approaches. For now I've opened the window and turned on some music to help lose the gurgling in amongst all the other ambient noise, but this is hardly a long term solution. Hopefully I won't return home to a boiling hot flood...

[Ricky_M]

Check for a bleed valve at either end of the radiator or possibly on the rear face, they can sometimes be concealed by a white cap.

Why do you want to tilt it? If the radiator is level, it will be bleed air out of the whole thing.

[dase1ats]

I read that a cause of the noise could be related to the angle of the whole thing changing with age, due to the supports being constantly heated and cooled. I'll take a look if the valve is hidden somewhere, but is it possible that it doesn't have one? Or better said do all radiators have to have a valve?
Thanks

[Ricky_M]

They should have one. Most domestic radiators will have a 1/2 inch tapping on each end. One should have a bleed valve in it and the other a blank. I have seen radiators without them though so I wouldn't be suprised.