hydronic air control

Dave Fish

I have a small gov't office bldg. with air problems that I am supposed to solve (for a fee). The old boiler has three zone pumps pumping into the boiler, thru a B&G airtrol fitting, and back out to the system. The Airtrol fitting is piped to the compression tank. That pipe is tied into the make up prv. Yes, comp tank and make up are both on discharge of boiler and pumps. Due to the piping layout it will be very expensive to put pumps on supply. System keeps air locking during the season. Boiler, pumps, and comp tank are all in basement of one story office bldg. Hot water is used at convectors and fan powered reheat boxes.
Any ideas out there?

Unknown

disconnect

Disconnet the expaniosn tank and replace with the bladder type tank or tanks, depending on the size and space

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Have you done a complete drain/refill?

If so, did you follow B&G airtrol instructions for the refill? Critical is to close ALL air vents save the airtrol until you get a steady stream of water from the airtrol vent. Then close the airtrol vent and vent the system. Fail to do this and you'll be "chasing air" as the compression tank will not have the proper "air spring". Follow and the compression tank will have the proper balance of air/water/pressure and the air will stay in the tank where it belongs.

If you have filled properly and you didn't install the airtrol, I'd suggest removing it and ensuring that it was cut properly for the tank. You can't just plop in an airtrol since, as supplied, it's suitable for a VERY high diameter tank.