radiant flow problem

EMC PLUMBING

was called on a heating call radiant zone in the basement was not working. there are 4 radiant zones coming off an indirect water heater,1pump on feed and 4 zone valves on the return.I bleed out all zones one at a time and water was circulating and comming back hot.Thought it just need to be bled.turned system back on all zones were working but the basement, did not install system so didnt know exactly how tubing in basement was ran , they had a manifold in a closet with 2 loops of tubing off it. i figured the onesmall pumpstrong enough to do the entire house and the basement. so i added another pump for the basement zone only, so when the basement called pump would go on and zone valve would open, operating the basement zone by it self, it worked great, but when i turned on the radiant in the rest of the house it didnt circulate. I have flow controls and valves after each pump,operating the house alone with basement off system worked,when basement called on rest of house would not circulate,tried to trotle down ball valve on basement pump but still not working, any body have any suggestions

Brad White_184

Thoughts

Do you have at least a rough idea of what flow and head each circulator is seeing, Ed? (Accepting that you did not see the actual installation itself.)

I suppose you could trace out each circuit by draining each circuit one at a time to see the volume of water it holds relative to the gallons per foot of the PEX, absent better information.

My real thought is that the new circulator has a higher head potential and may be forcing the first circulator check closed. If you have a Grundfoss 15-58 existing and put in a 26-99 on the second one, good luck...

John Ruhnke

Compressor.........

Brad,

You would need to blow out the lines with a compressor or the water would just sit in the pipes. Water from other parts ofthe system may come out too. This makes it hard to know what water stayed in the pipes and what water actuallycame out. It may still workin a job that is well valved off. An easier way might be to just look at the numbers written on the pex. If the numbers are there. Most pex manufacturers write the length in feet right on the tube, just subtract one number from another.

John Ruhnke

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Weezbo

perhaps it is all about Floor coverings....

or it might be all about piping arrangement supplying heat to the remote manifold,... "get a bigger pump" is honestly not the solution to mans problems.... that line of solving is somewhat akin to get a bigger hammer or get a bigger wrench. you are there, slow down and think it through...it may be piped to work within a prescribed prioritization within an 'if this then ...' or 'when this and then that then ...'

not all that difficult to think,.. check out the AQ 2000 series offered by Honeywell...

it almost sounds as though it was on a zone controller previously, perhaps ...?

John Ruhnke

Pictures..........

Good advice Weezbo,

I think it is a piping or wiring problem. He says it heats except when another zone comes on? Yet it has its own pump. It heats fine by itself? A picture would help.

John Ruhnke

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Brad White_184

Obviously

I did use the "drain" term loosely and to get water to flow up-hill would take some air pressure but the water once isolated can still be captured and measured closely enough. The isolation of individual circuits is also equally presumed.

I am sure that this was understood but it does not hurt to state it so clearly.

Thanks, John! Welcome back.