AUTO-FILL VALVE

Johnny Moe

I recently had my heating company come to my home for our yearly service on my heating system. Gas, hot water rads. The service tech called me down to the basement and told me that my auto-fill valve was defective and not operating. He had to manually fill the system. He then knocked on the top of the valve and it started working properly in the auto-fill position. Sounds as if he knocked rustic crude loose from inside. He suggested that I purchase a new auto-fill valve and shut the ball valve after the auto-fill valve just in case the auto-fill valve runs away he said. I went down to the basement a few days later and found only two lbs. of pressure in the system. Yikes! So, I decided not to take the advice of the service tech and opened the ball valve and allowed the system to auto-fill. That was last week and it's been operating fine. I notice that there's constantly 12 lb. of pressure when the system does not call for heat and when I do call for heat the system pressure rises to 20 lb. I haven't bled the system yet, but I'm wondering what I should do here. Shut and drain the system and remove the strainer from the auto-fill valve and clean it. Or replace the valve? The auto-fill valve is a Bell & Gossett set @ a minimum 12 lb. pressure. Two story home. Also, after your recommendation on the replacement or not to replace, when I refill the system to 12 lb. or whatever it's supposed to be (My service tech said 15 lb.) do I not turn on the circ pump until I bleed the rads? And do I start on the 2nd floor and work my way down to the last rad in the basement or is it the oppposite way? Also, when do I turn the circ pump on, after I call for heat or immediately after bleeding the sytem. Geez, after 13 years in our house I never had problems until this year and the auto-fill valve. My sys also has a big round grey tank for expansion or air release by the Weil-McClain boiler? I would just like an experts advice on whether I'm wasting my time and money purchasing a new auto-fill valve when it might just need to cleaned/flushed out. Appreciate your reply and help. Thanks, Johnny Moe in PA.

Johnny Moe

HOME HEATING SYSTEM - AUTO-FILL VALVE QUESTIONS

I recently had my heating company come to my home for our yearly service on my heating system. Gas, hot water rads. The service tech called me down to the basement and told me that my auto-fill valve was defective and not operating. He had to manually fill the system. He then knocked on the top of the valve and it started working properly in the auto-fill position. Sounds as if he knocked rustic crude loose from inside. He suggested that I purchase a new auto-fill valve and shut the ball valve after the auto-fill valve just in case the auto-fill valve runs away he said. I went down to the basement a few days later and found only two lbs. of pressure in the system. Yikes! So, I decided not to take the advice of the service tech and opened the ball valve and allowed the system to auto-fill. That was last week and it's been operating fine. I notice that there's constantly 12 lb. of pressure when the system does not call for heat and when I do call for heat the system pressure rises to 20 lb. I haven't bled the system yet, but I'm wondering what I should do here. Shut and drain the system and remove the strainer from the auto-fill valve and clean it. Or replace the valve? The auto-fill valve is a Bell & Gossett set @ a minimum 12 lb. pressure. Two story home. Also, after your recommendation on the replacement or not to replace, when I refill the system to 12 lb. or whatever it's supposed to be (My service tech said 15 lb.) do I not turn on the circ pump until I bleed the rads? And do I start on the 2nd floor and work my way down to the last rad in the basement or is it the oppposite way? Also, when do I turn the circ pump on, after I call for heat or immediately after bleeding the sytem. Geez, after 13 years in our house I never had problems until this year and the auto-fill valve. My sys also has a big round grey tank for expansion or air release by the Weil-McClain boiler? I would just like an experts advice on whether I'm wasting my time and money purchasing a new auto-fill valve when it might just need to cleaned/flushed out. Appreciate your reply and help. Thanks, Johnny Moe in PA.