2nd floor of two zone baseboard heating not getting heat

Empire_2

It sounds like your upper zone is air bound. Those water hose Bib things you are describing are in fact balancing/purge valves. Important in your case, there should be around 12psi in the system. On each of the balance valve there are a handle or screw driver type indicator. To purge your upper zone, you must close that valve. slowly drain water into a bucket. you should see and here the air bubbles coming though. Remember your upper zone is quite long and it may take a little while to fully purge the entire zone.

Mike T.

PS a pic would help.

Art Bianconi

Second floor of two zone baseboard heat not getting hot

I've a two story home that uses baseboard heating.

The circulation pump draws water from the two zones via a "T" which has valves on either side which I assume are used to balance the hot water distribution. From the "T", the water goes into the pump and from there to the bottom of the boiler.

Upstream and on each side of the "T" are valves with a threaded garden hose fitting and a the familiar knob for opening them.

The hot water is not getting up to the second floor and while I have tried draining water from the garden hose valve, very little comes out and there is some sputtering of air.

The circulation motor runs and the coupling to the pump appears intact. I can feel hot water in all the pipes near the boiler, both zones. However, when I go upstairs the pipes that feed the zecond floor and which were hot in the basement are cold to the touch.

The thermostat works and the boiler responds as it should.

The domestic hot water fed from the same boiler also is quite hot and ample but no amount of fiddling gets the upstairs zone to warm up.

Here's a possible clue.

Last summer, the plate that holds the domestic coil inside the boiler, sprung a leak. Some of the studs for the plate had corroded and failed.

The heating system was drained until the water in the boiler was below the level of the domestic coil access. The coil was removed. The broken studs replaced and the system reassmbled with new gaskets. The pipes cut to allow removal of the coil were sweat soldered back together The cold water supply was reopened and the system turned on. Everything appeared to function as it should. Being summer time however, the heating system was not challanged.

The house was comfortable until a recent cold snap and while the first floor gets heat from the system, nothing I've done has been successful in getting how water upstairs.

Is it possible that a plug of air is trapped upstairs and that the water is being held back for lack of a place to vent the air?

Do hot water heatings circuits have a valve at the highest point in the system for the purpose of venting? I've made a casual survey of the upstairs baseboards and have not yet found one.

If I cut a section of the copper pipe between the baseboard heaters, install a "T" and then solder a 2 foot section of pipe as a riser to elevate a valve above the highest point in the system, might bleeding the system that way, allow water to rise?

The system is fed by a municiple water supply (not a well) and pressure is ample.

Thanks