Welcome! Here are the website rules, as well as some tips for using this forum.
Need to contact us? Visit https://heatinghelp.com/contact-us/.
Click here to Find a Contractor in your area.

continual air bound problem

airbound
airbound Member Posts: 2
in THE MAIN WALL
I've got radiant baseboard heat in a duplex. One circulator pump (fairly new) supplies the upstairs of my duplex, another pump (pretty old) works the downstairs. However, I've only got 1 thermostat (downstairs). I have heat upstairs, but NOTHING downstairs. I've had a plumber come in 4 times now (in 5 days) to fix it, and everytime they bleed the system and are shocked at how much air is in there. The baseboards start to get warm downstairs after they bleed from the boiler, but it never gets truly warm (up to 66 degrees) and then within a few hours, the heat just stops. What's the problem here? The plumbers seem to have no clue and I'm quickly getting frustrated with my continuously cold apartment. Do I just need a new pump? Does the expansion tank have anything to do with it? Any ideas on what needs to be done would be greatly appreciated.

Comments

  • Gordan
    Gordan Member Posts: 891
    Can you post pictures or a diagram?

    Air binding issues can be tricky, so having something to look at would certainly help with the diagnosis. Also, when did these issues start? What has changed since then?
  • airbound
    airbound Member Posts: 2
    some pics

    Don't know if these help at all. The pipes coming out of the pumps are warm and slightly vibrating, but far from hot. I've got 5 baseboard heaters downstairs, none of which work...the one in the bedrtoom would be the first one to receive heat, and it's the only one that has a valve. When I released the valve this morning, air squeaked out for a while, then water, and I closed it up again, but still no heat.

    It's our first winter in this apartment, and former owners are not forthcoming with any info, so we really have no clue as to history with this. The water heater is pretty old (installed in 1994 I think) but we've never had an issue with hot water so I didn't think had anything to do with it.
  • GREENMAN
    GREENMAN Member Posts: 25
    AIR BOUND

    LOOKING AT YOUR PICS I DONT SEE YOUR GREEN CIRCULATOR WIRE TO ANY THING IS IT WIRE AND WHAT ZONE DOES IT CONTROL UP OR DOWN
  • Gordan
    Gordan Member Posts: 891
    edited December 2010
    The pipes coming out the top of those circulators are tiny...

    How long would you say they are?





    What pressure does the gauge read when the boiler and pumps are off? How about when they're on?



    How about the water temperature? What does the boiler gauge say? Can you sit by and watch it fire for awhile and see what it climbs to before the burner turns off? Are the circulators still running at that time?





    Do you have any pictures of where the water piping enters/exits the boiler? Also, of any piping connecting that gray rounded tank (expansion tank) that's hiding behind the boiler flue in the second picture, to the rest of the system? Are there any coin vents or automatic air vents anywhere?
  • billtwocase
    billtwocase Member Posts: 2,385
    need more pics

    Could also be a bad impeller, cartridge, low pressure, the list can go on. Sounds like they are forcing the heat thru that zone by purging it, and calling it air issue. There's no way it will get air bound so frequently and right away. Also bad flow check sticking closed could stop the flow
This discussion has been closed.

Categories