heat without calling

happyshaw

Today i was called up for a heat call that puzzzled me.Its a oil fired 5 zone hot water boiler and the customer is complaining that the bedroom zone is heating without calling for it so after checking it out i found that the circulators are on the return and are 007s with internal flow checks.The feed comes off the boiler to a copper header and goes out to each zone 3\4 inch with ball valves.The main feed is hot and nothing is calling so im thinking ok it is gravity feeding up to the bedrooms and satisfying the t-stat and the other two bedrooms are never gonna get hot.So what i was thinking is let me throw on an 1-1\2 flow check on the main feed before the header and stop the gravity feed. My question is will the 007 ifc circs on the return open that flow check or will i have a problem?? any input would be helpful

heatpro02920

Is this a new system?

If not its a new problem, if it worked before what is different now, if nothing has been changed a part must have failed? if its a new system and this has been happening since new than its a different story.



My guess it worked at one time and is a new problem, if this is the case, I would be forced to blame it on one of the IFC cartridges, most likely the bedroom one.



If its a new system, I would check the temperature {make sure its not running up to a really high temp because of a faulty or miss-set control}, and make sure its not a faulty Control or thermostat pulling in the circ,,

Then after all that checks out, I would hook my thermometer to the bedroom baseboard loop {about 20" down the supply from the manifold} and record the temp {if its HOT when you get there, open the purge to get some cold water through it, if the water feed is on the return this is a little tougher}, after you record the temp say its 72*, run every zone except the trouble zone one at a time, and watch your thermometer.... If it starts to creep you know somehow water is getting by the flow check {or leaking out}.



To confirm its a flow check problem, I would shut the valve for that zone and see if it persists....



I had one about 2 months ago and seen it before, where 2 other companies checked it out and installed check valves {this system was a new }, and their first zone kept getting warm, oil fired with tankless, sized where the boiler had to be around 200* for some reason very little element in the house... I had to install a heat trap, the installer used 3/4" supply and return for 4 zones, so Installed a simple trap out of 1" copper, 12x12, I followed up 3 days later to make sure the problem was fixed and they weren't calling someone else, and they said it worked perfectly...



anyway good luck, I just dont think a check valve is your problem solver...



One more thing, I have also seen problems where the customer shut down or blocked all the baseboard vents except for one zone and then called in a service call when one room was hot and the rest were cold, also always be on the lookout for new furniture, I see that once and a while, mostly with people blocking registers in an already undersized duct systen then locking out the limit switch....

icesailor

IFC's

I recently had one that had been flowing for years. The tennants kept the windows open in the summer in the first floor zone but never complained.

I found a paper clip stuck inside the IFC on that zone circulator. How it got there, I have no idea.

heatpro02920

I admit to adding the paperclip before...

I had a customer I was sure wasnt going to pay me my final, so I left the thermostat to one of the zones unhooked to the relay, with a small note behind the relay cover explaining my actions and leaving my name and number}, and sure enough the final never came, and they must have noticed no heat in there spare bedroom after a while {I want to say it was almost 2 months}, they called another contractor who knew me from the supply houses, and gave me a call, saying he found my note... I went rite over and confronted the home owner, he paid me with a check, I think he understood, it was never going to work correctly if I didnt get my $1500....



Chimney guys were great for this with new construction, they would put a $5 pane of glass in one of the layers of brick, if they got paid they drop a rock down the chimney and break the glass, no payment and the chimney wouldnt work.... But anyway enough of the hijack, back to the op, lol