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HEAT NOT STOPPING!

NickDee
NickDee Member Posts: 3
Hello, it's been a crazy week. I live in a 3 heat zone house (basement, main floor, upstairs). Old beast boiler, which also heats hot water tank. Please note, the thermostats/wiring have been checked at each stage do not present as the issue.

Last week the main floor heat went out. I called an unknown guy as it was an "emergency" and my trusted plumber/heating guy was not available. The new guy drained the entire system and replaced the main floor circulator with a new Taco 0015. We got heat back on the main floor, but then the upstairs heat would not stop pumping - even with everything off and the thermo completely disconnected. The regular guy came to handle and said the upstairs flow check-valve was the issue, so he replaced all three check valves and put in new shut off valves for each line so we wouldn't have to drain the system again. He also said the new 0015 (main floor) was too powerful and put in a 007... Now the upstairs heat works fine, but the main floor radiators (where the original problem was) won't stop kicking heat even when all thermos are "off" ... I have to shut down the whole system with the red master switch to get them to cool. Once I turn the master switch back on, the main floor rads heat up again without even turning the main floor thermostat on. I would say it was a flow check issue, but they were all JUST changed,

So... 1) no heat on main floor, then 2) heat on main floor back, but upstairs wont turn off, then 3) upstairs working again but now main floor heat stays on unless shut boiler down entirely.

I trust my regular guy, but I feel like this is spiraling and I'm looking for other thoughts and advice. So, any thoughts? Could it be an electrical problem within the boiler itself? Who would even address that as nobody wants to service this thing as it is for regular piping issues, etc.

Thanks!






Comments

  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 15,583
    I know very little about hot water heat.

    However, I can tell you new parts do fail. Sometimes right out of the box, sometimes within the first few days etc.

    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment
    NickDee
  • STEVEusaPA
    STEVEusaPA Member Posts: 6,506
    edited January 2017
    It's easy enough to check if hot water is getting past a flow check.
    It's also easy enough to check the wiring to see if power is being sent to a circulator when it should not be running.
    I don't know what part of the world you live, but around here, plumbers are best at soldering, and plumbing fixtures. Leave the design/troubleshooting to an experienced HVAC person, someone whos specialty is hydronics.
    steve
    NickDee
  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 15,452
    Yeah, sounds like your "regular guy" dosent have a clue
  • NickDee
    NickDee Member Posts: 3
    Hi... We seem to have figured out the issue... My "regular guy" has been great at working the issue. He came back a few times to trouble shoot, checked in every morning, and even refused payment for a few days until we were sure things were continuing to work correctly.

    From what I understand, he said our old beast boiler was never really working/connected properly with the fairly new hot water tank the previous owners put in... He said the flows were not correct and the previous main zone pump (which broke and started this problem about 2 weeks ago) was probably not working correctly for a while (Which makes sense because the heat was rather inconsistent in that zone). Essentially, he put extra check valves (so now each line has 2), replaced the other two circulators (so now all three are new 007s), and put in new shut-off valves so as to make servicing easier in the future. And everything has been working properly.

    Thank you for the assistance... I'll see if I can get a more professional explanation typed up as well.