I've got hot water but no heating - possible boiler issue?

B2368

Hi folks, I'm sure you've seen a million versions of my questions already, so here's one more.

In short, I have very little to no heating despite my thermostat being turned way up. I turned on the boiler but after waiting a few hours, the temperature in the house remained the same. Now, some parts of the house did get warmer a bit, but this is nowhere near what it was last year.

I tried fiddling with the boiler thermostat but with no improvement. Typically, after turning on the boiler, I hear this humming sound, but this time nothing is happening.

I use a Rheem Classic PROG40-38N RH62 boiler as well as a Mini-Gas Super Hot, but I'm sure it's the Rheem that does most of the work.

Any idea what the issue is?

I have a few theories; please tell me if these sound reasonable or not:
- Boiler is too old (17+ years)
- Not enough water supply. I turned off the main water supply in the spring to do some plumbing fixes but I may not have turned the supply back on fully.
- Issue with circuit breaker...? The fuses haven't jumped, though.
- Faulty Honeywell boiler controller?

Any help is greatly appreciated. I'm freezing my **** off lol.

Jamie Hall

Eh? Well, the Rheem unit should be doing your domestic hot water -- since that's what it is, a water heater. The Mini-Gas should be doing the heating, since it's a heating boiler.

Do you have domestic hot water at the taps? If so, the Rheem is probably working -- though quite likely not as well as it should.

The Mini-Gas should come on when you turn up the thermostat, and there should be a pump -- or some pumps -- to circulate the hot water from it, and they should turn on. There should also be a pressure gauge on the piping connected to the Mini-Gas, and if this is a more or less typical house, that should read somewhere around 15 psi or so.

But -- we need much more detail and some photos of how everything is connected and a better description -- like, what hums?

HVACNUT

Feel the piping around the boiler. If it's hot, then the boiler is firing but the water is not circulating. That will point us in the right direction anyway. Keeping in mind the boiler is the square one that provides heat.
Do you know if its standing pilot or electric ignition?

Zman

The issue is with the boiler or controls. The hot water heater is a stand alone unit.
There are few thing you can check as a home owner:

• Verify that the boiler is powered on. There may be a red shutoff switch located in or out of the boiler room. Check the circuit breaker.
  
• Check the pressure gauge on the boiler. It should read ~15 psi for a typical 2-3 story house.
  
• Check that the low water cutoff has not tripped.
  
• Cycle power to the boiler (turn it on then off.
  

When you cycle power, does it try to light or is it silent?
Beyond that, unless you are handy with a voltage meter, I is probably time to call a pro.