One zone has no heat, other zones and water are fine

HabsFan

Came home today and 1 zone upstairs was around 54 degrees where the thermostat was set to 65.

I changed the batteries on the thermostat, brought it up to 70 and nothing. Checked the wires and they are connected and tight.

Checked the pipes around the furnace and 1 zone did feel cool while the others were warm.

I'll attach some pictures. The first shows the 4 zones. The first one is the garage which I have shut off. The second one felt cool while the other 2 were warm. 

The other zone upstairs seemed okay but it was 65 in the room. We turned it up to 70 but that never seemed to increase. Not sure if there is a problem in that zone or not but it stayed at 65 all night. 

We have a tank less water system and hot water is also fine. The zone in the basement is also working. 

HabsFan

It does seem like both upstairs zones are not working this morning. 

HVACNUT

Mounted to the left side of the boiler is the Argo zone panel. Pull the cover and see if any lights are lit. Not sure but I believe it's a Green light for power and an Amber light ON for each corresponding zone calling for heat. I don't see Argo too often but maybe check to see if there are any glass fuses in there. 
Can you hear or feel the circulators running? If the gauge is accurate and the boiler is in a basement, the pressure might be a tad low for the second floor zones. Check the electric side first though. 

Edit: Just noticed your handle and assisting a fan of le Habitants really is going above and beyond for me. 😝

Robert_25

See if the circulators on the upstairs zones are running. If they are, you likely have an air/pressure problem. If not, you have an electrical issue.

My $ is on an air issue. It is very unlikely two circulators or relays would quit at the same time.

HabsFan

HVACNUT said:

Mounted to the left side of the boiler is the Argo zone panel. Pull the cover and see if any lights are lit. Not sure but I believe it's a Green light for power and an Amber light ON for each corresponding zone calling for heat. I don't see Argo too often but maybe check to see if there are any glass fuses in there. 
Can you hear or feel the circulators running? If the gauge is accurate and the boiler is in a basement, the pressure might be a tad low for the second floor zones. Check the electric side first though. 

Edit: Just noticed your handle and assisting a fan of le Habitants really is going above and beyond for me. 😝

Having issues getting the panel cover off but the circulators do feel like they are running so it probably is a pressure or air issue then.

Lol! Either love or hate the Habs and most seem to hate!

HabsFan

Robert_25 said:

See if the circulators on the upstairs zones are running. If they are, you likely have an air/pressure problem. If not, you have an electrical issue.

My $ is on an air issue. It is very unlikely two circulators or relays would quit at the same time.

They do feel like they are running so it probably is an air issue then. I have a call out to an HVAC company and they'll be here tomorrow. Hopefully it is something simple.

HVACNUT

Pull that shelving out now so they have access to the zone panel

HomerJSmith

I concur with HVACNUT. If the tridicator is correct the pressure at 215 deg should be at least 15 psi. The temp is higher than I would want and the pressure is lower than I would want.

Is the air charge on the Watts expansion tank up to snuff, 12 psi?

I would not suspect an air problem unless the sys was opened, recently and it was operating fine, before.

If you're not getting heat and the water is up to temp, suspect a flow problem. Yes, air in the top floor piping would prevent flow as a circulator won't pump thru an air bubble, but how would an air bubble manifest? Look for anything that would prevent flow. A circulator not turning, flow checks stuck, valves inadvertently closed, debris blockage in the piping, etc.

Note: Is your boiler cold water feed is inoperative or shut off.

HabsFan

The furnace is downstairs. I did get the argo case off but not seeing much there. I will be cleaning all around the furnace so he has easy access to it.

Current temp on the gauge is around 200 but pressure is low around 6 or 7.

I put a tire pressure gage on the watts tank and didn't get any reading on it. That was replaced about a year or so ago. 

SuperTech

You really gotta check the tank with it removed. No pressure in the tank is a bad sign. A Webstone expansion tank fitting will make checking and replacing a tank easy. Even a ball valve to isolate the tank is a lot better than nothing. 

HVACNUT

That Argo panel is so old status lights weren't invented yet. Ha! Sorry, no lights for you. It's possible it is an air issue. The 68 series WM does have a tendency to override on temperature. Where I would normally set a triple aquastat on a boiler with a tankless coil at 180 Hi, 160 Lo, on a 68 series I set them the 160 Hi, 140 Lo. Sometimes lower, depending. 

And the Canadiens aren't a love or hate team. They're a storied franchise. They must be respected for all their accomplishments. Except of course the '93 conference finals. 

HabsFan

The tech came out and found a few issues. First was the obvious no pressure issue which he resolved by purging it. There was a lot of air in the lines. He also had to replace the high valve. He also found that the relay for the circulator for the living room zone was not working correctly and probably why it was slightly warm there. He swapped that out and all zones are working now.

A new boiler is in my very near future so they are having sales come up with a quote for a 3 zone heating system plus a tank less water zone. Hopefully that doesn't break the bank but a nice, new and reliable energy efficient system will be nice.

Thanks to everyone for the replies!