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.

Hot water boiler. One zone not working

2»

Comments

  • psb75
    psb75 Member Posts: 888
    You have to really understand well, how to bleed air out of a single zone while filling it at the same time. You must have the right valves closed and others open. You have to do things in exactly the right sequence and then watch and listen for the correct corresponding results and know what you are seeing.
    You really need to have someone on site who knows what they are doing! You are getting correct information here but we can't be sure you are doing the correct things in the correct order and we cannot see, hear and feel the results. Also, is the boiler firing or not? Is it on or off? Is the zone calling for heat--or not? Is the circulator running or not? At this point it is seeming like "hit or miss."
  • neilc
    neilc Member Posts: 2,756
    edited January 2022
    So do you have heat in the master zone ?

    The air vent looks like it's dripping / leaking, not just a drip, tighten down the little cap on top,
    this vent is only venting the boiler, once the boiler fills, the rest of the venting should occur above your expansion tank where you have a second vent on that separator.
    you could check the boiler vent occasionally, but keep the cap tight when not checking and venting air.

    as you're purging, you're pretty much cooling the system with the new house water,
    I did write to set the pressure back down to 12(~15), when all purging was complete, and before restarting the boiler,
    I guess I did leave out the part where, as the water heats back up, the pressure will rise,
    we all have our limits, 18, 20, just under 25 , , ,
    getting up to 25 is getting a little too close to 30, when the safety valve should start releasing,
    (25 maybe if the cold pressure was at 15)

    so 25 ~ 30 is high, which leads the expansion tank, the green barrel hanging behind the boiler in the first picture,
    tank has an air stem, like on your car tires, on the bottom,
    air pressure needs to be set and checked occasionally,
    to do this the tank needs to be isolated from the system, and all water pressure released,
    you do have that ball valve to isolate, but no pressure release,

    with the boiler shut off, and the isolation ball valve closed,
    first check the air valve, quickly hit its stem and see that there's air, or water,

    if there's water, or nothing,
    water would be bad, meaning the bladder is failed and the tank needs replacing,
    nothing could also mean failure, or you could try adding air as below, and see if tank holds air pressure,

    Isolation ball valve still closed , , ,

    if you have air, first, take its pressure reading, car tire pressure gage, now release all that air pressure,
    this will stop the tank from puking at you as you unscrew it from the system,
    you would SLOWLY unscrew the tank, and allow water to release thru the threads,
    Caution removing the tank, it could be heavy, consider a full 5 gallon pail, without the carrying handle,
    spill out any water you can,
    then with a bicycle pump, or well regulated air source, add air to the valve stem till you read 12 PSI on a good tire gage, if tank had water on the threaded side, expect it to pump out as you add air,

    12 PSI for a 2 story home, if you're 3 story, tank air sets to 18,
    these are you cold fill pressures,
    if tank is bad, you still want to check and set the cold fill air pressure in a new tank,

    consider adding a hose bib between the expansion tank, and the isolation ball valve for future conveniences,

    reinstall expansion tank, open ball valve, slowly, and check water pressure, 12, right?
    restart boiler,

    you have that second air vent on top of the honeywell, above the expansion tank,
    that little cap is loose, correct ?

    heat in the master zone ?
    known to beat dead horses
  • Kate123
    Kate123 Member Posts: 38
    Yes I have heat now thanks to you guys. I'm at 11psi steady so should i .just leave it alone?
  • neilc
    neilc Member Posts: 2,756
    edited January 2022
    11 hot may go low when it cools,

    check the cap on the honeywell, keep it open to keep venting air,

    on a warmer day, when the boiler is cooled down, check that the boiler pressure is still around 12,

    enjoy the warmth

    edit: consider raising water pressure to 15, 18, now while boiler is hot,
    known to beat dead horses
  • Kate123
    Kate123 Member Posts: 38
    Its too low now do i add water?
  • neilc
    neilc Member Posts: 2,756
    yes, add water, 15psi,
    where is it going?
    is the air vent hissing releasing air ?
    any under floor heat leaking ?
    known to beat dead horses
  • neilc
    neilc Member Posts: 2,756
    is the manual valve open to the water feeder ?
    known to beat dead horses
  • Kate123
    Kate123 Member Posts: 38
    Psi stillsub 10 when idle. Goes to 20 when boiling. Maual bell feed lever off, nipple pressure rease value after bell lever closed
  • Kate123
    Kate123 Member Posts: 38
    I added water and at 18 psi pressure release exploded water on the floor. So maybe the gauge it wrong?
  • Kate123
    Kate123 Member Posts: 38
    After the overflow release it's now at 22psi. Will see how low it gets down to
  • neilc
    neilc Member Posts: 2,756
    the tridicator gage is suspect for sure then,
    and should get replaced so you know what's doing there,
    nothing should have happened at 18 psi,
    home depot sells hose cap gages you could stick on any bib, and get some idea of what pressure is, just don't leave the bib open when you're not there

    safety valve could be weak also,

    I'm unsure of what this refers to,
    "nipple pressure rease value after bell lever closed",
    the little cap on the boiler air vent ?

    lever down on auto feeder is correct,
    known to beat dead horses
  • Kate123
    Kate123 Member Posts: 38
    Ok I'll get a hose cap gauge. If the system auto fills when low and release at hi, should I fuss with getting the psi right? I'd the ideal 12 to 15 idle and 22 max at boil?
  • neilc
    neilc Member Posts: 2,756
    really need to get that tridicator changed,

    yeah, you eventually want the fill pressure correct, 12 cold, 18~ 20 tops, hot, and if it's going higher, then the tank needs looking at,

    known to beat dead horses
  • Kate123
    Kate123 Member Posts: 38
    Ok will order and revert. Thanks!
  • Kate123
    Kate123 Member Posts: 38
    It was the gauge. New gauge reads 12 cool 18 to 20 hot. Thanks to all you guys!