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2nd floor Zone Valve issue

richards385
richards385 Member Posts: 4
in Oil Heating

Hello All,

DIY'er here with limited ability. Have no heat on second floor and traced it back to bad zone valve ( pipe heading up in pics below). The ball assembly not moving freely, which in turn wreaked havoc on electrical unit. Bought complete replacement unit with hope of leaving fitting intact ( no soldering experience) and just taking of face with ball and replacing. Now I'm stuck b/c pipe leading up/away doesn't have any visible shutoff valve. If I open this plate to replace how much send floor water can I expect to see? do I need to drain whole system below this level? Not against calling in expert just thought I might be able to save the labor on this one. Thanks

boiler1.jpg
boiler2.jpg

Comments

  • PC7060
    PC7060 Member Posts: 1,468
    edited December 15

    From the views provided i don’t see a way to isolate the supply lines.
    I can’t see the primary supply pipe where it comes out of boiler; can you confirm there is no shutoff?

    It looks like there are two shutoffs on lines after the working zone valve. Is that correct?

    Can you provide a picture of the entire boiler for a few feet back?

  • richards385
    richards385 Member Posts: 4

    yes, the working valve is for downstairs and splits. I’ll try for another pic

  • richards385
    richards385 Member Posts: 4
    IMG_0580.jpeg
    IMG_0579.jpeg

  • LRCCBJ
    LRCCBJ Member Posts: 466

    Those are Honeywell zone valves.

    Are you certain you cannot free up the ball by rotating the shaft with some channel locks?

    You won't be pleased if you must drain the system (the boiler certainly has a drain).

    richards385
  • HVACNUT
    HVACNUT Member Posts: 6,373

    You used the lever to manually open the valve before you removed the actuator, correct? So you don't need to drain the boiler, you just need to drop the pressure to zero, which is when the water stops coming out of the 6 ft washer hose into a 5 gallon bucket. The drain valve is below the oil filter. Close the feed valve, caps to any auto air vents, ball valves near the floor for the first floor zone, and the return ball valve near the circulator. Power off of course.

    Once pressure is at zero, close the drain valve.

    A 5/16 hex driver will take the screws out. There will be minimal water, but no pressure. Have some rags on hand. *Make sure the brass and the O-ring are dry when you install it. If the O-ring gets wet, it's sometimes a real PITA to set it in the groove.

    You're going to need to purge the second floor, so move the hose to the drain valve on the return near the circulator. Leave that ball valve off. The second floor zone valve actuator should still be open.

    Open the feed valve and let the boiler fill. Watch the pressure. It should stop at 12-15 psi. Now open the drain valve on the return (ball valve on return still off) and purge the air from the loop. If pressure drops too low, kink the hose and let it build. Then purge some more.

    When done, swing the lever closed on the zone valve, open all ball valves and air vents. Turn on switch, and RUN!

    richards385
  • richards385
    richards385 Member Posts: 4

    thanks all , called in a buddy/PRO ( I know when I'm over my head). turns out the zone valve is ok ( I thought it was stuck b/c its travel is so limited ). all wires checked and reconnected and the motor and the switch now working when heat being called for, original no-heat upstairs issue required 2nd floor purge as suggested. thanks again

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