drain baseboard heat

MikeyDee

I have gurgling in my baseboards. I've watched a bunch of videos, but nothing looks like my system. I don't know where to hook up the hose or what valves need to be opened and closed. If you could help this nitwit I would be grateful!

Intplm.

Purge valves are the red handle valves in the first and second pictures. The small thumb valves are directly below the red handle valves. Each thumb valve needs to be in the off position and then you individually purge.

Turn the power off and close the thumb valves, manually open the zone valve you wish to purge, attach a hose to its corresponding red handle boiler drain. Carefully flip the manual feed on your Taco pressure reducing valve (PRV) feed valve. (Its the green one one your water supply slide lever.) The other side of the hose should be placed out doors in a bucket, turn the red handle valve on and the water should flow into the bucket. You will notice the water will make the hose bounce around as you are purging. Try to secure the end of the hose to the bucket. You want to fill the bucket and allow it to over flow while air and water are being pushed into the bucket. The end of the hose should be at the bottom. As water is flowing bubbles will come to the top. Depending on how many radiators and piping you need to purge will tell how long you need to purge. Best to look until you no longer see bubbles. Repeat this for each zone.

This will take some coordination on your part to get a feel for how the system responds to the purging process. You will need to turn the red handle off and then the taco PRV off at almost the same time. Then you can reverse all that you have done for the first zone. and you can now move on to the next one etc.

Those thumb valves should be a quarter turn shut off. If this is a recurring issue, and I'm pretty sure it is because you need a air separator installed on the system at your expansion tank.

MikeyDee

Thanks for your response.

If I close the thumb valve, doesn't that stop the water from getting to the red purge valve? I think the water coming out of the boiler runs up past the shutoff valve and then past the thumb and then purge valve. Or does it run the other way? This has me stumped!

hot_rod

A second purge point at the boiler. Close the large ball valve, connect hose to yellow handled valve. This will purge the loops through the boiler also

Looks like the middle zone has been balanced with that thumb valve above the zone valve, so return it to that position if you purge there.

Screenshot 2025-01-29 at 3.14.24 PM.png

MikeyDee

Thanks!!!

MikeyDee

But if I close the ball valve it will shut off the water to the yellow handle valve. It also interrups the system loop. Am I wrong? There has GOT to be a way to purge, but hell if I can figure it out.

hot_rod

I can't quite see all the supply side piping, I think it goes like this.

Black steel pipe out of the top of the boiler turns and an air purger, expansion tank air vent and fill water come together there??

So fill water enters the system and boiler. With the large ball valve under the yellow handle hose valve closed, water can only go up, around all the circuits and back down thru the zone valves. But it stops at that closed large ball valve, so air, dirt, what ever is in the system will come out the yellow purge/ hose valve.

Purge one circuit at a time by closing off those lever/ butterfly valves above the zone valves. Open one purge for 5 minutes or more, close it, open the next, repeat, then the 3rd.

Once you do a fast purge like this the air purger above the boiler will clean up remaining air.

Follow the red dots on this drawing to see the flow path.

The near5 boiler piping is not the textbook pumping away. Another possible upgrade would be to add a tee where the yellow handle purge valve is. Move the expansion tank and fill valve to that location. Then you would be pumping away from the PONPC. Makes air removal much easier when piped "Pumping Away"

A good book to own shown below. Some old guy that hangs around here wrote it eons ago.

Screenshot 2025-01-29 at 4.31.58 PM.png

Screenshot 2025-01-29 at 4.33.39 PM.png

Intplm.

@MikeyDee Just remember that each zone is a circle starting at the feed side of the boiler and ending at the return side of the boiler where the red handle valves are.

If you close each thumb valve and open the red handle boiler drain the new water will push the air from the feed to the return and out the red handle boiler drains. Does that help?

MikeyDee

@intplm... The red handle valves are not on the return side. That's the issue I'm having. The return is where my expansion tank is. Then it goes into the boiler and out past the zone valves then past the red valves and up into the house.

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

No - based on your pictures, the supply pipe comes out of the top of your boiler - it's black steel pipe. The x-tank and fill valve tie into it and then there's a ball valve and it disappears.

Those red-handled valves on on the return.

hot_rod

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1839103#Comment_1839103

By the shape of this circulator, and the location low on the boiler block, I think this is the return? Should be an arrow on that pump also.

Screenshot 2025-01-30 at 4.13.51 PM.png

MikeyDee

Is this the arrow? If so, I'm an idiot.

Intplm.

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1839141#Comment_1839141

Yes, thats the arrow and No, you are not an idiot. You are asking very good questions.

MikeyDee

I appreciate the help and kind words... but I insulated the pipes going INTO the boiler! LOL!

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1839376#Comment_1839376

Nothing wrong with that. They should be insulated as they contain hot water, even when returning to the boiler.

leonz

Have you tried simply turning all the thermostats up and letting the heat push the air bubbles out? This works as long as the circulators are moving water for a few hours.