No heat in radiator...

John-F. Dorval

Hi there,

Thank you in advance for any answer I may get.

Here's the problem: My duplex is heated with an oil furnase and a hot water system (with pump). A radiator on the second floor doesn't get any hot water. I checked if there was any air in the radiator (NO, COLD water coming out), I checked the faucet on the radiator (OK), the pipes coming to and going away from the rad. are cold (???), and the rest of the other rads. are working fine... What's the problem?

ScottMP

John

You say you checked the valve on the radiator ? Is it in good condition ? Some times they can be bent or twisted and seem to be open but are not.

I assume this is not on its own zone ? You have one pump but are there zone valves, maybe ?

The simple amswer is if this worked last year and you get no air out of the radiator, I would purge the line to it and see if there is a bubble of air trapped in the line going to the radiator. Was any work done on the system ?

Is this a cast iron radiator ?

Scott

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John-F. Dorval

Thanks Scott,

Yes, it's a cast iron radiator, dating back to 1955, the age of the house. I assume the pump was added later (but when??? It seems in good condition).

I purged the rad. and cold water was coming out, freely. I let it run for a good 30 seconds, just to be sure. I don't think any work was done lately on the system. I bought the house this summer and according to the tenant, it worked fin last year. The valve seemed in good condition, no leaks. There was some air in the rad but it's gone now. Should I persist?

About zone valves... I must admit I don't know much about systems like these... There aren't any visible valves on that floor (the tenant's floor), none on the first floor but some unidentified valves in the basement. Could these be it?

Thanks again,

JF Dorval