What are the most common troubleshooting problems?

Tom Meyer

I'm teaching a class to a group for forced air contractors about troubleshooting hydronic systems. I was curious as to what you all thought would be the top 5 areas I should cover.

When I was asked to do it, I thought it would be easy to find 5 items, but frankly, I've thought of alot more. I need your help to identify what YOU think are the most common problems you run into in the field. Examples would be "Air blockage in the sytem" or "A pump deadheading."

Thanks in advance for all your help.

Tom Meyer
Senior Designer/Trainer
Precision Hydronics Corp
www.precisionhydronics.com

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Waylon Lowery

I think you are

getting too specific. Almost all service calls start with with two words "NO HEAT." Usually when a Tech goes out on a job this is all he knows. Troubleshooting then typically follows a logical process that begins with the boiler, then moves to controls, and then onto piping components (pumps, zone valves, etc.).

Tom Meyer

Absolutely!

But I think we can come up with the most typical problems we find the be the cause of the "No heat", "Too much heat" or the "My utility bills are sky high" complaints.

For this 4-hour seminar, we'll focus on "No heat" and go from there.

Thanks for your input. I really appreciate it.

Tom Meyer
Senior Designer/Trainer
Precision Hydronics Corp
www.precisionhydronics.com

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Roger_5

Most common calls

Air in pipes IE:Water feeder or expansion tank issues
Leaking relife valves from same
Dead circulator motors or zone valves
Controls are usually last on the list

Dale

Common for us

One thing we see alot of and I would recommend you mention is no or little heat in usually the upstairs rads and we find zero pressure on the boiler gauge. Our quick fix is to add water by the PRV bypass or a garden hose to the boiler drain. We let someone else replace the prv if the owner wishes. Why no pressure? Prv sceen is blocked or prv is bad and the homeowner or tenant bleeds the rads, losing pressure. If you are working with WA techs on water get them to look at boiler pressure first on a no heat call.

Tom Meyer

All good stuff!

Thanks guys. Anyone else have any thoughts?

We're also teaching a pretty good class on Carbon Monoxide.

Tom Meyer
Senior Designer/Trainer
Precision Hydronics Corp
www.precisionhydronics.com


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larry_9

I find alot of waterlogged expansion tanks, Pumps that are not pumping Series 100 for example, and the coupling is borken off or not there at all. It is a good idea to tell them if they have no amp draw there is no work being done "no water flow".

Boiler Guy

5 most common STEAM problems

What do all the steamheads think are their 5 most common problems!? Some of my thoughts are : plugged vents or missing vents, excess noise, overheating, high fuel bills,faulty controls (LWCO, feeders,p/trols)

oil-2-4-6-gas

.

out of oil,the switch was off or no power to the unit,----,suction line plugged,filters clogged after an oil delivery

Dave Bush

Steam

Most common I see is someone played with the Vaporstat to get heat. More pressure, more heat.

Torture testing the relief valve falls under this category, too.

Hydronic air vents on rads are real common, too.

clammy

steam

clogged pigtails and low water cut offs, float /electronic

S Ebels

Start with the obvious

We use a "flow chart" method of troubleshooting which varies with the actual appliance but basically goes like this.

A. Is there fuel available at the right pressure all the way to the burner. applies to all types of fuel

B. Is there 110V and 24V power where there should be. If not, where is the circuit broken. (Limit, spill switch, rollout, dead Xfmr, blown fuse, etc.)

C. Check boiler pressure and correct if needed

D. Circ powered up and rotating the impeller

E. Check for air in system (look for vents at high points)

F. Check for restricted air flow around radiation (whatever type that may be)IE: drapes over baseboard, cabinets or china closets in front of rads, dust clogging off the bottom of BB etc.

G. Check for proper venting of flue

These are the basic categories and each can be divided into many other specific areas. 9 out of 10 times they will get a tech on the right track to the specific problem.

Unknown

Tom, get me your

mailing address and I will send you a step by step training set up on all you are looking for. If you need any information on CO I can give you that also.

Tom Meyer

Great comments

Thanks guys.

Tom Meyer
Senior Designer/Trainer
Precision Hydronics Corporation
www.precisionhydronics.com

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