water gurgling in baseboards

new homeowner_2

I built a new house a little over a year ago. Last winter, the heat worked fine, but was all one zone and the second floor got too warm. Last summer, I had my plumber split the zones (pipes had originally been run to accomodate two zones, so this was a simple update). This winter, I'm noticing that each time the second floor heat kicks on, I hear water gurgling through the baseboards. It sounds like rain in a gutter or downspout. I've also noticed that while the master bedroom baseboards get hot, the other bedroom units are noticeably cooler, and the bathroom baseboard doesn't heat up at all (although I can hear the water movement here too). I'm guessing that I've got too much air in the pipes, but I'm not sure how to fix that...or if I can fix it myself. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

jim lockard

easy way

Call that plumber back and ask him to bleed your system. Air in the system will run your fuel bill up as well. Best Wishes J.Lockard

BillW@honeywell

If you don't have one already...

ask him to intall an air vent, or if you have one, ask him to make certain it is working properly. Ours are called Supervents, and are available from any hydronic heat oriented Honeywell distributor. Also ask him if the system is "pumping away" from the point of no pressure change. If you'd like more info about that, go to "Books & More" above and order Dan's book on the subject.

Calif. Curt

Check the system pressure

Also check the system fill pressure. I am assuming that the boiler is in the basement and the problems are occuring in the 2nd floor radiators. Since 1 psi = 2.3 feet of rise, it is possible that you do not have enough pressure to force the air out of the air vents that are located at the high points in the system. I would make sure you have AT LEAST a 12# cold fill on the system.