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Flow Control Valve not working

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I have hot water with radiators. All three stories where on one zone. I put the third story on its own zone. Added a circulator pump on the return only because that is where the other one is and the flow control valve on the supply side. The new zone is 3/4 copper going to one radiator and the rest is 2 inch iron going to the other rads. The flow control valve isn't working properly as it allows gravity flow to the radiator. Any suggestions as to why?

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  • Ironman
    Ironman Member Posts: 7,376
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    Flow Check

    Have you adjusted the flow check correctly? If so, then your piping arrangement is incorrect.
    Bob Boan
    You can choose to do what you want, but you cannot choose the consequences.
  • TonyS
    TonyS Member Posts: 849
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    Disconnect both pumps

    and bring the boiler temp up, if you still get hot water getting past the flow valve you will need to install another type flow valve. 10 or 15 years ago B&G had a bunch of bad flow valves, their fix was to give us a little weight kit to install. If no heat migrates with the pumps off, then it is something in your piping.
  • billtwocase
    billtwocase Member Posts: 2,385
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    pics please

    How did you pipe in the circ for that zone? If it is "T"d in above the other circ, the heat will be pulled thru that zone also. Circ runing or not, flowcheck good or not.
  • tomz
    tomz Posts: 13
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    Pictures

    Here are two pictures of the circulator pumps. When the big pump runs it is sending water back thru the added zone and then it starts to gravity flow in that direction
  • Ironman
    Ironman Member Posts: 7,376
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    Piping

    You're piped wrong.



    Please post some more pics. showing where those pipes are going.
    Bob Boan
    You can choose to do what you want, but you cannot choose the consequences.
  • tomz
    tomz Posts: 13
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    pipes

    The bottom one goes into the two returns in the back of the stoker and the top one is a bypass that goes into the supply coming out of the top of the stoker.
  • tomz
    tomz Posts: 13
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    more pics

    I added the bypass and second return last year and it was a big improvement.
  • tomz
    tomz Posts: 13
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    more pics

    I added the second return and bypass last year and it was a big improvement
  • TonyS
    TonyS Member Posts: 849
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    You only have one flow valve

    Heres what to do...

    1. post your pics in Dans ugly contest.

    2. Take the money and hire a professional.
  • tomz
    tomz Posts: 13
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    oh gee a second flow valve

    Did you read the post where it say's that I installed a  flow control valve? I've seen to many people get systems installed by "professionals" that don't work. Kinda like the Ugly one in my house with eleven radiators and 30 feet of cast iron baseboard on one zone. The added zone works great otherwise you turn up the thermastat couple of seconds later you have heat in the radiator. Unlike the rest of the house where the stoker runs and runs to recovery from all of the cold water being pumped into it. The whole system is getting done over next year anyway so this is jus temp fix
  • tomz
    tomz Posts: 13
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    Found the problem

    I found these two pieces of plastic in the flow control valve. Don't know how they got in there. There was a strip of cardboard under the weight that I removed before installing it but I didn't see anything else. I works great now no flow in either direction with or without the other pump running.

     I don't think that the work that I did to improve my system is ugly but I don't care because there is always at least one on every discussion board.
This discussion has been closed.