|
QUESTION from
"Nelly":
How do you remove air that is trapped
in pipes of hot water base board heaters?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM:
Nelly:
Please note: BE VERY CAREFUL working around your boiler, as the
water can be SCALDING HOT.
I'm assuming you have air in your baseboard hot water system and
it's making noise, which is a common complaint this time of year.
Regarding the procedure for bleeding air from your baseboard heating
system, first shut off your boiler and make a note of the water
pressure. Next locate the self-feeding (auto-makeup) water valve
and ensure that the make-up water supply is connected and water
is available. Then open up all of you valves that go to your various
heating zones. Then close all of the shut-off valves. Next, attach
a short piece of garden hose to one of the spigots coming off
of the return line that goes back to your boiler. While manually
opening the auto-makeup valve, open the spigot and let the water
run in to a bucket or a drain. BE VERY CAREFUL, as the water coming
out of the hose will likely be very hot. Let it run until you
no longer see any air bubbles, which could take several minutes.
While you are doing this, keep an eye on the water pressure and
don't let it get above 25 PSI. If needed to control the pressure,
release the auto-makeup valve momentarily. After you have stopped
seeing air bubbles, release the auto makeup valve and close spigot.
Allow the water pressure to return to normal. You then repeat
these steps until all of your zones have been bled. When done,
close all of your zone valves and open all of your shut-off valves.
Then check the water pressure, which should be the same as what
you noted at the beginning. And then finally, turn your boiler
back on.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from
"Gene in Maine":
How does a baseboard heater boiler
replace water after heating up? In other words, how does
the boiler know how much water to replace?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM:
Gene in Maine:
When a baseboard heating system heats up, the water in the system
expands, and since it is a closed system, this expanded volume
of water has to go somewhere. This is why baseboard heating systems
have an “expansion tank” that accommodates this additional water
volume. Note however, when the boiler heats up, the water expands
taking up MORE volume, rather than water needing to be replaced.
But your question seems to be about how water is replaced, so
let me describe how this works. Water needs to be replaced if
the baseboard heating system has a leak somewhere in the system.
The system handles this by a pressure regulator that allows fresh
water supply from the house to replace this lost water. Water
will come into the system until the pressure that is lost from
the leakage of water is brought back up to the setting on the
pressure valve. The water is replaced essentially instantaneously.
If there is a significant water leak in your baseboard heating
system then you will hear water being replaced, which will sound
like someone has briefly opened a faucet somewhere in the house.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
<
QUESTION from
momothemonster
Our
lakehouse uses water baseboard heating. We recently had a pipe
burst which resulted in alot of water damage. We were wondering,
what would happen if we turned off the valve from the main water
supply? (So that if it every burst again, we would only have a
leak equal to the amount of water in the system). Would we then
be introducing air in the system? (as I understand it the system
normally may lose water due to small leaks and it automatically
compensates for this by adding new water - but if no new water
is available, then I figured I'd have air in the system.) Thanks
for your help!
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM:
Momothemonster:
Sorry to hear about your burst pipe in your hot water baseboard
heating system at your lakehouse.
I assume that since you say your pipe “burst”, that your lakehouse
is a region of the country where it gets below freezing (when
water freezes, it expands, and the force of this expansion is
so powerful, that it can cause even steel pipes to rupture).
To answer you question, yes, you can shut off the main water supply
valve, BUT you will also need to DRAIN your water system completely
(BOTH hot and cold). If you don’t completely drain the water our
of all of your pipes, then the trapped water in the pipes can
freeze and burst one of your pipes, and then when you turn your
main water supply valve back on you will have a mess on your hands.
And then in the Spring when you turn your main water supply back
on, you will need to bleed the air out of your hot water system.
For a description of how to do this, you can go to Home-Wizard’s
online Maintenance Library, to the page on “Baseboard Heating
System Maintenance”: http://www.home-wizard.com/maintenance/baseboardheating.asp
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
FOLLOW-UP QUESTION
from "momothemonster":
Thank you for your response! And
you assumed correctly about living in a cold region. We think
we must have lost power and therefore the water was no longer
being heated (as it is powered by electric) and therefore froze.
But just to clarify on your comments.....if I wanted to keep the
heat on (at a low setting), I should keep the main water supply
valve ON? (Otherwise my other choice is to do as you suggested
and turn off the water (and have no heat) and drain the pipes.)
Thank you!
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM:
momothemonster:
You have some good follow-up questions.
Yes, it sounds like you lose power from time to time, and then
get freezing in your baseboard water heating pipes. And since
it sounds like you have electric water heating, you not only lose
the water being heated, but you also lose the electricity for
running the water circulation pump for your baseboard water system.
In other words, even if you switch to oil or gas for your boiler,
when you lose electricity, you still would not have power to circulate
water through your baseboard water system, and therefore your
pipes could still freeze and burst.
And yes, if you want to leave the heat on, you can still shut
off the main water valve.
The risk, however, is that if you lose power for long enough period,
you could still get freezing in your baseboard heating pipes (plus
freezing in your toilets, household water pipes, sink drains,
etc.) and get damage from the frozen water expanding. But you
will have limited how much water spills out by closing the main
supply valve.
If you do decide to turn your heat off, remember that you not
only need to drain your baseboard water heating system, but also
your water heater tank, the household water system, etc. And if
you cannot drain water completely out the traps in your sinks
and toilet bowls and tanks, then you will need to put a small
amount of RV antifreeze in them. And you should also leave open
all faucets and showerheads. And if you have a refrigerator, it
should be cleaned out, unplugged, and left with the door propped
open.
If you have any questions about how to completely drain the water
out of the equipment and plumbing for your particular lakehouse
(since this can be rather tricky), then I suggest that you should
consider using a trained professional who can come out and do
the appropriate service.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from
"Confused in Bristol":
I'm a bit confuse about which valve
should remain open after I'm finished removing the air from my
baseboard radiators. Do I leave the valve above the circulation
pump open or closed, or do I leave the valves below the circulation
pump?
Thank you!
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM:
Dear Confused in Bristol:
If your question is what positions should your the valves around
you boiler (both before and after the circulating pump) be in
after you have finished bleeding the air out, the answer is that
the valves should be in the same position as before you started
the air bleeding procedure.
Just remember, what you are trying to do, zone by zone, is to
let make-up water come in to replace the water (and air) that
is currently in the piping for each zone. The fresh water coming
in will not have any air in it, and you will let it flow in until
you see the water coming out no longer has air in it.
Hope this is helpful. If you still have questions, just let us
know.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from "sagehervan":
I live in a apartment
and the radiator baseboard was not working and now it is, and
the fumes are all through the apartment. Will it go away
soon? Or will I have to get a repairman?
ANSWER:
Dear sagehervan:
Regarding your question about the smell from your baseboard radiator
system, since you said that you are in an apartment and had not
used the baseboard system before, there are two things that this
could likely be:
1) if the landlord painted the baseboard heating system (either
directly, or if paint dripped on the baseboard radiator when the
walls or ceilings were painted), then when you turned on the system,
the increased temperature could be causing "outgassing"
of the paint as it warms up on the surface of the radiator; or
2) if dust has built up on the surfaces of baseboard radiator,
then this can have a "musty" smell when your system
comes on for the first time in a season.
In either case, if these are the problem then it should go away
over time. However if it is because of paint on the radiators,
you might want to open the windows to help air out your apartment,
rather than breathing the paint fumes. And if it is due to dust
build-up on your radiators, you might try using a vacuum attachment
to clean off the built up dust.
If the smell does not go away soon, then you (or your landlord)
should contact a professional.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from "Larry":
What to do after
a frozen pipe bursts on a hot water oil burner baseboard?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM:
Dear Larry:
I'm very sorry to hear that you had a frozen water pipe burst
in your hot water baseboard heating system. Hopefully you did
not incur much water damage, which can be a real mess and the
damage can be extensive.
Regarding your question of what to do after a frozen baseboard
heating system pipe bursts, here are a couple of thoughts:
1) Obviously, shut off the water supply to your baseboard heating
system immediately.
2) Do NOT try to heat your pipes to thaw them out with anything
stronger than an electric hair dryer. Using a stronger heat source
(such as a torch or propane heater) can cause the trapped water
to boil and explode.
3) Unfortunately, you might find that when your baseboard heating
pipe froze up, that in addition to the section of line where most
of the water came out, that there may be other sections that were
also damaged, and will therefore also need to be replaced. This
is because when one one section of baseboard pipes freeze, it
can also freeze upstream and downstream of this section of the
pipe (including inside the walls). And further, unfortunately
you should also check your toilets and their traps, to see if
they show any cracking from the same low-temperature incident
that caused your baseboard heating pipe to burst.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from "Brent":
My baseboard radiators
make a loud bang when the heat comes on in the bedroom. I suspect
it is like water hammer. How do I fix it?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM:
Dear Brent:
You say that you hear the bang noise when your baseboard radiator
turns on. As such, the noise is probably not coming from a water
hammer (which more typically occurs when a valve suddenly closes).
Here are some potential causes of the bang noise that you are
hearing:
1) A pipe to or from this baseboard radiator that is running through
a hole in a wall, etc. that is too tight, which doesn't allow
sufficiently for the pipe's thermal expansion.
2) Pipes not supported properly, such that when they turn on,
they bang into one another or into other things.
3) The zone valve is installed backwards.
4) Air is trapped in the line, which needs to be bled out.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from "renedye":
I manage an apartment
complex in Colorado that uses the EXACT same Baseboard Heating
System that you have displayed in the pictures on this page of
your website: http://www.home-wizard.com/maintenance/baseboardheating.asp
My dilemma is that I need replacement parts for some of the heaters
in our building - - and have NO clue as to where to find these
parts. I have searched and searched and searched the internet,
but the only thing I've been able to come up with are obviously
much NEWER versions.
Any suggestions on where I can find what I'm looking for?
Thank you for your time.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM:
Dear renedye:
I wish we had gotten your posting two months ago! The house
in the picture on the baseboard heating page of our Maintenance
Library was completely demolished down to the foundation, and
the baseboard heating fixtures were either donated to an inner-city
building resource charity, or they we sent to recycling.
But here's a link to a site that has a list of names and contact
information for suppliers of baseboard heating fixtures:
http://www.traditional-building.com/article/radside.htm
One thought is that you might want to make a copy of the picture
from our Maintenance Library webpage, and then email it to the
companies that you talk to from this supplier list. Once they
see it they could not only tell you whether they carry this model,
but if they don't, they may still recognize it (from being in
the business), and could hopefully direct you to the manufacturer
who makes it.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from "Kenneth":
I notice that my
low water light will come on sometimes and my furnace will not
heat up the house even though the water level show sufficient
amount of water. But when I flush out the water and reestablish
the water level the furnace will kick in and the baseboards will
began to heat up again. It does not happen often, but sometime
I have to flush water out more than usually when the water light
come on. I would like to note that I do not have an auto
feed and that every once in a while I would have to fill and flush
water out of the furnace. Could this be from a build up
of rust in the pipes that cause the low water indicator to come
on and shut the furnace? If so can this be clean out other
then continuing to draining and flush water out of the furnace?
What do you think is causing this to happen. Your information
is greatly appreciated.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM:
Dear Kenneth:
Yes, your problem with the your furnace shutting down could be
caused by rust and sediment affecting your low water level cut-off
gauge.
If the boiler and the low water cut-off gauge are not flushed
of sediment, the low water cutoff could hang up on the sediment.
You should follow the appropriate procedure for your particular
furnace system to drain and flush your boiler. And as part of
your annual inspection and service, a trained service technician
should take the low water cutoff apart to manually scrape and
clean the walls of it, and to also clean the sight glass.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
FOLLOW-UP COMMENT
from "Kenneth":
Dear Home-Wizard,
The explanation you gave me for my furnace yesterday is right
on point. The sediment in the glass and water level gauge
is just as you describe. I will have a technician come to clean
it out.
Thank you very much.
Kenneth
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM:
Dear Kenneth:
Thanks for the feedback!
Glad that we could help you with this.
If you have other home maintenance questions come up, just let
us know.
Regards,
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from "sue
in pa":
We just moved into
a very old home. We have baseboard gas heat and the first
floor is quite cool, while the second floor is very warm.
The thermostat is set at 62 degrees. Ssomeone told me to
bleed the heater, but I can't find a valve. Can you help
me?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM:
Dear sue in pa:
Regarding your question of how to bleed air out of your baseboard
hot water system, you can find the answer to this on our Baseboard
Heating System Page of our online Maintenance Library:
http://www.home-wizard.com/how-to-guide/hvac/baseboard-heating-system/baseboard-overview.aspx
However, the fact that you say it is a very old house, and that
the second floor is warm and the first floor is cool, makes me
wonder if part of your problem might be due to poor insulation.
As you probably know, heat rises. So if your first floor is drafty
(for example, from poor weatherproofing and sealing around external
doors), and there is no insulation in the flooring/ceiling between
your first and second floors, then the heat could be rising up
out of the first floor (making it feel cooler) to the second floor
(making it feel warmer).
So you might also want to consider weatherproofing and caulking
your doors and windows. And if the doors and windows don't have
storm doors and windows, you might want to add these. And finally,
if they are very old, you might even want to consider upgrading
them to higher insulation ratings.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from "germil84":
How to thaw frozen
water pipe?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM:
Dear germil84:
The first step in thawing out the frozen water pipe in your home
is to locate the main water shut-off valve for your house. It
is typically locate just inside your house near where water supply
first comes into your house. If you are on public water supply,
then this valve will be right downstream from your water utility’s
meter. Make sure you have clear access to this valve, and that
it is not obstructed by boxes, storage materials, etc.
The reason you will want to locate this valve is that if during
the thawing process of your frozen pipes, that the ice blockage
turns out to be upstream of where the pipe has cracked, then you
will want to be able to shut off your main water supply ASAP.
The next step is locating all the locations where pipes have frozen.
Go around your house and open up each faucet, flush each toilet,
etc. If water does not come out (or just comes out in a dribble),
then you likely have a frozen pipe located in the line coming
to this faucet. Even if you have found one area of frozen pipe,
it is a good idea to take an additional minute to check to see
if there are other areas that have been affected by the same freeze.
The next step is to try to find the specific area in your piping
where the frozen blockage is occurring. Open up the faucet where
you have found that water is not coming out. Follow the pipe back
from the faucet to where it runs through cold areas such as an
exterior wall, unheated crawl space, cabinets, or in some cases
an unheated basement if the pipe is near an outside wall. Sometimes
the frozen area of the pipe will be frosted or have ice on it.
If the situation is getting critical the pipe may be slightly
bulged or look slightly cracked.
There are two kinds of situations that you might have to deal
with: 1) the frozen pipe is exposed, where you can work on it;
or 2) the frozen pipe is behind a wall.
If the frozen pipe is exposed, then there are several techniques
that you can use to thaw it out. We recommend that you do NOT
expose your pipe to anything hotter than you would put on your
hand. Heating up a pipe too fast, for example using a torch, can
actually cause the pipe to rupture from the steam that is produced
and is potentially trapped between frozen sections of the pipe.
A couple of good choices for heating up your frozen pipe are:
- Hair dryer.
- Hot towels (just keep replacing them as they cool off).
- Space heater.
- Light bulbs, or better yet, a heat lamp.
- Well-grounded heating pad.
On trick you can use to speed up the process is to place tin foil
or a cookie sheet behind the pipe to help reflect back the heat
from your hair dryer, heat lamp etc., to the back side of your
pipe.
If you find that you frozen pipe is behind a wall or ceiling,
then you’ve got a little different problem on your hands. But
you’ve got several options here:
- Place a space heater or fan near this section of your wall or
ceiling, and allow warm air to circulate around this area.
- Use lamps or better yet, heat lamps to warm up this section
(keep them back at least 8-18 inches from the surface).
- Turn up the heat in your house and wait (but if its cold outside
and the frozen pipe is on an outside wall and inside of a cabinet,
it may be a very long wait).
Note that the techniques that we described above can be used regardless
of whether you have plastic or metal pipes in your home.
Hopefully this helps you with safely thawing out your frozen pipe.
Regards,
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from "confused":
Upstairs radiators
are cold and down stairs are hot. Just repaired recirculation
pump and still no heat upstairs. Bled all radiators and no heat
upstairs.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM:
Dear confused:
Since you have already repaired your recirculation pump, bled
all radiators, and you are not getting heat in only one zone of
radiators, then here are a couple possible causes of why you are
not getting heat in your upstairs radiators:
1) It could be possible that you have dedicated circulators for
different heating zones in your home. If so, you should check
to see if the circulator for your upstairs radiators has failed.
2) If not, you should check the zone valve that serves your upstairs
radiators. The water pipe should be hot both upstream and downstream
of this zone valve. If the valve is bad or stuck, it will be hot
upstream of the valve, but then cool downstream of the valve.
(Upstream refers to the piping that is in the direction of the
boiler)
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from "Daleytwo":
Help! Bathroom
baseboard (right next to the toilet) and three boys in the house,
need I say more? Have cleaned outside and inside as much
as I can and was able to take somewhat apart. Cleaned all
the copper pipes, but the metal fins are impossible to clean since
they bend right up. I am wondering If I can spray some odor
eliminator, or cleaning products right into it. I realize
I will have to do this many times, and yes it will probably rust
a bit, but I can live with that. And hopefully will eventually
get better. Do you have any ideas or tips?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM:
Dear Daleytwo:
Having baseboard heating right adjacent to the toilet does make
for some problems. But here are some suggestions that hopefully
will help you.
First regarding cleaning this area, as you know the most difficult
part is cleaning the "fins" on the radiator pipe. You
will want to be very careful cleaning around this area, so as
not to bend the fins. They work best when they are spaced evenly,
and allow air to flow unobstructed through them. Rather than spraying
cleaning products into the fins, which you won't be able to wipe
completely out, a better alternative is to use a steam cleaner
with a wand attachment. Here's a link to a company that shows
how this works (we are not familiar with this particular company,
but their website shows the technique): http://refreshyourhome.com/new-steamer-windows/a-Before-and-After-Pictures.html
The other thing you might want to think about, if you haven't
already, is installing a "splash guard" above this section
of the baseboard heating system.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from "chris
carolan nj":
I keep getting air
in my system. Its a 4 zone system and only the top floor
1 zone gets it. I do have another zone on the top floor,
but that one is always fine. I bleed it and then a month
later it gurgles and sounds like a faucet again, so I bleed it
and its good for another month. What is happening to be
allowing air in? Thanks
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM:
Dear chris carolan nj:
If you keep getting air in your hot water heating system, it sounds
like you might likely have a small water leak somewhere in your
system. You should check all of the bleeder valves on your system,
as this is a common place for water leaks to occur. And you should
also check all of the piping, valves and fittings around your
boiler for signs of water leakage. Hopefully, there are no water
leaks occurring in any of the piping anywhere inside of your walls,
as this can cause major problems related to pests, etc.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
FOLLOW-UP
QUESTION from carolan nj:
I have hot water baseboard heat with only a bleeder valve
on the boiler..I had a professional come out a month ago and he
said it was just air and made the system work great but a month
later its loud again i bled it today and it had alot of air but
now its whisper quiet...No signs of leaks anywhere..All 3 other
zones all are quiet and work great..just this one zone...
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM:
Dear chris carolan nj:
It sounds like you have a stubborn problem with air in one
of the 4 zones of your baseboard heating system.
A couple of thoughts for things that you might want to check:
1) In the zone that you are having problems with, it sounds
like it is on the second floor. Can you find any bleeder valves
anywhere along this zone, where you can bleed the air out of this
zone?
2) When you are bled your system using the valve at the boiler,
was your boiler cold (that is, that it had been off for at least
3 hours)?
3) Are you able to bleed air out of the top of your boiler,
for example through a pressure relief valve. Remember, always
be very careful whenever you are bleeding air out of your heating
system, as the water can be scalding hot.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
FOLLOW-UP QUESTION
from "chris carolan nj":
I did bleed the system hot not but was not running for 20
minutes..I did just open the zone valve and the drain and pushed
the little lever to allow more water to rush in around 25 psi...you
could hear the air coming out of it but its still running quiet
day 2 as for any bleeders i haven't seen any on the baseboards
thru out the house.....
ANSWER
FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM:
Dear chris carolan nj:
Well I guess the good news is that your problem zone has been
quiet now for 2 days.
If your system was only off for 20 minutes when you last bled
it, then it probably had not had time to cool down completely.
So if the problem comes back, then one option that you still have
is to try to let your system cool completely down (off for at
least 3 hours) before you bleed it.
And I assume that when you inspected the problem zone for leaks
and bleeders, that you removed the baseboard covers to see if
there were any bleeders that might have been hidden by the covers?
If you still have problems after trying the above, please let
us know, and we'll try to figure something else for you.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from CHRISTINE on 4/18/2008:
HOW DO I SHUT OFF THE HEAT FROM THE HEATER?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM ON 4/19/2008:
Dear Christine:
To answer your question about how to turn off your heater, I'll
first need to know what type of heating system that you have.
For example, is it a radiator or baseboard heating system? Or
is a forced air distribution system?
And does your heating system have separate thermostat controls
from your air conditioning system (if you have central air conditioning)?
Just let me know, and then I can hopefully give you the correct
advice for your particular type of heating system.
Sincerely,
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Leesa on 4/14/2008:
I'm looking at homes to buy in iowa the ad says utilities shut
off over winter. this has baseboard heating can anyone tell me
what that does to the system? would there be pipe problems because
of this?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM ON 4/14/2008:
Dear Leesa:
Assuming that the water from the pipes in the house's baseboard
heating system was completely drained properly, then this should
not be a problem.
By draining the water from the baseboard heating system during
the winter, they were trying to eliminate the risk of losing power,
for example, and having the pipe freeze and then potentially burst.
Shutting down the baseboarding heating systems and draining the
water out is actually a good idea when a home is going to be left
unoccupied for a sustained period over the winter.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from john in ny on 4/10/2008:
My baseboard heat downstairs will not stop running (giving
off heat) even though I turn it completely off. What might be
causing this problem?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM ON 4/10/2008:
Dear John in NY:
If your baseboard heat will not shut off in just one zone, here's
a couple of things you might want to check:
1) if this zone is thermostatically controlled, have you checked
to see if the thermostat is operating properly.
2) if the thermostat is operating properly, then another thing
to check is whether the zone control valve at the boiler is operating
properly.
Home this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Michelle on 3/30/2008:
I have a baseboard heating system in my apartment. While
I was out of town, I was informed by my landlord that the pipe
froze and burst. One window was barely open. My apartment is always
very warm and as a result I have never needed to put on the heat,
and always have a window slightly open. The window was open for
4 months of winter without incident and my apartment remained
warm. I noticed after the repairs, some sort of valve was replace
approx 5 feet down the pipe from where the pipe burst. I have
never seen the burst pipe and I was wondering if there could be
any other reason for the pipe bursting.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM ON 3/30/2008:
Dear Michelle:
Was the pipe that burst in an outside wall or behind a cabinet
that was on an outside wall?
If so, these are areas that can get much colder than other parts
of your apartment. Especially behind cabinets where they can be
very little air circulation.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from jamesbarlow8 on 3/20/2008:
I have a fully pumped domestic heating system and after
I drained it (cleaned out with Fernox)I cannot get it to pump
through the radiators,hot water is OK, I have fitted anew pump
and zone valve and bled all points.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM ON 3/20/2008:
Dear jamesbarlow8:
Have you checked to se if the zone valve had gotten installed
backwards? This happens sometimes.
Regards,
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from David Liddle on 3/13/2008:
We live in an old home - built in 1860 - which has hot water
baseboard heat. The problem is that some of the covers and ends
are missing. Do you have any ideas where we could get replacement
parts?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM ON 3/13/2008:
Dear David Liddle:
Here's a link to a site that has a list of names and contact information
for suppliers of baseboard heating fixtures:
http://www.traditional-building.com/article/radside.htm
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from anonymous on 3/10/2008:
how to stop knocking of hotwater baseboard heat pipes
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM ON 3/10/2008:
Dear anonymous:
Regarding stopping the knocking of hotwater baseboard heat pipes,
potential causes of the bangs you are hearing are:
1) Air is trapped in the line, which needs to be bled out.
2)A pipe to or from this baseboard radiator that is running through
a hole in a wall, etc. that is too tight, which doesn't allow
sufficiently for the pipe's thermal expansion.
3 Pipes not supported properly, such that when they turn on, they
bang into one another or into other things.
4)The zone valve is installed backwards.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from tom on 2/18/2008:
how to properly drain and refill sealed hot water baseboard
system
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM ON 2/18/2008:
Dear Tom:
You can look in the Question and Answer section of the Baseboard
Heating page of our online Maintenance Library (www.home-wizard.com/maintenance/baseboardheating.asp).
If this doesn't help you, and you still have questions, just let
us know.
Regards,
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from carr1818 on 2/7/2008:
We are looking for the metal clip that holds the heat louver
in place. Our home was built in 1960 and many of our clips are
missing. Do you know where we can purchase these and other related
parts for these older baseboard heating elements? Thank you for
your time.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM ON 2/7/2008:
Dear carr1818:
here's a link to a site that has a list of names and contact information
for suppliers of baseboard heating fixtures:
http://www.traditional-building.com/article/radside.htm
If you are still not able to find what you need, just let us know,
and we'll see if we can find something else to help you.
Regards,
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from barbev on 2/4/2008:
which radiator valve is better ? automatic or manual for
baseboard heating system
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM ON 2/4/2008:
Dear barbev:
I'm not sure exactly which radiator valve that you are referring
to for your baseboard heating system, so let me run down all of
the valves for you:
o Bleeder valves (for purging air out of the system): these should
be manual valves.
o Make-up water valve (for allowing water to come into the system
to replace lost water): this valve should be an automatic valve.
o Pressure relief valve (for releasing water when the system pressure
becomes to high): this valve should be an automatic valve.
o Zone valves (for shutting off water to a particular heating
zone): there are the automatic valves that are controlled by the
thermostats for the various zones, and then there are also manual
valves which allow you to shut off zones independently.
If this doesn't answer your questions, just let us know.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from jim
t cuff on 5/20/2008:
I have an oil-fired furnace/with hot water baseboard for my
ranch house. I am quite handy, and would like to vaccume out the
soot from the inner furnace. is their any special type vaccume/shop-vac
i need to use and bag. thanks jim
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 5/20/2008
Dear Jim:
For difficult jobs where you need strong suction, like vacuuming
out a sooted up oil burning furnace, I would suggest that you
look at the "Sootmaster" furnace vacuum:
http://www.mastercraftusa.com/products/Furnace-Boiler-Soot-Vacuums.php
I've heard some good things about the DeWalt DC500 vacuum:
http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/tool_detail.asp?productID=6220
But I've heard many complaints about the Stinger brand vaccum.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
FOLLOW-UP QUESTION
from jim t cuff on 5/20/2008
I have a regular 3 gallon sears wet/dry vac could i use that?
thanks
jim
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 5/20/2008
Jim:
The main concern that I would have with using a small Craftsman
wet/dry vacuum for vacuuming out soot from a oil-fired furnace
is that the filter system may not be fine enough to keep the soot
from coming through and making a mess in your house. I've heard
of cases where the tiny soot particles got churned up in the air
and actually setting off the fire detectors in the home.
Part of the reason that the bigger (and unfortunately more expensive)
furnace vaccums have more suction power, is so they can force
the air through the finer filtering system.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
FOLLOW-UP COMMENT from jim t cuff on 5/21/2008
Great, thanks for your help. jim
____________________
QUESTION from Vicki
on 8/21/2008
This may come through twice. Sorry if it does. I am currently
remodling my kitche, we have baseboard heat...I want to put a
pantry (broom holder) and a desk area... Any way to work around
those baseboards??
Thanks
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 8/21/2008
Dear Vicki:
It sounds like your problem is that you want to place a broom
holder pantry and a desk area where you currently have baseboard
heating, correct?
If this is the case, then you have several options:
1) You can remove that section of your baseboard heating piping
completely and reconnect with pipe through the wall behind this
area, or in the floor below it. This will likely be your most
effective solution, but unfortunately, it will likely be the most
expensive as well.
2) Or you can remove the front cover and adjustable vent (carefully
because you will need to put them back), then remove the aluminum
fins from the copper pipe (pliers should do it) on the sections
where you want to put the broom pantry and desk. Then you'll need
to put foam pipe insulation over the pipe in these sections. After
this, put the vent and front cover back on the baseboard.
3) Or you can bend a heat shield from rolled aluminum (used for
roof flashing) from the wall above the baseboard to the floor
in front of it, and do this for the entire area around your broom
pantry and desk.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from jesse on 9/2/2008
I want to disconnect my existing cast iron boiler in order to
move it 12 inches or so and then reconnect. I have baseboard style
heaters but they appear not to have bleeder valves on them in
order to drain the system down. What would be the best way to
ensure the entire system is drained down. I also have a system
when installed that has no shut-off or service valves to isolate
the piping to the baseboar heaters , only the boiler drain at
the floor level and a boiler drain right where the piping attaches
to the supply side. Any ideas would be apprecited
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 9/3/2008
Dear Jesse:
Actually, baseboard heating systems do not usually have bleeders
on the baseboard heating pipes. But at your boiler, there should
be purge valves. So after you shut off your boiler and you close
your water supply valve, you should be able to drain your system
by opening up the other valves around your boiler.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Lisa K on 9/30/2008
How can I get rust off my baseboard heaters?
The baseboard heating running behind the toilet in my bathroom
has some rust spots I guess because of the extra moisture in that
area. Is there a special way to remove the rust without ruining
the factory painted finish?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 9/30/2008
Dear Lisa:
Unfortunately, removing rust spots from baseboard heating covers
requires a bit of work. To do the job properly, you should remove
the affected section of metal covering (most baseboard covers
will un-snap at the ends), and then sand the rusted area completely
down to bare metal. Then apply on a spray metal primer, let that
dry completely, and then apply a spray paint to match your existing
color. Check with your paint store to get a primer and paint that
are made for radiators (which operate at elevated temperatures).
One other thought . . . you mentioned that this section of your
baseboard heater is in close proximity to your toilet. You might
want to consider putting a clear plastic "splash guard" in this
area, if you are finding this to be part of the root cause of
your problem in this area.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Joel in NY on 10/7/2008
Just in the last year, my gas-fired hot water baseboard system
(2-zone) has had a problem. Whenever the heat goes on in the morning,
the pressure builds slowly over norm until the relief valve starts
dripping. I can open the drain valve on the expansion tank to
let out some water (it runs clear). This helps in the short run,
but I have to do this every day. Once I tried draining the expansion
tank completely, but the refill valve just kept filling up the
system. Can you suggest what the problem might be and how to resolve
it? Water temp is set to 140-160 F. Many thanks!
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 10/7/2008
Dear Joel:
A leaking pressure relief valve for your hot water baseboard heating
system is unsafe. It either means that your pressure relief valve
has failed, or there is an over-pressure situation in your system.
If it is because your pressure relief valve is failing, then the
valve absolutely should be replaced. This is a very, very important
safety feature for your system. And if it is leaking because of
an over-pressure situation in your system, then this needs to
be address as soon as possible.
Here is a webpage that describes more about dripping pressure
relief valves: http://www.inspect-ny.com/heat/ReliefValves.htm
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Carmen on 10/8/2008
I just bought a house that has 2 baseboard heaters that are connected
to one thermostat. I turned the heat up a few days ago and then
turned it back to the off position later that day. However, one
heater is still running, but the other is not. Additionally, the
wall above the heater that's still running is darkened, as if
the wall has gotten very hot before. What do I do?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 10/8/2008
Dear Carmen:
That is very odd that your thermostat turned on both of your baseboard
heaters, but will only turn one of them back off.
For the baseboard heater to continue to run hot, the thermostat
connection would need to be made, the boiler would need to be
on, and the water valve to the baseboard would need to be open.
Even if the valve was stuck open, the baseboard would not get
hot if the boiler didn't stay on. And the boiler wouldn't stay
on if the thermostat connection wasn't still being made.
As such, I would suggest checking is to see if there is either
some loose wiring around your thermostat, or if the thermostat
itself has gone bad.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from BK on 10/18/2008
I just moved into a house with a baseboard heating system. I had
a plumber come check out the system, but the gas wasn't on. He
said to have the gas company light the pilot when they turned
on the gas. He said everything was good to go after that. The
serviceman with the gas company lit the pilot, but said he didn't
notice a pressure relief valve. It just has a cap. He said not
to run it until we got a relief valve and then told me some of
the things that could happen. Do I need the relief valve or is
the cap good enough? I think I know the answer, I just want to
be sure.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 10/18/2008
Dear BK:
Yes, your intuition I suspect is correct. I would NEVER recommend
operating a hot water boiler system without a pressure relief
valve. And further, even if a system has a pressure relief valve,
it needs to be routinely inspected and tested to ensure that it
is operating properly. This is a VERY important safety feature
of your home.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Patti on 10/22/2008
We have baseboard heat downstairs, radiator heaters in upstairs.
Only one radiator gets warm (VERY warm), one other gets minimally
warm. The other 2 stay cold. Have tried bleeding them. Help?!
Please.......Thanks...
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 10/22/2008
Dear Patti:
If you've already tried bleeding the two radiators that are not
heating up, and if these two radiators are the ones located upstairs,
then the problem could be that you heating system's expansion
tank maybe empty. You would need to check the ball valve in the
tank and fill the tank enough to get the ball to float when the
system is cool.
On the other hand, if is not the upstairs radiators that are not
heating up, then here is a webpage that describes solutions for
different kinds of radiator problem situations, and hopefully
you can find the situation that matches what you are seeing at
your home:
http://www.diynot.com/pages/pl/pl033.php
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Connie on 10/15/2008
I had a new pump put in and after about two weeks it sounds like
my pipes are like a truck coming through the walls
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 10/15/2008
Dear Connie:
Are you referring to the hot water recirculating pump for your
baseboard heating system?
And if so, could you please describe a little more about the sound
you are hearing. Is it coming from the pump, or from the pipes?
Does it happen the entire time that your baseboard heating zone
is on? Or just when it first comes on? Is it a short "banging"
sound? Or is more of a prolonged rumbling?
Just let us know, we can try to diagnose what the problem is for
you.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Lynn on 5/22/2008
If I am replacing plaster with drywall in a room with boiler baseboard
heat can I place drywall ontop of radiator, if not what needs
to be done?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 5/22/2008
Dear Lynn:
When you say place drywall "on top" of the radiator, how specifically
do you mean? Is that you are going to be placing the drywall over
the plaster wall, and thus the drywall thickness will stick out
that dimension over the top of metal baseboard cover? Or are you
thinking about placing the drywall such that it will completely
cover the baseboard radiator? Or is it something else?
If you can provide some more description, I will be better able
to answer your question.
Sincerely,
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Bill on 7/6/2008
I am building new walls in my basement and the pipes from my hot
water baseboard pipes are coming straight down and i need to put
an elbow on the pipe how do i drain and refill and purge the hotwater
system thank you
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 7/6/2008
Dear Bill:
Regarding your question of how to drain and refill and purge the
hotwater system for your baseboard heating system, first, to drain
your system, shut off your boiler and make a note of the water
pressure. Next locate the self-feeding (auto-makeup) water valve
and ensure that your make-up water supply is shutoff. Next, attach
a garden hose to one of the spigots coming off of the return line
that goes back to your boiler, and run the other end of the hose
to either a drain or to outside. Then open up all of you valves
that go to your various heating zones. Then open up the spigot
and let the water drain out through the garden hose. If your boiler
has been running, then BE CAREFUL that the water can be scalding
hot.
To refill and purge the air from your system, ensure that the
make-up water supply is connected and water supply valve is open.
Close them all, and then one at a time, open the valve to each
heating zone of your house. Then while manually opening the auto-makeup
valve, keep the spigot open and let the water run out the garden
hose to your drain our outside. Let it run until you no longer
see any air bubbles. While you are doing this, keep an eye on
the water pressure and don't let it get above 25 PSI. If needed
to control the pressure, release the auto-makeup valve momentarily.
After you have stopped seeing air bubbles, release the auto makeup
valve and close spigot. Allow the water pressure to return to
normal. You then repeat these steps until all of your zones have
been bled. When done, put your zone valve to their operating positions.
Then check the water pressure, which should be the same as what
you noted at the beginning. And then finally, turn your boiler
back on.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Hoping to Save Money in PA on 7/9/2008
I have hot water baseboards that run off of an oil furnace (which
also supplies the hot water to the rest of the house). I am thinking
about replacing the oil furnace with an electric heater, but I
want to make sure I get a big enough unit. How much water (GPM)
is typically circulated through the baseboards?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 7/10/2008
Dear "Hoping to Save Money in PA":
The short answer to your question of how much water is circulated
(GPM) through your baseboard heating system, is that it depends
on the size of your circulation pump and the size (diameter) and
length of the piping in your system.
Here is a link to a great guide by Bell & Gossett on how to
size a baseboard heating system. Hopefully it will have what you
need. If not, just let us know, and we'll try to find something
else for you.
Regards,
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Manny from CT on 8/31/2008
Dear home wizard;
I have a conventional hot water baseboard,three zone heating system.
Unlike the old cast iron radiators, there is no valve to shut
off or reduce the temperature in any particular room/'s which
are not being used. All the radiators have a louver which I can
close, however since they are bedrooms (2 unoccupied) with no
furniture or other plumbing, I would like to supply as close to
no heat as possible to save on the sky rocketing fuel costs (oil).
I understand that these bedroom doors must be kept shut so as
not to absorb heat from the other heated areas.
Is there something I can do like removing the covers and wrapping
the delicate blades with strips of aluminum foil to restrict heat
in these rooms while assuring hot water flow to the other occupied
rooms and bathrooms within this zone?
Thanks,
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 8/31/2008
Dear Manny from CT:
Here are a couple of options for reducing the heat from your baseboard
heating pipes in the unoccupied rooms. The option you select will
depend on how "permanent" you want your fix to be:
1) You can bend a heat shield from rolled aluminum (used for roof
flashing) from the wall above the baseboard to the floor in front
of it, and do this for the entire length of exposed baseboard
in the room.
2) Or you can remove the front cover and adjustable vent (carefully
because you will need to put them back), then remove the aluminum
fins from the copper pipe (pliers should do it) on the sections
where you want to put the broom pantry and desk. Then you'll need
to put foam pipe insulation over the pipe in these sections. After
this, put the vent and front cover back on the baseboard.
3) Or you can remove that section of your baseboard heating piping
completely and reconnect with pipe through the wall behind this
area, or in the floor below it. This will likely be your most
effective solution, but unfortunately, it will likely be the most
expensive and the most permanent as well.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Ron on 11/1/2008
we have water circuit heat....it continues to run water thru the
pipes for a long while (which can be heard in the baseboards of
the rooms), before actually just working and warming the house
like it should,when you cut hot water on the water heater makes
a rattling sound like it isn't full could it just be my water
heater on the blink and not my water circuit unit in all?....thanks
for any info you can provide
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/1/2008
Dear Ron:
I suspect that the problems with your hot water heater and your
baseboard heating system are not directly related.
Let's start with the problem you are having with your water heater
first. Its a bit difficult to diagnose problems with a noisy water
heater without actually hearing the sound and physically seeing
when it is occurring, but here are a few thoughts which will hopefully
be helpful for you. If you are hearing a rattling sound when you
are running your hot water, then the problem with your water heater
may be with check valve type nipples installed on the top of your
water heater, if you have them. If you have them, they are a good
have because they can save some energy, but they also can be very
annoying.
On the other hand, the noise that you are hearing from your water
heater could be the sound of boiling water caused by excessive
build-up of sediment in the bottom of your tank. This sediment
could be causing the bottom of your tank to overheat and water
to boil, which could be the noise that you are hearing. The remedy
for this is to routinely backflush your water heater as described
on the "Water Heater" page of our online Maintenance Library:
http://www.home-wizard.com/maintenance/waterheater.asp
Now, regarding your first problem, it sounds like your baseboard
radiators are heating up fine, but you think that it is circulating
water for too long before it actually heats up the baseboard radiators.
Am I understanding you correctly? What I'm wondering is if whether
the sound that you are hearing in your baseboard heating system
pipes is the sound of trapped air that is circulating in with
the water, and causing your system to operating inefficiently.
If you haven't tried it already, I would suggest that you bleed
all of the air out of your system.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Rose on 11/1/2008
I have an electric boiler , hot water radiators in a two story
semidetached home. When I turn up the thermostat there often is
a terrible racket - it sounds as if someone is using a pneumatic
drill. Sometimes this noise goes on for quite some time, other
times the noise stops after a while. There are times when the
noise doesn't start at all. How can I get rid of the racket? What
can be causing it? Two plumbers have been in to fix the problem
without success. Help would be appreciated!
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/1/2008
Dear Rose:
Without hearing the noise and watching your system to see exactly
what is happening, its very difficult to accurately diagnose what
could be causing the noise you are hearing form your hot water
radiator system. Since you have already had a couple of plumbers
looking at your system, I assume that they would have caught all
of the potentially obvious problems.
But here are a couple of thoughts about what else could be causing
the noise that you describe:
1) your radiators or pipes that return water from your radiators
back to your boiler are not pitched properly (i.e., that they
do not have the correct slope to allow water to flow back to the
boiler). As such, the steam is meeting the condensed water and
exploding back into steam, which could be the cause of your noise.
To fix this, a plumber would need to check and adjust the slopes
of your radiators and pipes.
2) another possible cause is that one of your pipes goes through
a tight spot in your wall somewhere, and when the pipe heats up
and expands, it chatters as it tries to expand through the hole
that is too tight.
Again, it is very hard to diagnose a noise problem like this without
actually seeing your system.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
FOLLOW-UP QUESTION from Rose on 11/2/2008
Thank you for your speedy reply. The system worked well for many
years, without any problems. The problem cropped up recently.
I suspect the plumbers were not familiar with an electric boiler
system.
Rose
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/2/2008
Rose:
Glad to be of help.
If your system has worked well for years, then the problem is
likely not due to the pipe going through a tight spot somewhere
inside your walls (unless you have moved walls, etc.). But over
time, your radiators or piping may have shifted, and this could
cause them to lose their proper pitch.
If this does not turn out to be the problem, just let us know,
and we'll try to come up with another idea for you.
Sincerely,
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Michelle on 11/4/2008
I have electric baseboard heat. Last year we replaced all the
thermostats twice because they were turning on but not turning
off. This year we are having the same problem, theyhave to be
set VERY low, 50-55 to keep the rooms 60-65 and once they go on
they don't shut off, I have to manually lower the thermostat to
turn the baseboards off. Any ideas what else it could be? It can't
be the thermostats we have been through 2 sets.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/4/2008
Dear Michelle:
If you have replaced the thermostats for your electric baseboard
heaters, and they turn on, but won't turn back off when the room
comes up to temperature, here are a couple things that you might
want to check:
1) check to be sure that that the thermostats that you installed
are the right type for your particular electric baseboard heaters
(for example, single pole versus double pole).
2) check to see if there is open space behind where your thermostats
are mounted, such that cold air from inside the wall could be
blowing onto the thermostat and keeping it too cool (which could
be causing it to stay on).
Hope this is helpful. If neither of these turn out to be the problem,
then just let us know, and we'll see if we can come up with something
else for you.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Ed May on 11/11/2008
I recently purchased an older home with hot water baseboard heat.
I'm missing 15 of those clips that slide onto the louvers and
attach them to the baseboard. They are slantfin. Do you know how
to obtain them?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/11/2008
Dear Ed:
Here's a webpage with a list of radiant heat parts suppliers:
http://www.traditional-building.com/article/radside.htm
I've used this for hard-to-find parts in the past.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Max on 11/6/2008
Hi,
I have a puzzling problem with baseboard heating in my house.
It is a two floor house with 3 zones.
2 zones on the first floor and 1 on the second floor. When I turn
on the thermostat for zone that heats main portion of the 1st
floor (zone1), the radiators of the upstairs zone (zone2) get
hot.
When I feel the pipes, the 1st floor zone1 supply line is hot.
The 2nd floor zone2 supply line is cold. The thermostat of the
2nd floor zone is turned off. The house has a return line that
runs the length of the house in the basement. There is a 3 way
T connector on the opposite end of the house, which has the 2
returns from the zone1, and one return from zone2. That return
line from 2nd floor is hot.
I had personally inspected the plumbing with my oil company repair
man. All the splits and pipes are accounted for, and the situation
does not makes sense to him. He says that there is noway the zone2
can get hot from the return line.
Each zone has an electric motor, as well as the return pipe. They
added backflow check valves to each zone, next to the motors,
but it did not help. The second zone (zone3), serving another
part of first floor stays cold as expected.
Is there a reasonable explanation for whats going on?
thanks
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/6/2008
Dear Max:
If I understand you problem correctly, the baseboard heating zone
on your second floor is getting hot, even though the thermostat
for the second floor is turned off, right?
A couple of thoughts:
1) Have you checked to ensure that your thermostat on the second
floor is operating properly? If it is defective or not wired properly,
then it could be calling for heat, even when it is in the "off"
position.
2) Does your second floor baseboard zone only get hot when you
turn on the first floor zone 1? In other words, if you have both
zones 1 and 3 turned off, does zone 2 upstairs ever get hot on
its own? Also, when you say that the "2nd floor zone 2 line is
cold", where are you testing the line? Is it down near your furnace,
or up closer to the second floor? If the 2nd floor zone only gets
hot when you are running zone 1, and the pipe is cold near the
furnace, then the next thing to check is whether the supply pipes
for zones 1 and 2 are running side-by-side for a long way inside
the same floor joists, such that it could be heating the zone
3 piping. I've seen this happen where a heating supply pipe was
run along side a cold water pipe, and when the cold water faucet
was turned on, the water would come out scalding hot. But in your
case, the question would be whether when you turn on zone 1 (with
zone 3 upstairs turned off), does the circulation pump for zone
3 also turn on (which would circulate the water heated up by running
next to the zone 1 piping)?
If you could give me a little more information for the questions
above, I can try to better diagnose your system's problems.
Sincerely,
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
FOLLOW-UP QUESTION from Max on 11/6/2008
Hi Wizard,
I embedded your questions, to simplify the answers.
If I understand you problem correctly, the baseboard heating zone
on your second floor is getting hot, even though the thermostat
for the second floor is turned off, right?
Correct.
1) Have you checked to ensure that your thermostat on the second
floor is operating properly? If it is defective or not wired properly,
then it could be calling for heat, even when it is in the "off"
position.
Yes, I have checked it. It is not calling for heat, because the
Zone2 motor is not running, the control panel is also not indicating
demand from the zone.
2) Does your second floor baseboard zone only get hot when you
turn on the first floor zone 1? In other words, if you have both
zones 1 and 3 turned off, does zone 2 upstairs ever get hot on
its own?
No, the Zone2(upstairs) never gets hot if Zones1 and 3 are off.
Also, when you say that the "2nd floor zone 2 line is cold", where
are you testing the line? Is it down near your furnace, or up
closer to the second floor?
I said zone2 supply line is cold, and I tested it right next to
the furnace. I touched the electric motor and further down the
line, until it enters the structure of the house and goes up between
the walls.
If the 2nd floor zone only gets hot when you are running zone
1, and the pipe is cold near the furnace, then the next thing
to check is whether the supply pipes for zones 1 and 2 are running
side-by-side for a long way inside the same floor joists, such
that it could be heating the zone 3 piping.
No, the pipes run in parallel, but there is a good foot between
them. And then the pipe for Zone2 goes to the second floor, so
it is not touching or next to Zone1 piping.
But in your case, the question would be whether when you turn
on zone 1 (with zone 3 upstairs turned off), does the circulation
pump for zone 3 also turn on (which would circulate the water
heated up by running next to the zone 1 piping)?
All this happens only when Zone1 (main zone downstairs) circulation
pump is running. The other 2 zones are definitely off. The pumps
are cold to touch.
And thats the mystery....
thanks,
Max
____________________
QUESTION from CK
on 11/14/2008
I've been reading through your baseboard heating Q & A. Our
system is not knocking or hammering, we have sloshing/flowing
water sounds on the 2nd floor. (The first floor heaters are on
a different thermostat and seem fine.) Thanks for your help.
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/14/2008
Dear CK:
If what you are hearing in your baseboard heating system on the
second floor is a "gurgling" sort of sound, then I would suspect
that what you are hearing is being caused by air trapped in your
system. Not only does this cause an annoying sound, but also it
will prevent your second floor from heating up efficiently.
If you haven't tried it already, I would suggest that you bleed
your system to purge out the trapped air.
On the other hand, if you have already bled your system and this
didn't solve your problem, just let us know, we can try to diagnose
your problem further.
Hope this is helpful.
____________________
QUESTION from noisy heat on 11/16/2008
I have a base board heating system in my home. I have alot of
air noise and pipe "banging" from the base boards around the floor.
Do I need to flush or bleed the system? The system is about 40
years old. Are there preventative tasks I can perform in the future.
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/16/2008
Dear 'noisy heat':
Since you are hearing both air noises and banging coming from
the pipes of your baseboard heating system, then yes, I suspect
that your problem is that your system needs to have the air bled
out of it. Regarding routine preventative maintenance tasks that
you can perform in the future, you can see these on our Baseboard
Heating System webpage at:
http://www.home-wizard.com/maintenance/baseboardheating.asp
And you should also look at the routine maintenance tasks for
your furnace, which can be found at:
http://www.home-wizard.com/maintenance/furnace.asp
You can sign up for personalized maintenance reminders from us
for these, plus the other features of you home, and the reminders
will be included in with your monthly Newsletters. You can sign
up for your personalized reminders at:
http://www.home-wizard.com/personalize.aspx
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from jim on 11/17/2008
Hi, I have three zone hot water baseboard heat and the circulator
pump for the top floor broke. I never heated that floor anyways.
To insure that nobody would turn it on, I disconnected the power
supply. My question is will it affect the heating system if I
choose never to replace it? Also when I bleed my system (pipes
are noisy) will it be necessary to bleed that zone also? Thanks!
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/17/2008
Dear Jim:
Does your piping allow you to block and drain the supply and return
for the zone going up to your top floor? If so, then you should
be fine draining this zone, blocking the supply and return valves,
and leaving the power supply to its circulation pump disconnected.
If you are not able to block in this zone and drain it, then water
(and trapped air) may be able to be drawn through the circulation
pump (even if it is not pumping). So therefore, yes, you would
still need to bleed this zone as well, even if you were never
planning to use it. Also, I'm don't think you want stagnate water
just sitting in the pipes in this zone year after year. So you
would still need to flush the pipes out from time to time.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from jim
on 11/17/2008
Your answer helped a lot. There is a valve before (above) the
pump, but not after. All three zones are alike...the pumps all
connect directly to a larger common pipe with no valves to "isolate"
the bad zone. Looking at what you've told me I guess I'll be changing
the circulator pump afterall. I'm gonna go back and read through
all the help you've given to others and see if it's a big deal...it
looks very simple ( 4 bolts ), but my concern will be filling
the system back up. Thanks again!
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/17/2008
Jim:
. . . glad we could help you.
It sounds like you are a fairly handy person, so I would think
that you would find replacing your circulator pump for your top
floor zone rather straight-forward for you.
However, here are a few tips that might help you:
1) Remember to disconnect the power supply before working on the
circulator pump. Electricity and water don't mix very well.
2) Since you cannot completely isolate this part of your system,
after you drain it, and replace your pump, you will want to be
sure to bleed out all of the air.
If you haven't already found it in our "Question and Answer" section
of either the Ask-the-Wizard page or on the Baseboard Heating
System page, here is the procedure for bleeding the air out of
a baseboard heating system:
First shut off your boiler and make a note of the water pressure.
Next locate the self-feeding (auto-makeup) water valve and ensure
that the make-up water supply is connected and water is available.
Then open up all of you valves that go to your various heating
zones. Then close all of the shut-off valves. Next, attach a short
piece of garden hose to one of the spigots coming off of the return
line that goes back to your boiler. While manually opening the
auto-makeup valve, open the spigot and let the water run in to
a bucket or a drain. BE VERY CAREFUL, as the water coming out
of the hose will likely be very hot. Let it run until you no longer
see any air bubbles, which could take several minutes. While you
are doing this, keep an eye on the water pressure and don't let
it get above 25 PSI. If needed to control the pressure, release
the auto-makeup valve momentarily. After you have stopped seeing
air bubbles, release the auto makeup valve and close spigot. Allow
the water pressure to return to normal. You then repeat these
steps until all of your zones have been bled. When done, close
all of your zone valves and open all of your shut-off valves.
Then check the water pressure, which should be the same as what
you noted at the beginning. And then finally, turn your boiler
back on.
If you have any additional questions, just let us know.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Tom on 11/18/2008
I have a baseboard hot water heating system. It is in a second
hpome that i cannot aford to keep warm throuout the winter in
NORTHERN MAINE,, madawaska. Can I rplace the water with antifreeze
and avoid burst pipes, then run the heating system without draining
the antifreeze?
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/18/2008
Dear Tom:
Yes, you definitely can put anti-freeze in your baseboard heating
system if you are not going to be using it over the winter. In
fact, even if you were going to be using it on a limited basis,
say just on weekends, it would still be a good idea to put in
anti-freeze to keep the pipes from bursting if there were a power
failure during the week.
You should check with your local plumbing supply company to see
what type of anti-freeze that they recommend for your particular
location and system, and what percent mix that you should target
for.
Regarding running the system with the anti-freeze in it, yes,
you can, but the system will not operate quite as efficiently,
since the anti-freeze reduces the heat transfer properties.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Cathy Luthman on 11/19/2008
purchased a home with 2-zone heating, second zone is for the rec.
room which we do not use and would like to turn off the heat.
If I turn off the water at the furnace leading to the rec. room,
do I have to shut off anything on the furnace? Thermostat is set
at 55o but is registering 70o
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/19/2008
Catherine / Cathy:
We have tried several times to send the answer to your question
to the email addresses that you have registered with Home-Wizard.com,
and they have all come back non-deliverable.
Could you please check that the email address that you put in
your Home-Wizard.com profile is correct, or that you do not have
a spam filter with AOL that is set to block messages from Home-Wizard.
This way we will be able to send you a response to your question.
Thanks,
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Raman on 11/20/2008
I have a 5 zone baseboard heating system. My question is it takes
a very long time to heat up the zone i.e. one zone is for the
family room (20 X 14) and it takes up 3 hours or more to come
upto 68 from 60. I did vacum (even though it was not easy) and
tried to remove any dust from the fins.
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/20/2008
Dear Raman:
If with your 5 zone baseboard heating system only one zone is
not working well, one question is whether this is a new problem,
or is it something that you have always had a problem with? In
other words, is it a system design problem where there is not
enough hot water supply to serve the size of this zone of your
house?
Assuming that this is a new problem, here is a list of potential
causes as to why this zone could be taking so long to heat up:
1) the zone needs to be bled of air.
2) your circulation pump for this zone has gone bad and is not
circulating enough hot water.
3) the check valve in this zone is partially stuck, and is reducing
the flow rate of hot water (you might be lucky enough to solve
this problem with some raps on the valve with a piece of wood,
NOT a hammer).
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from r picco on 11/20/2008
i have hydronic heating system, however when installed there was
n't enough heating fins attached to the piping, where can i find
replacement or extra fins to attach to my heaters??
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/21/2008
Dear r picco:
Here is a link to a list of suppliers of radiant heat parts and
products:
http://www.traditional-building.com/article/radside.htm
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Lynne
on 11/21/2008
Why does my base board heating pipes knock and bang when the boiler
kicks on and how can I stop this... I have secured all the pipes
under the house so they are no longer loose and they still make
a banging noise
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/22/2008
Dear Lynne:
Here are some potential causes of the knocking and banging noises
that you are hearing when your boiler for your baseboard heating
system turns on:
1) Air is trapped in the line, which needs to be bled out.
2) Your pipes are not supported properly, such that when they
turn on, they bang into one another or into other things. Although
you said that you have already secured all of the pipes under
the floor, you might want to just double check that they are supported
properly.
3) A pipe to or from your baseboard radiators are running through
a hole in a wall, etc. that is too tight, which doesn't allow
sufficient expansion for the pipe's thermal expansion.
4) A zone valve is installed backwards.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from farmchef on 11/25/2008
I recently bought an older home with baseboard heat. The ones
on the main floor have fins. The ones on the second floor don't.
Is this a problem?
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/25/2008
Dear farmchef:
Actually, it is not unusual to have a baseboard heating system
that has fins on the baseboards on the first floor, but just has
pipes without fins on the second or third floors.
The reason is that heat rises, which makes heating a second or
third floor easier that heating a first floor (especially if the
floor separating the upper floors is not insulated, which allows
more heat to pass through). Since the upper floors do not have
as much heat load, the reason for leaving off the fins is to keep
too much heat from being put into the rooms on these floors. Otherwise
these rooms would roast.
If you find that the rooms on these upper floors are not getting
enough heat, then you will need to replace sections of the pipes
with pipes that have fins.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from farmchef on 11/26/2008
Thanks for the prompt reply!
____________________
QUESTION from Scott on 11/29/2008
How does the pump in a closed hot water heating system(furnace)make
the water flow?
Where does the air come from that is released by the automatic
bleeder valves?
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/30/2008
Dear Scott:
Regarding your first question, the way the circulation pump in
your closed hot water baseboard heating system works is that when
the thermostat in your home senses that the temperature is too
low in the room for this zone of your heating system, it sends
a signal to your furnace (boiler) to turn on, and also sends a
signal to the circulation pump for this zone to turn on and start
circulating the water heated by your furnace. This sends hot water
to the baseboard radiators in the rooms that are part of the zone
of your system that are controlled by the thermostat. When the
thermostat then senses that the temperature in the room is high
enough, it sends a signal to turn off the furnace and circulation
pump for this zone. And similarly for other zones in your home.
Now if your question is specifically, how does this pump make
the water flow through the pipes if the system is closed? The
answer is that as the rotor inside of the pump spins around, it
causes the pressure to become lower on the inlet side of the pump,
and the pressure to become higher on the outlet side of the pump.
This causes water to flow from the low side of the pump to the
high side of the pump, which causes the water to circulate though
the loop of your piping system. Further, as your furnace heats
up the water in your closed heating system, the water expands,
and needs somewhere to go, which is why your system will be designed
to have an "expansion tank" to give this additional water a place
to go.
Regarding you second question, air can come into your hot water
system in several ways, such as:
1) air is dissolved in solution in the fresh water that comes
into your system as make-up water to replace the water that is
lost from leaks, and then when this fresh water goes through your
furnace and is warmed up and then cools down, the air that is
entrained in this water is released and comes out as bubbles.
2) if you have leaks in the seals of your water circulation pump,
then when the pump turns on, it can suck air into your system.
3) if you have a leak in your expansion tank, it could possible
be a source for air getting back into your system.
Here is a link to a webpage which gives a general description
to how a baseboard hot water system works, that you might find
interesting: http://acnow.wordpress.com/2008/05/12/baseboard-hot-water-heating-systems/
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Roy on 11/30/2008
1. Should I let my forced hot water heating system cool down before
trying to purge the trapped air from the drainage spigots?
2. How do I manually manipulate the Watts self-feeding (auto-makeup)
water valve to control pressure so it doesn't go above 25 PSI
during the actual air purging process?
3. To purge air from a forced hot water system, you advised another
homeowner to "close all of the shut-off valves" as one of the
steps to follow just before opening the drain spigot to drain
water from each heating loop. My heater has three shutoff valves:
1. the valve to shut all water off to the house, at the pump location
2. the shut-off valve just before the pressure regulating valve
that is part of each heating loop 3. a shut off valve that supplies
fresh water directly into the side of the boiler, labeled "cold
water inlet". Do I shut all these shut-off valves off before I
drain the water from each loop?
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/1/2008
Dear Roy:
Regarding your first question, I would suggest letting your forced
hot water heating system cool down before purging the air out
of the system. There are two reasons for this: 1) as the water
cools down dissolved air will be released from the water, which
will then allow you to purge this air out as well; and 2) less
risk of being scaled by hot water. However, if it is not practical
for you to let your system cool completely down, then you can
still purge the system, but just be careful of the hot water.
Regarding your second question, does your Watts auto-fill valve
look like the one pictured here with the release lever on top:
http://www.blueridgecompany.com/radiant/hydronic/517/watts-fill-valve-and-backflow-preventer
If not, here is the contact information for Watts Valves: http://www.watts.com/pro/contactus.asp
who can tell you specifically for your particular model of valve.
And regarding your third question, you mentioned that you are
looking to drain your system, but do you mean actually draining
the system, or just purging the air?
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Roy on 12/3/2008
Hi again, and thanks for the advice thus far. In answer to your
first question, my Watts fill valve looks exactly like the one
pictured, with the release lever on top, at:
http://www.blueridgecompany.com/radiant/hydronic/517/watts-fill-valve-and-backflow-preventer
I just don't know how to operate the valve to regulate the water
pressure when purging the air from each forced hot water loop.
To respond to your second question, I am interested in purging
the air from the system through the drain spigots. I am trying
to accomplish this by flushing all of the water plus air out of
the spigot for each heating loop, then filling each loop with
fresh, but not too cold water, that hopefully has no new air in
it. As noted in my question 3, I appear to have three shutoff
valves to consider at the boiler.
After the spigot draining and new water fill-up is done, I plan
to bleed air from the air vent in the system to get out any additional
air that may be released.
Your thoughts in reply to my last two questions would be most
appreciated. Any source of very detailed steps as to how this
draining and refilling procedure can most safely and effectively
be accomplished would be most appreciated.
Thank you.
Roy
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/3/2008
Dear Roy:
Regarding your first question, yes, it sounded like you had something
like a Watts Fill Valve and Backflow preventer valve, and from
what you've said, it turned out that the link I sent you was exactly
the one you had. Great!
Then if you look at your valve, the small lever on the top of
the valve operates the bypass for the pressure reducer for the
valve. So as you lift up on the lever, it opens the valve to street
pressure from your water supply. So as you start to purge the
water from one of your heating system loops, you lift the lever
to increase the pressure to get stronger flow as you are purging
that line. But let the lever down if the pressure in your system
starts to go too high (however, if you isolate you boiler properly,
as described below, then you won't have to worry about over-pressuring
your system).
Now regarding your second question, the exact procedure for specifically
which valves to open and close as you are purging your baseboard
heating system of air will depend on how your specific system
has been piped. But in general, to be safe, you will want to:
1) turn off your boiler and heating system.
2) make a note of which valves are open, and which are closed.
3) close the valves that allow you to isolate your boiler from
the rest of the system (so that you don't get a pressure spike
that causes your boiler's pressure relief valve to lift, as this
weakens it).
4) connect a drain hose to safely drain hot water from the system.
5) follow your pipes around starting with the Watts fill valve,
and open only those valves necessary to allow the fresh water
that is coming into the system from the Watts valve to flow through
the particular loop that you are trying to purge (that is, one
loop at a time), and then out the drain hose that you have connected.
6) close all of the valves, and then repeat opening the valves
needed to purge each loop.
7) disconnect the drain hose and close this valve.
8) return all of your valves to their original position (especially
the valves that you used to isolate your boiler).
If it helps you to think of it this way, if you have turned off
your boiler and heating system, and then properly closed the valves
to isolate your boiler, and properly placed your drain hose to
a drain or outdoors, then you can fairly safely purge your system
without hurting your boiler or scalding yourself.
And when you go to start you system back up, you of course just
need to be sure to put the valves back to their original positions.
Also, here are some additional suggestions that you might find
helpful:
First, if you haven't had your annual inspection done yet on your
boiler, then when the service technician comes out to do your
inspection and service, you can ask them to show you exactly how
to purge your specific system, when they can be physically there
to point out which of your valves does exactly what.
The other thought is that you can call the toll-free phone number
for the company that manufactures your Watts valve. I've talked
to them before, and they are very helpful regarding how to purge,
backflush and drain baseboard heating systems where their valves
are installed. And here is their toll-free phone number in Vashon,
Washington: 866-361-4782.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Roy on 12/4/2008
Thank you so much for your very helpful and thorough advice!
I now feel comfortable that I will be able to safely purge the
air from the forced hot water heating loops. Thank you also for
the advice to get on-site advice during the annual inspection
of the boiler. The contact to the Watts manufacturer is also a
great lead.
You have been so much help to me! Your site is clearly the best,
and I have been searching a long time through the Internet, and
thus have a strong basis for a comparison!
Take care.
Roy
____________________
QUESTION from Michele on 12/3/2008
The air in our house stays very dry in the winter. I have hot
water baseboard heat. Are there any attachments I can add to my
baseboard to get some humidity into the air?
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/3/2008
Dear Michele:
Yes, there are a variety of options for adding humidity to your
home during the winter when you have a hot water baseboard heating
system in your house.
They include fairly inexpensive devices that you fill with water
and place over sections of your baseboard radiator, such as this
model:
http://www.colonialmedical.com/product.php?productid=21046 , or
http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/browse/Home/For-The-Home/Home-Furnishings/Heating-Cooling/Baseboard-Humidifier/D/30102/P/1:100:1030:10320:101010/I/f05833&searchid=7JP1SRCH&feedid=hgtv
And more expensive options that get hooked up to a water supply
and can serve much large areas:
http://www.aprilaire.com/themes/aa/en/manuals/400.pdf
in addition to cost, the differences are: 1) having to check and
fill the water by hand, versus automatically feeding water as
needed; and 2) the capacity for serving larger rooms and areas.
The above are not meant to be specific vendor recommendations,
but rather, just examples of the range of options.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Troy
on 12/5/2008
What is the easiest and safest way to clean the dust from the
heat louvers in baseboard heat?
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/5/2008
Dear Troy:
I wasn't sure if your question is how to clean the actual louvers
that open and close above your baseboard heating radiators, or
if you mean the thin fin louvers that come off of the hot water
pipes or the electric element.
So let me answer both for you here.
First, regarding the louvers that open and close along the top
of your baseboard radiator. You will want to move furniture, drapes,
etc. away from the area so that they do not get wet. If you have
an electric baseboard heater, then before you start you will need
to be sure to shut off the power to your heater. Either unplug
the system from the wall if it is a self-contained unit or disconnect
power at the home's main power supply cabinet. If you can remove
the panels on your baseboard heating radiators, then carefully
disassemble them so that you can access to both sides of the panels.
Mix up a bucket of water and liquid soap, and use a soft cloth
to wipe down both sides of the panels and louvers. Be careful
if you are wiping near the fins, as these can have sharp edges
and corners.
Regarding cleaning the fins on the hot water pipes or the electric
element, you will want to use a vacuum cleaner with a brush attachment.
Or if you only have a vacuum with a nozzle attachment, then you
will want to use a separate brush to loosen the dust and debris
on the fins as you are vacuuming. While you are cleaning these
fins, you might want to have a needle-nosed pliers ready so that
you can straighten out any bent fins, as these reduce the performance
of your baseboard heater.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Jeff on 12/7/2008
I have a 3 zone heating system in my home.1 zone in my family
room,2nd in my kitchen/dinning/living room and a 3rd that heats
the upstair bed rooms.My house is 30 yrs old and im sure that
it hasn't been bleed.The 1st and 2nd zones seem fine you get your
normal crinkin/crackin noises when it stars up then goes away
but on the 3rd zone you can actually hear the water flow threw
the baseboards sounds like a little river running.Does this mean
it has air in the system?If soo can you explain how to bleed it?I
know it overdue for this.Thankyou very much in advance..Jeff
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/7/2008
Dear Jeff:
Yes, it does sound like the piping of your third heating zone
on your baseboard heating system has air trapped in it, and that
it needs to have the air purged out of this line.
Regarding the procedure for purging air from a baseboard heating
zone, it will depend on your specific configuration of valves,
etc. But in general, here is the procedure for purging air from
a baseboard heating system.
First, I would suggest heating system cool down before purging
the air out of the system. There are two reasons for this: 1)
as the water cools down, dissolved air in it will be released
from the water, which will then allow you to purge this air out
as well; and 2) less risk of being scaled by hot water. However,
if it is not practical for you to let your system cool completely
down, then you can still purge the system, but just be careful
of the hot water.
Second, you should locate your hot water heating system's back-flow
preventer valve. This is the valve that comes off of your main
household supply line, and it prevents water from your heating
system from flowing backward into your household supply. It typically
looks something like the one pictured here with a release lever
on top:
http://www.blueridgecompany.com/radiant/hydronic/517/watts-fill-valve-and-backflow-preventer
Then as I mentioned above, the exact procedure for specifically
which valves to open and close as you are purging your baseboard
heating system of air will depend on how your specific system
has been piped. But in general, you will then want to:
1) turn off your boiler and heating system.
2) make a note of which valves are open, and which are closed.
3) close the valves that allow you to isolate your boiler from
the rest of the system (so that you don't get a pressure spike
that causes your boiler's pressure relief valve to lift, as this
weakens it).
4) connect a drain hose to safely drain hot water from your system
to a floor drain, or to outside. Be CAREFUL, as the water coming
out can be scalding HOT.
5) follow your pipes around starting with your backflow-preventer
valve, and open only those valves necessary to allow the fresh
water that is coming into the system from the backflow-preventer
valve to flow through the particular loop that you are trying
to purge (that is, one loop at a time), and then flow out the
drain hose that you have connected. Then if you look at your back-flow
preventer valve, the small lever on the top of the valve operates
the bypass for the pressure reducer for the valve. So as you lift
up on the lever, it opens the valve to street pressure from your
water supply. So as you start to purge the water from one of your
heating system loops, you can lift the lever to increase the pressure
to get stronger flow to the line that you are trying to purge.
But let the lever down if the pressure in your system starts to
go too high (however, if you isolate you boiler properly, as described
below, then you won't have to worry about over-pressuring your
system).
6) close all of the valves, and then repeat opening the valves
needed to purge each loop.
7) disconnect the drain hose and close this valve.
8) return all of your valves to their original position (especially
the valves that you used to isolate your boiler).
If you have turned off your boiler and heating system, and then
properly closed the valves to isolate your boiler, and properly
placed your drain hose to a drain or outdoors, then you can fairly
safely purge your system without hurting your boiler or scalding
yourself.
And when you go to start you system back up, you of course just
need to be sure to put the valves back to their original positions.
Since you have isolated your boiler from the purging process,
this procedure will not purge air from this segment of your system.
But this is a relatively small area compared to your entire system,
and the benefit to isolating it, is that you don't need to worry
about over-pressuring your boiler while you are doing the air
purging.
Also, here are is an additional suggestion that you might find
helpful. If you haven't had your annual inspection done yet on
your boiler, then when the service technician comes out to do
your inspection and service, you can ask them to show you exactly
how to purge your specific system, when they can be physically
there to point out which of your valves does exactly what.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from tom on 12/7/2008
we just put in a brand new house and have an ouside pellet boiler
and it does not seem to be heating the way it should on cold days
the temp does not get above 67 degrees we have been moving pipes
around trying to get air out nothing. the pipe entering the baseboard
is hot along with leaving the baseboard any thoughts?
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/7/2008
Dear Tom:
It sounds like you have a baseboard hot water heating system that
is heated by a pellet boiler, and you are not able to get the
temperature in you home up high enough.
You said that you have been moving pipes around, but have you
tried purging the air out of each zone of your baseboard heating
system? For the procedure on how to do this, please see the answer
I gave to an Ask-the-Wizard question on this earlier today.
Other potential causes can include:
1) bad (or improperly adjusted) thermostat.
2) bad circulation pump.
3) valves not open all the way (which reduce circulation rates).
However, if I understand you properly, when you say that the pipe
is hot LEAVING the baseboard, if you mean that the water being
returned to your boiler (after going through your baseboard radiators)
is still hot, and that this is a NEW house, then I'm wondering
if possibly the amount of baseboard areas in your home are not
sufficient for the area of rooms that you are trying to heat?
In other words, that there should be more linear feet of baseboard
radiators, or that they are augmented by an electric blower (which
is sometimes down in kitchens or bathrooms where there is not
enough wall space for enough feet of baseboard radiators).
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Dwight Gregory on 12/9/2008
If power is lost, due to storm,where can I connect temporary 110
volts to my hot water oil fired furnance so pipes won't freeze?
Any information would be appreciated.
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/9/2008
Dear Dwight:
If power is going to be out just temporarily, then there are a
couple of things you can do to keep the water pipes in your house
from freezing:
Regarding your oil-fired furnace and its hot water heating pipes,
you have a couple of options:
1) If you are concerned that the power could be off for quite
a while, you could turn off your furnace and drain all of the
water out of your heating system (but of course, then you will
need to refill it and purge out the air to start it back up).
2) A variation of this is to open the drains on each of your zones
just enough to keep a slow steady drip flowing. This way you will
have water movement, which can help prevent the pipes from freezing.
And if the power comes on soon, then you won't have to refill
your entire system, just what has drained out from the slow drips.
However, you will need to be familiar enough with the piping of
your heating system to be sure that you have the right valves
open to allow water to circulate through all of your heating loops,
including through your furnace.
3) However, with the power off, I would NOT recommend trying to
wire up your furnace and water circulation pump to a temporary
power supply, unless you are absolutely sure what you are doing.
4) But if your circulation pump for your heating system is the
type that is plugged into a standard electrical outlet, then you
might want to consider plugging this pump into your temporary
generator (and I assume that you know that you should NEVER run
a fuel-burning generator indoors). However as mentioned above,
you will need to be familiar enough with the piping of your heating
system to be sure that you have the right valves open to allow
water to circulate through all of your heating loops, including
through your furnace. Keeping the water circulating in your heating
system can help prevent it from freezing.
Now regarding your household water supply (to sinks, washing machine,
toilets, etc.) there are a couple of things you can do:
1) turn on faucets to drip slightly, as the movement will help
keep the pipes from freezing. Remember to drip hot water faucets
as well, so this will keep water moving through your water heater
tank.
2) you need to drain the water out of all of your toilets, sump
pumps, etc. Wherever you have standing water.
3) open cabinets under sinks, etc. where the backs of the cabinets
are against outside walls. This allows warmer air from inside
the house to circulate around where the sink pipes are.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Craig Mosqueda on 12/9/2008
I have a gas fired baseboard heat system. We have lived in the
house for almost two years and lately the baseboards have been
shuttering when the pump shuts off. It scares us to death in the
middle of the night and I have tried to bleed the baseboards but
water comes out almost immediately. Do you have any other sugggestions.
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/9/2008
Dear Craig:
Since the noise that you hear in your pipes is when your baseboard
heating system turns off, then I suspect that the expansion tank
on your system has gotten filled with water, and there is no longer
any air in the tank to provide a "cushion". As such, when the
circulation pump turns off and the valves slam shut, you could
be getting a "water hammer" effect which gives you the shuttering
sound.
If this is the problem, then you can fix this by draining the
water out of your expansion tank, and allowing it to fill with
air.
To do this, shut off your furnace/boiler. Shut the valve that
connects your expansion tank to your system, and then open the
drain valve to drain the tank into a bucket (or with a hose to
a floor drain or outside). BE CAREFUL, as this water can be scalding
hot. Then close the drain valve, open the valve you closed to
isolate the tank, and then turn your furnace/boiler back on.
Hopefully this will eliminate the banging noise that you have
been hearing when the system shuts off. If not, just let us know,
and we'll try to diagnose the problem further for you.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Kristin Barker on 12/10/2008
I live in a building with baseboard heat and the loud banging
stays on constantly until I turn the temperature dial a smidge
to the left or right. The banging will stop for about an hour,
and then start up again until I move the dial. What is the cause
of this, and how can I stop it? I will take your recommendations
to the condo board for help because the noise is so great that
I cannot sleep.
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/10/2008
Dear Kristin:
When you say you that the banging noise from your baseboard heating
system stops when you move your thermostat a little to the left
or right, is you heat on, and then you are turning your thermostat
to turn it off? Or is your system off, and you are turning your
thermostat to turn it on? Or does it really not matter whether
you are turning the thermostat up or down that it gets the banging
noise to stop? And if you heat is off and you move the thermostat
down a little, does it still stop the banging? And similarly,
if your heat is on, and you move your thermostat up a little,
does it still stop the banging?
In general, the causes of banging noises from a baseboard heating
system can be caused by:
1) Air is trapped in the line, which needs to be bled out.
2) A pipe to or from this baseboard radiator that is running through
a hole in a wall, etc. that is too tight, which doesn't allow
sufficiently for the pipe's thermal expansion.
3) Pipes not supported properly, such that when they turn on,
they bang into one another or into other things.
4) The zone valve is installed backwards.
If you can let me know about the questions I raised above, it
could help me to give you a more specific recommendations.
Sincerely,
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
FOLLOW-UP QUESTION from Kristin on 12/12/2008
Hi! Thanks for your quick response.
We have dials on our baseboard units (the dial is round and has
numbers on it from 0-5, with 5 being the most heat, and zero being
off), so while they're not technically thermostats, they do regulate
the heat. During the winter my dials are usually around the number
4, give or take (never off). No matter where the dial number is
set when the banging starts I can move the dial a very small smidgen
up or down, doesn't matter, and it will stop the banging for a
little while. Later, when the banging starts up again I can move
the dial another smidgen and the banging will stop again. This
is maddening because this goes on all day long, and of course
all night too. I know how to bleed the units, and have done so,
but the banging persists to the point that it sounds like a mountain
gorilla in a cage rattling the bars. My personal units are not
too bad, but my downstairs neighbor's units are horrendously loud.
I have access to her unit when she is away and I have been down
there to bleed the baseboards and turn the dial, but the banging
is driving me crazy.
When you say that the zone valve could be installed backward,
is that a valve on the baseboards themselves, or on the boiler?
Thanks again for your help, anything is better than what we're
hearing from our property manager, which is that "this stuff happens
with baseboards."
Kristin
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/12/2008
Dear Kristin:
Thanks for the clarification. It sounds like the "temperature
dial" that you were referring to is not a thermostat, but rather
is a flow control valve for changing the flow of hot water through
the baseboards.
It of course is difficult to accurately diagnose your problem
without being able to physically listen to and examine your system.
But with that said, here are my thoughts.
When you move the flow control dial on your baseboard unit it
is changing the flow rate of hot water though the pipes in your
system that deliver water to your baseboard radiators. What's
interesting is that it sounds like changing this flow rate slightly,
regardless of whether it goes up or down, is able to cause the
banging noise to go away for a while. This makes me wonder if
the problem could be related to either a pipe running through
a tight spot in a wall, or pipes that are not properly supported.
Either of these could be affected by changes in the flow rate,
and this flow rate would be changing whenever you moved your dial
on your baseboard. In other words, changing the flow rate would
change the temperature of the pipes which would shrink or contact
a pipe going through a tight spot in the wall. And changing the
flow rate could impact pipes that were banging into each other
that had been started by another unit in your building first changing
their baseboard dials.
And regarding your questions about the location of the zone valve,
the zone valve that I was referring to is at the boiler. But given
your description, I would not think it would be the source of
your problem.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Judy on 12/12/2008
I just recently moved into this home that I bought from a bank.
It has electric baseboard heaters in every room. The one in the
kitchen was working great, but now nothing, it's like it is not
even coming on. I will have to take the face cover off to see
what the make is on it. It's about 5' with a turn knob with numbers.
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/13/2008
Dear Judy:
If your electric baseboard heater has suddenly stopped working,
here are a couple of things that you can check:
1) Of course, try turning the thermostat all the way up, and seeing
if this gets the heater to turn on.
2) Check your circuit breaker for the heater to see if it has
tripped. Since you said you had just moved into your house, it
may be a matter of becoming familiar with where the circuit breakers
are, and which one is specifically for your kitchen electric baseboard
heater.
3) If neither of these work for you, one other thing you can try
if you are handy, is to take one of the thermostats from the other
rooms that you know work, and then swap it with the one in the
kitchen to see if this gets the kitchen heater to work. That is,
to find out if your kitchen's thermostat is bad.
If none of these work for you, then you will want to call a certified
technician to inspect the unit.
Please remember that many electric baseboard heaters run on 220
volts, so you will want to be VERY CAREFUL when working around
any of the wires around your heater.
Also, you might want to check on the cost of a replacement heater.
You may find that it is more economical to just replace the unit
rather than paying to have a service technician spend a lot of
time trying to troubleshoot and repair your existing heater.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from mjones61380 on 12/12/2008
My husband and I like to fix things ourselves. We bought a new
circulator for our fuel fired baseboard furnace. We know that
we need to drain our system and shut off the water source but
are unsure how to do this. We also will have to put water back
in and get rid of air. Can you walk us through this or send us
in the right direction? A how to guide? Electric portable heaters
are fine for a little while but it sure is cold at our house!
Thanks, M&M Jones
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/13/2008
Dear mjones61380:
Regarding a procedure draining, re-filling and purging air from
your baseboard heating system, it will depend on your specific
configuration of valves, etc. But in general, here is the procedure
a baseboard heating system:
TO DRAIN YOUR SYSTEM:
1) locate the main supply valve and back-flow preventer valve
for your hot water baseboard system. Your back-flow preventer
valve prevents water from your heating system from flowing backward
into your household supply, and it typically looks something like
the one pictured here with a release lever on top:
http://www.blueridgecompany.com/radiant/hydronic/517/watts-fill-valve-and-backflow-preventer
2) turn off your boiler and heating system, and turn all of your
thermostats down to their lowest settings. It sounded like your
system is currently turned off, but just so you know, I normally
suggest letting the heating system cool down before purging the
air out of the system. There are two reasons for this: 1) as the
water cools down, dissolved air in it will be released from the
water, which will then allow you to purge this air out as well;
and 2) less risk of being scaled by hot water. However, if it
is not practical for you to let your system cool completely down,
then you can still drain, re-fill and purge the system, but just
be careful of the hot water. But again, this doesn't sound like
it applies to you, if you system has been turned off for a while.
3) make a note of which valves are open, and which are closed.
4) if your piping allows it, close the valves that allow you to
isolate your boiler from the rest of the system (so that you don't
get a pressure spike that causes your boiler's pressure relief
valve to lift, as this weakens it).
5) connect a drain hose to safely drain hot water from your system
to a floor drain, or to outside. Be CAREFUL, as the water coming
out can be scalding HOT.
6) close the main supply valve to your hot water system.
7) one-by-one, open the valves for each zone of your system that
allows the zone to flow out of the main drain valve for your system.
After each zone has been drained, close its drain valve.
TO RE-FILL YOUR SYSTEM AND PURGE OUT AIR:
1) follow your pipes around starting with your backflow-preventer
valve, and then for each zone one-by-one open only those valves
necessary to allow the fresh water that is coming into the system
from the backflow-preventer valve to flow through the particular
loop that you are trying to re-fill and purge (that is, one loop
at a time), and then to flow out the drain hose that you have
connected. If you look at your back-flow preventer valve, the
small lever on the top of the valve operates the bypass for the
pressure reducer for the valve. So as you lift up on the lever,
it opens the valve to street pressure from your water supply.
So as you start to re-fill and purge the air from one of your
heating system loops, you can lift the lever to increase the pressure
to get stronger flow to the line that you are trying to purge.
But let the lever down if the pressure in your system starts to
go too high (however, if you isolate you boiler properly, as described
below, then you won't have to worry about over-pressuring your
system). Close the drain valve for each zone's loop as your finish
re-filling and purging the air out of it.
2) close the main drain valve and disconnect the drain hose.
3) return all of your valves to their original operating position
(especially the valves that you used to isolate your boiler).
5) check to see that you have re-opened your heating system's
main supply valve.
6) turn your boiler and heating system back on.
7) check the pressure gauge on your system, and inspect for any
leaks around valves that you have opened or closed.
8) put your thermostats back to their desired settings.
Since you have isolated your boiler from the re-filling and purging
process, this procedure will not purge air from this segment of
your system. But this is a relatively small area compared to your
entire system, and the benefit to isolating it, is that you don't
need to worry about over-pressuring your boiler while you are
doing the air purging.
Also, here are is an additional suggestion that you might find
helpful. If you haven't had your annual inspection done yet on
your boiler, then when the service technician comes out to do
your inspection and service, you can ask them to show you exactly
how to drain, re-fill and purge your specific system, when they
can be physically there to point out what each of your valves
does exactly what, for your particular system.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from crystal on 12/15/2008
My 12 yr old gas-fired boiler cycles on and off every 2-3 minutes
- I dont think this is a good thing for the life of my boiler.
So far the service co has replaced the pump, the expansion tank,
the relief valve and installed an aquastat. I have tried different
settings for the aquastat and there doesn't seem to be much difference.
The boiler fires at about 20 psi and 140 degrees, and shuts off
around 150 degrees even though the aquastat is currently set at
about 170. I've spent alot of money and am getting frustrated.
Aside from the wear and tear on the boiler, my office is in the
basement and the constnt firing is driving me nuts.
Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on this.
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/15/2008
Dear Crystal:
Yes, you are correct, it is not good for your boiler to cycle
this often, both from a service life and an energy efficiency
standpoint. Not to mention that is doesn't sound like it is good
for your nerves either!
If I can ask you a couple of questions, it will help me to diagnose
the problem for you:
1) What do you have the Hi Temperature Differential set at on
your aquastat?
2) What do you have the Low Temperature Differential set at on
your aquastat?
3) When your boiler is short cycling, it is when there is a call
for heat, rather than when it has been sitting for a while (that
is, it is cycling when it is trying to get up to high temperature,
rather than cycling when it is maintaining the low temperature).
Is this correct?
4) Have you checked to see if you have a room thermostat that
is either defective, or located near your heating system such
that when the heating system turns on that it tells your boiler
to shut down before the room gets up to temperature?
Sincerely,
Home-Wizard.com
___________
FOLLOW-UP QUESTION from Crystal on 12/16/2008
Hi,
Thanks for the fast response!
In response to your first two questions - i dont know! There is
only one external setting - and right now I have it set at 170
which seems to have helped slightly. The service tech had set
it at 150. I think there must be an internal boiler setting at
140 since the boiler seems to kick in when the temp falls below
140. For example, I observed the following when I turned up the
thermostat and the aquastat was set at 150:
at 10:38 the psi was 21 lbs and the water at 142
at 10:40 the boiler fired when the water temp was just at or slightly
below 140 and 20 lbs
at 10:41 when the temp reached 150, the boiler shut off
at 10:44 when the temp fell back to 140 the boiler ignited
I then set the aquastat to 155 and the boiler behaved essentially
as above
With the aquastat at 170, the following occurred when I turned
up the thermostat:
at 11:57 the boiler fired - psi was 18 and the temp was 121
at 12:03 the boiler shut off, 20lbs, 130
at 12:07, boiler on, 18 lbs, 130
at 12:15, the boiler shut off, 20 lbs, 140
at 12:22, the boiler ignited, 20lbs, 140
at 12:30, boiler off, 20 lbs, 150
The service tech checked the thermostat. It is not near a heating
source - I have rads. I was also bleeding the rads frequently
before the expansion tank was replaced. It apparently was waterlogged.
Thanks so much for you help!
Crystal
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/16/2008
Dear Crystal:
It sure sounds like we have narrowed it down to a problem with
your aquastat on your boiler.
There could be two things that could be wrong with your aquastat:
1) the aquastat itself could be bad and need to be replaced, and
2) the aquastat's thermocouple (that reads the water temperature)
could either be bad, or it could have gotten dislodged or is improperly
seated.
A service technician should be able to check the thermocouple
and test the aquastat.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Rick on 12/19/2008
Hi, I've been reading your posts about heating system issues.
I have a rather new 2 story Cape Cod style house and have a minor
heating issue. I have 2 zones. The first floor heats very slowly.
Second floor heats quickly. I suspect the number of footage of
baseboard is not enough to handle the larger first floor. I have
removed the front panel of one of the baseboards and placed a
small fan next to it and the house heats more quickly. I assume
this confirms my suspicions about not enough baseboard for the
size of the floor. What are my options? I assume that I could
hire a plumber to put in more baseboards. I've also heard of small
units that can be added under the kitchen sink that "blow" warm
air into the room. Are these my only options? Can anything be
done to the existing baseboards without hiring a plumber. This
is only a problem when the house gets cool and needs to heat up
as with a setback thermostat.
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/20/2008
Dear Rick:
If you are not seeing sufficient heating capacity coming from
your first floor baseboard heating zone, here are some thoughts
on potential options:
1) You are correct, you can install a blower unit, which blows
air across a section the baseboard pipe.
2) And yes, you can install additional linear feet of baseboard,
assuming that you have the room to do it.
3) However the problem could be an indication that you need to
bleed your the air out of the zone which serves your first floor.
4) The problem could also be an indication that you have a faulty
circulator pump that is not circulating enough hot water through
your first floor zone.
5) You have something blocking the first floor baseboards. A common
example of this is loose or poorly installed carpet.
6) The damper on the top of the baseboard may have been closed,
and this will reduce the heat capacity of the baseboards.
7) A heavy build-up of dirt, dust, animal fur or household items
that have fallen on top of the baseboard fins, which can reduce
the efficiency of a baseboard radiator. (Although since you said
you had a rather new house, this option may not be likely, unless
you have been sanding floors, or that you have heavily shedding
dogs).
Hope this is helpul.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Daryl Njaa on 12/29/2008
We have radiant baseboard heating on 2 floors in 5 zones. a) when
the thermostat is turned on in 1 zone it just makes a clicking
sound; we don't use it. Is this a faulty control unit or air in
the lines or....? b) our upstairs bedrooms zone seems to produce
heat even when not turned on. If any other zone in the house is
turned on it seems to impact the bedrooms. If turned completely
off, the bedrooms are fine until another zone is turned on again.
It's not just rising heat; the baseboard heating units seem to
generate heat even though only other zones are turned on. Is this
a faulty control unit(s)? My understanding is that all zones are
"closed" so wouldn't think one would impact another. c) how do
you know if you have air in the lines? d) can home maintenance
be performed to maintain these units or are professionals required?
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/30/2008
Dear Daryl:
Let me address each of your questions one at a time for you:
a) When you say that your thermostat for Zone 1 "just makes a
clicking sound and you don't use it", could you tell me a little
bit more about this? Is it the thermostat that makes the clicking
sound? Or is it the baseboard pipes that make the clicking sound
as the pipes are heating up?
b) Regarding the problem you are having with the upstairs bedroom
zone heating up when other zones are turned on, when you look
at your furnace/boiler, do you see 5 control valves with on 5
separate pipes coming out of your boiler (for example, like the
3 red valves in this photograph: http://macksimumair.com/sitebuilder/images/DSC06421-332x447.jpg)
?
c) Symptoms of air in your baseboard heating pipes include: a
gurgling or whoosing noise through your pipes when the heat is
on; loss of heating efficiency; or banging noise when heat comes
on. If you need to purge the air out of your baseboard heating
system, you can find instructions on how to do this here on the
Home-Wizard website.
d) Home maintenance for your baseboard heating system includes
vacuuming and cleaning around the baseboard louvers, and opening
and closing the covers depending on the season. These are straightforward
to do. Purging air from your system is a procedure that many homeowners
are comfortable doing themselves (especially using the procedures
we provide here at Home-Wizard.com), however, you need to be very
careful of scalding water and not to overpressure your boiler.
If you have any concerns about doing this yourself, then yes,
its better to leave it to a professional. A separate topic is
the important routine maintenance for our furnace/boiler. This
is definitely something that most homeowners have done by a trained
professional.
If you could let me know about the questions above, I can better
help you diagnose your problems.
Regards,
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
FOLLOW-UP QUESTION from Daryl on 1/1/2009
Thanks for your response.
a) It seems to be the actual control unit (by the boiler) that
is clicking.
There is 1 controller for each zone. It's not the thermostat or
the pipes.
b) Yes 5 control valves on 5 separate pipes.
c) Thanks - don't think we have air in the pipes
d) Thanks
Happy New Year,
Daryl
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 1/1/2009
Dear Daryl:
Thanks for your clarifications.
From what you've described, it sounds like it is not air in the
lines, nor problems with your thermostats.
However, it sounds like something may not be right with your control
unit. If you have the proper electrical testing tools (and are
comfortable working around electricity), then you can test each
zone valve at your boiler to see which one (or more than one)
comes on when your turn up and down each of the 5 thermostats
for each of your heating zones. Otherwise, this is something that
you would want a trained professional to do for you.
One other thought, and this may be a bit of a longshot, is that
if what you are seeing is not a new problem, I'm wondering if
your heating pipes run together beside each other in the floor
joists or wall, and when one zone turns on that it heats up the
pipe that serves another zone? But this would not show up as a
new problem, but rather this would start happening from the beginning
when the system was installed.
Which is why it sounds like a problem has developed with your
control unit.
If you are interested, here is a webpage that describes how the
control system for a baseboard heating system works:
http://www.inspect-ny.com/heat/BoilerControls.htm
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from J.C. on 1/2/2009
the pipes in one of my base boards are frozen. How do I thaw them
out?
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 1/2/2009
Dear J.C.
The first step in thawing out the frozen baseboard water pipe
in your home is to locate the main water shut-off valve for your
house. It is typically locate just inside your house near where
water supply first comes into your house. If you are on public
water supply, then this valve will be right downstream from your
water utility’s meter. Make sure you have clear access to this
valve, and that it is not obstructed by boxes, storage materials,
etc.
The reason you will want to locate this valve is that if during
the thawing process of your frozen pipes, that the ice blockage
turns out to be upstream of where the pipe may have cracked, then
you will want to be able to shut off your main water supply ASAP.
The next step is locating all the locations where pipes have frozen.
Go around your house and open up each faucet, flush each toilet,
etc. If water does not come out (or just comes out in a dribble),
then you likely have a frozen pipe located in the line coming
to this faucet. Even if you have found one area of frozen pipe,
it is a good idea to take an additional minute to check to see
if there are other areas that have been affected by the same freeze.
The next step is to try to find the specific area in your baseboard
piping where the frozen blockage is occurring. Sometimes the frozen
area of the pipe will be frosted or have ice on it. If the situation
is getting critical the pipe may be slightly bulged or look slightly
cracked.
There are two kinds of situations that you might have to deal
with: 1) the frozen pipe is exposed, where you can work on it;
or 2) the frozen pipe is behind a wall.
If the frozen pipe is exposed, then there are several techniques
that you can use to thaw it out. We recommend that you do NOT
expose your pipe to anything hotter than you would put on your
hand. Heating up a pipe too fast, for example using a torch, can
actually cause the pipe to rupture from the steam that is produced
and is potentially trapped between frozen sections of the pipe.
A couple of good choices for heating up your frozen pipe are:
- Hair dryer.
- Hot towels (just keep replacing them as they cool off).
- Space heater.
- Light bulbs, or better yet, a heat lamp.
- Well-grounded heating pad.
One trick you can use to speed up the process is to place tin
foil or a cookie sheet behind the pipe to help reflect back the
heat from your hair dryer, heat lamp etc., to the back side of
your pipe.
If you find that you frozen pipe is behind a wall or ceiling,
then you’ve got a little different problem on your hands. But
you’ve got several options here:
- Place a space heater or fan near this section of your wall or
ceiling, and allow warm air to circulate around this area.
- Use lamps or better yet, heat lamps to warm up this section
(keep them back at least 8-18 inches from the surface).
- Turn up the heat in your house and wait (but if its cold outside
and the frozen pipe is on an outside wall and inside of a cabinet,
it may be a very long wait).
Hopefully this helps you with safely thawing out your frozen baseboard
heating pipe.
Regards,
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Jennifer in NJ on 1/3/2009
I have baseboard heaters. When I turned the heat on for the winter
weather, it sounded like I had river running through my pipes.
I was told that I needed to release the air (from the pipes with
that special key). After I did, the heat is not coming up. The
baseboards are warm but I have almost no heat. As a first time
homeowner there is so much I don't know but I would feel better
about my lack of knowledge if I were warmer. Do I need to call
someone in?
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 1/3/2009
Dear Jennifer in NJ:
It sounds like you initially had air trapped in your lines, and
you have successfully purged all of the air out, but than now
you are finding that your baseboard heating system is not putting
out enough heat, right?
If so, then here are some things to check:
1) Double check to ensure that you have completely purged all
of the air out of your baseboard heating system (you can find
instructions on how to do this by doing a search on our "Ask-the-Wizard"
page).
2) Check the water level and water pressure of your boiler to
see if it is low.
3) Check your heating registers and make sure they are open and
that nothing is obstructing them.
4) Check your system's expansion tank to see if it has too much
water in it and not enough air. One way to check this is to look
at the pressure relief valve on your boiler, and see if it is
leaking out water will be spurting water. Also the pressure gauge
on your boiler would be reading high (over 20 psi). Here is an
example drawing showing an expansion tank and pressure relief
valve on a boiler: http://www.blueflame.org/images/homeheating3.gif
5) Have a qualified technician check to see if there are mineral
deposits building up in the bottom of the boiler. These deposits
act as insulation, and prevent the boiler from adequately transferring
heat to the circulating water.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from sandi in Ct. on 1/4/2009
How do you refill an empty baseboard? Our pipe burst and my husband
replaced the pipe and baseboard. We have a auto refill but it
is now day 2 and it s very slow in circulating in that zone. We
have a 2 zone system and the other zone is fine. The PSI is where
it should be on the furnace.
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 1/4/2009
Dear Sandi in CT:
Have you tried purging the air out the piping for the zone that
is not working as well?
Regarding the procedure for purging air from a baseboard heating
zone, it will depend on your specific configuration of valves,
etc. But in general, here is the procedure for purging air from
a baseboard heating system.
First, I would suggest heating system cool down before purging
the air out of the system. There are two reasons for this: 1)
as the water cools down, dissolved air in it will be released
from the water, which will then allow you to purge this air out
as well; and 2) less risk of being scaled by hot water. However,
if it is not practical for you to let your system cool completely
down, then you can still purge the system, but just be careful
of the hot water.
Second, you should locate your hot water heating system's back-flow
preventer valve. This is the valve that comes off of your main
household supply line, and it prevents water from your heating
system from flowing backward into your household supply. It typically
looks something like the one pictured here with a release lever
on top:
http://www.blueridgecompany.com/radiant/hydronic/517/watts-fill-valve-and-backflow-preventer
Then as I mentioned above, the exact procedure for specifically
which valves to open and close as you are purging your baseboard
heating system of air will depend on how your specific system
has been piped. But in general, you will then want to:
1) turn off your boiler and heating system.
2) make a note of which valves are open, and which are closed.
3) close the valves that allow you to isolate your boiler from
the rest of the system (so that you don't get a pressure spike
that causes your boiler's pressure relief valve to lift, as this
weakens it).
4) connect a drain hose to safely drain hot water from your system
to a floor drain, or to outside. Be CAREFUL, as the water coming
out can be scalding HOT.
5) follow your pipes around starting with your backflow-preventer
valve, and open only those valves necessary to allow the fresh
water that is coming into the system from the backflow-preventer
valve to flow through the particular loop that you are trying
to purge (that is, one loop at a time), and then flow out the
drain hose that you have connected. Then if you look at your back-flow
preventer valve, the small lever on the top of the valve operates
the bypass for the pressure reducer for the valve. So as you lift
up on the lever, it opens the valve to street pressure from your
water supply. So as you start to purge the water from one of your
heating system loops, you can lift the lever to increase the pressure
to get stronger flow to the line that you are trying to purge.
But let the lever down if the pressure in your system starts to
go too high (however, if you isolate you boiler properly, as described
below, then you won't have to worry about over-pressuring your
system).
6) close all of the valves, and then repeat opening the valves
needed to purge each loop.
7) disconnect the drain hose and close this valve.
8) return all of your valves to their original position (especially
the valves that you used to isolate your boiler).
If you have turned off your boiler and heating system, and then
properly closed the valves to isolate your boiler, and properly
placed your drain hose to a drain or outdoors, then you can fairly
safely purge your system without hurting your boiler or scalding
yourself.
And when you go to start you system back up, you of course just
need to be sure to put the valves back to their original positions.
Since you have isolated your boiler from the purging process,
this procedure will not purge air from this segment of your system.
But this is a relatively small area compared to your entire system,
and the benefit to isolating it, is that you don't need to worry
about over-pressuring your boiler while you are doing the air
purging.
Also, here are is an additional suggestion that you might find
helpful. If you haven't had your annual inspection done yet on
your boiler, then when the service technician comes out to do
your inspection and service, you can ask them to show you exactly
how to purge your specific system, when they can be physically
there to point out which of your valves does exactly what.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Ryan on 1/8/2009
We live in a two story apartment with hot water baseboard heating.
First floor gets plenty of heat.
Second floor bedrooms get very low heat despite
out turning the thermostat on the second floor
up high.
Could it be the thermostat? air in the pipes?
This has been going on for a week. Help Im freezing...
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 1/8/2009
Dear Ryan:
If one of the two zones of your hot water baseboard heating system
is not warming up, then here are some potential causes:
1) The zone needs to be bled of air. You can find a procedure
for this in the question and answer section of the "Baseboard
Heating System" webpage of our online Maintenance Library: http://www.home-wizard.com/maintenance/baseboardheating.asp
2) Your circulation pump for this zone has gone bad and is not
circulating enough hot water.
3) The check valve in this zone is partially stuck, and is reducing
the flow rate of hot water (you might be lucky enough to solve
this problem with some raps on the valve with a piece of wood,
NOT a hammer).
4) The thermostat for this zone has gone bad.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Jean on 1/10/2009
The hot water faucets have only a dribble of water flowing from
them. If that is also occuring in the baseboard heating pipes,is
my oil-fired furnace going to fail to heat my home?
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 1/10/2009
Dear Jean:
I first need to understand why there is only a dribble of water
coming out of your hot water faucets?
Is there also very little flow coming out of your cold water faucets?
When did the flow from the hot water turn into a dribble? Could
you have frozen pipes in your house? Has anyone been working around
your hot water heater, who could have closed any valves?
Just let us know, and we can try to diagnose your problem further.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
FOLLOW-UP QUESTION from Jean on 1/10/2009
In late Fall,I had the boiler furnace serviced. While paying the
serviceman, I remembered to mention that the water pressure was
low in all the faucets(old house).This probably had been happening
since around June. It's very hot water, so with the cold water
at full pressure, it wasn't causing me immediate concern. He told
me it sounded like the heating coil in my 9 year old boiler must
be corroded by hard water(private well). The coil would probably
need to be replaced in the Spring. Since then, the pressure has
lowered to a dribble. I can heat enough water for daily use on
the stove.......but I'm wondering if this same corroded coil is
what is heating the water flowing through the baseboard heater
pipes. What could happen if there was little or no water in those
pipes? The furnace is doing it's job properly so far, but could
it be damaged if I wait until the warm weather comes to have the
coil repaired- another 3 or 4 months?
The pipes are not frozen and all valves seem to be open.
Thank you for this excellent service.
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 1/10/2009
Dear Jean:
I'm starting to get the picture here, thanks for the additional
information you sent.
Do you have a separate hot water heater for the hot water that
goes to your faucets? You likely have a separate hot water tank
(about 4-6 feet tall and about 2 feet in diameter), but does the
hot water tank have its own burner at the bottom of it? Or is
the only burner that you have the one in your furnace, and this
heats up the water for both your baseboard heating system, and
your domestic hot water?
What I am wondering, especially since you said you were on a private
well which could be very hard water, is whether you have deposits
that have been building up in the valves or piping of your hot
water heater, and this is what is causing your low pressure at
your faucets.
One of the first things to check is to backflush your water heater
and see if you can flush out alot of sediments. Also, when you
open the drain valves, you will be able to see if the water comes
out strong, or if there appears to be blockages somewhere upstream
of the valve.
If you go to our Water Heater webpage of our online Maintenance
Library, we describe for you how to backflush your water heater:
http://www.home-wizard.com/maintenance/waterheater.asp
Also, if you go to our "Info-tainment Videos" webpage, there is
a somewhat light-hearted video which if you skip ahead to the
2 minute 35 second mark, the video walks you through how to do
the water heater backflush procedure.
If you haven't had your water heater backflushed in a while, this
is good to do anyways. But as you are doing it, by observing where
you do and don't have good flow, you can start to isolate which
valve, piping, etc. is where the buildup of desposits is blocking
your system.
Now turning to what sounds like is your bigger question. Which
is whether the problem you are seeing with your hot water faucets
could be an indication that you are about to have a larger problem
with you baseboard hot water heating system, right?
To check this, I would suggest that you follow the procedure that
we have for purging the air out of the zones of your heating system.
You can find this procedure by going to the Baseboard Heating
System webpage of our online Maintenance Library, and then scrolling
down to the "question and answer" section: http://www.home-wizard.com/maintenance/baseboardheating.asp
If when you go to open the drain valve for each zone that you
find low pressure, then you likely have deposit build-up problems
somewhere in your hot water boiler system as well.
Hope this is helpful.
If you still have questions, just let us know.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Jill on 1/10/2009
We just purchased a home built in 2000 with a hot water baseboard
system. I seem to be hearing conflicting advice on how close I
can place furniture and drapes. Some people have said to steer
completely clear and other have said I can put long drapes right
in contact with the baseboard. Can you please clarify for me?
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 1/10/2009
Dear Jill:
I think maybe the conflicting advice you are hearing about placing
furniture and drapes in front of hot water baseboard heating radiators
may be the difference between whether you "can" versus whether
you "should".
At Home-Wizard.com we believe that you should not obstruct your
baseboard radiators with furniture, drapes, carpet, etc. The reason
is that this reduces the efficiency of the heat transfer from
your heating system into the room. The purpose of the radiators
(and why they have the fins on the pipes) is they are designed
to transfer the most heat from your heating pipes into the room
that you want to warm up. You might notice that the baseboards
are open at the bottom, and this is so air can flow through the
fins and up through the top, where the louvers should be in the
"open" position to allow the heated air to flow out. So in addition
to the radiation of heat from the baseboards, you also get some
convection from this heated air flow.
However, all of this is impeded if you have drapes or furniture
blocking your baseboard radiators (including carpet or rugs which
sometimes get flapped up under the bottom of the radiators and
cut down on the air flow past the fins).
So should you keep your baseboard radiators clear of drapes and
furniture? Yes, if you want your system to operate the most efficiently,
and cost you the least to heat your home.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Arizonan now living in Buffalo & New to Baseboard
Heating Systems on 1/12/2009
We have a baseboard heating system in one room powered by a natural
gas boiler. Since we moved into the house a couple years ago,
we have not used the heating system to heat that room, since it
is a sun room and we just don't use it in the wintertime. However,
a month ago, we did some maintenance on the exhaust pipes from
our main furnace and this other boiler, and turned off the pilot
light while we did the repairs. Since we didn't know any better,
we left the pilot light on the baseboard heating system boiler
turned off, thinking that since we didn't use it, we didn't need
the pilot light. Once we got some cold winter temperatures, we
had a pipe in that sun room baseboard system freeze and burst.
A maintenance person came out and fixed the broken pipe and got
the heating system turned on again. We now have the heat on in
that room, but we were wondering why the pipes never froze in
that room before? Since the pilot light was on before, did that
keep the water circulating and keep it from freezing? If we wanted
to turn off the heat to that room, can we keep the pilot light
lit and avoid the pipes freezing? Thanks for your answers!
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 1/12/2009
Dear "Arizona":
Had you ever used the heating system in your sunroom? The reason
I ask is that I'm wondering if the previous owners may have also
not used the baseboard heating in the sunroom, and as such, may
have drained the water out of the system. Then when your service
person came out they may have filled the system back up with water.
The combination of water in the system, plus very cold weather,
plus the heating system turned off is a formula for having a pipe
freeze and burst.
The pilot light and the water circulating through the pipes are
two different things. The water doesn't circulate because of the
pilot light, it circulates because the thermostat in the room
says that the temperature is too low, so it signals to the boiler
to turn on and the circulation pump to circulate the hot water
through the baseboard radiators. And this it will continue until
the thermostat says that the room is warm enough.
So if you are not going to be using the heating system in your
sunroom, the safest thing to do is to completely drain the water
out of the baseboard heating system for this room. You might also
want to consider shutting off the natural gas supply to this boiler.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Frustrated!!! on 1/15/2009
Hello. After having a "noise" in our gas furnace finally fixed,
we now have what sounds like a stream flowing through our baseboards.
The contractor fully bled the zones so I do not know why it is
so bad there should not be air in the system. We had silence before
this was done. He said becasue he put all fresh water in the system,
it has oxygen in it and it will take about a week to get out.
Is this true? It is driving me crazy. It is a 20 yr old system
and it runs hot 180 - 200 deg. and he said he may have to replace
some vents and gages if he comes back ($300 - $400). Why would
this be doing this all of a sudden? All he really did was put
sludge cleaner in the system after he purged it. this is such
a pain! Thank you
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 1/15/2009
Dear "Frustrated":
Regarding your questions . . .
If in doing their recent work for you your service person drained
a significant amount of water from your system, then yes, the
fresh make-up water could release a lot of air when it is heated
up by boiler and circulated through your heating system.
And yes, this air trapped in your system is likely what is causing
the sound that you describe of a "stream flowing through your
baseboards".
To fix this, you would need to purge this air out of each zone
of your heating system. If you are comfortable doing it yourself,
you can find the procedure for how to do this on our "Baseboard
Heating System" webpage of our online Maintenance Guide:
http://www.home-wizard.com/maintenance/baseboardheating.asp
Without being able physically examine your heating system, however,
it's difficult to determine why your service person needs to come
back to replace some vents and gauges as you mentioned.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from JMJ on 1/17/2009
I have a two zone gas baseboard heating system. In seems that
no heat is going to one room only in the entire house under zone
2. Are there controls inside the baseboard unit or a valve that
allows water into that room's unit pipes, etc? Please advise?
Since it is the room above my garage, it is like a freezer in
there! Thanks in advance.
____________________
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 1/17/2009
Dear JMJ:
If you have one zone of your heating system that is not getting
hot, then the first thing that I would recommend is that if you
haven't already, you should try bleeding the air out of this zone.
The procedure for how to purge the air out of a heating zone can
be found in the "Question & Answer" section of the Baseboard
Heating System webpage of our online Maintenance Library:
http://www.home-wizard.com/maintenance/baseboardheating.asp
If you have already bled this heating zone and you are still not
getting heat in these baseboards, then the other possible problems
include:
1) the thermostat in the room controlling this zone is not working
properly.
2) the valve controlling the flow to this zone is stuck or blocked.
3) the circulation pump for this zone is not working properly.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from April
on 8/16/2009
Hi, I recently bought a 135 year old home with hydronic baseboard
heating. Apparently last winter it wasn't winterized properly
so the pipes burst. All over the home I can see right next to
the baseboards where the pipes have popped apart. Would this really
have been caused just by pressure? Naturally I would assume that
once pressure was released from one burst section it wouldn't
continue to be pressurized in every other room. Will this be reasonably
simply for someone to repair? Does the layout of these systems
typically have long single sections of pipe inside the walls and
then the joints are near the baseboard units, or might there be
other joints inside the walls that could have burst? (Sorry so
many questions) Thank you for your input.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 8/16/2009
Dear April:
Regarding your questions about a hot water baseboard heating system
that had frozen and burst your piping in several areas:
Yes, the damage you describe could have all been done by the force
of the pressure from water turning to ice. When water freezes
it expands, and if there is no place for the freezing ice to expand
to, it will burst even metal piping. If your pipes throughout
your house were filled with water, then you could get pipes bursting
in many locations, as the bursting frozen pipes would only release
pressure in limited areas (since the pipes would be frozen solid
between areas).
If the sections of burst piping are located inside of walls, yes,
this could be difficult to repair.
And finally, even if the original plumber was able to use continuous
pipe sections inside of all of your walls, you could still have
the pipes bursting even between joints.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Snuss69
on 9/18/2009
My house has boiler fired baseboard hot water split into three
zones. Two zones are heat and the other is for hot water. Suddenly
the zone that heats the bedrooms has gone on while the windows
are still open. It ws 52 degrees outside and 80 degrees inside
with the thermostat set to 55 degrees. I played with the thermostat
and the circulator did not shut off and when I disconnected the
thermostat. There is a circuit board located near the circulator
with a relay on it. I disconnected a black wire from that and
the circulator shut down. The other zones are still functional,
so it appears to be an element of the circuit board that is bad.
Does that entire part have to be replace or can the components
be diagnosed and replaced?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 9/20/2009
Dear Snuss69:
It sounds like your circulator relay has gone bad. I would suggest
that you replace the entire relay, rather than trying to diagnose
and repair the relay piece-by-piece.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
QUESTION from Snuss69 on 9/21/2009
It is helpful. Thanks.
This particular relay has been a problem. I had repaired a crack
in the solder that prevented the heat in that zone from kicking
on a few yearws ago and it was this same zone. The other two have
never been a problem. Must have been the one made on Monday AM
after a bad weekend!
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 9/21/2009
Dear Snuss69:
. . . that's funny about the Monday morning part!
Yes, if you have had problems with this relay before, I would
definitely recommend replacing the entire relay unit. The worst
case would be if you were away sometime over the winter, and the
relay failed to open the circulation pump, thereby allowing pipes
to freeze. Again, this is a worst case scenario, but for peace
of mind, even though it sounds like you are quite handy, you might
want to install a reliable new relay rather than continuing to
repair the existing one.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
QUESTION from Snuss69 on 9/21/2009
Thanks again. Nice site and I appreciate the advice.
It looks like they run about $80 and they are easy enough to install.
____________________
QUESTION from Ken
Lee on 9/9/2009
What causes a high reading on the low side and a low reading on
the high side?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 9/20/2009
Dear Ken:
If you are referring to a problem with the calibration of your
thermostat, here is a webpage that describes how to calibrate
it:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4830945_calibrate-a-thermostat.html
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Mark
W on 9/29/2009
The gas valve on my home heating hot water system starts making
a loud fast chattering sound. The valve is on and the boiler is
heating but it starts a few seconds after it lights.The aquastat
turns on power for the burner thru a power vent then to the gas
valve.to me it seems like a poor connection but I'm not sure where
to look.I had a heating contractor check it but of course then
it didn't do it.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 9/29/2009
Dear Mark W:
A gas valve that chatters from time to time is probably on its
last legs, and should therefore be replaced. Other than the valve
itself going bad, the other cause could be the transformer for
the valve not putting out sufficient voltage.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from april
on 9/28/2009
I live in PA. Will my gas baseboard heating pipes freeze in the
winter months if the gas is not on and pipes not drained? I have
a 2 story house with full basement and my house has a wood burning
fireplace in living room on main floor. that heats the whole house
pretty good.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 10/13/2009
Dear April:
In principle, having another heat source in your home should be
sufficient to keep your baseboard heating pipes warm enough to
keep from freezing.
But this is just in principle. In actuality there could be conditions
which could allow water in your baseboard pipes to freeze, burst,
and cause expensive damage to your home. For example, if you have
baseboard pipes than run in cabinets under sinks and against outside
walls, the pipes in these areas can get very cold during a Pennsylvania
winter. If your wood burning fireplace were to go out, these areas
could quickly get very cold and freeze the water inside of them.
If you want to not drain your baseboard system, you might want
to consider adding anti-freeze to your system. You should check
with the manufacturer of your heating system to find out specifically
what type of anti-freeze that they recommend for your particular
location and system, and what percent mix that you should target
for. NEVER use automotive anti-freeze for a baseboard heating
system. Your system will run fine with anti-freeze in it, however
the system will not operate quite as efficiently, since the anti-freeze
reduces the heat transfer properties.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard
____________________
QUESTION from William
on 9/30/2009
We have a new basement in our cottage. We are not there in the
winter months. How many base board heaters and watts size, will
we need to keep the temperature about 40 F. Room sizes are 360
sq. ft, 80 sq. ft, 150 sq. ft X2, 320 sq. ft. All exterior walls
will be insulated with R-20 ( 2x6)?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 10/13/2009
Dear William:
Regarding your question on how to properly size a heating system
for your cottage, here is a webpage that describes the issues
with sizing a heating system:
http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/space_heating_cooling/index.cfm/mytopic=12340
As you will read, properly sizing a heating system will depend
on factors such as:
o The local climate
o Size, shape, and orientation of the house
o Insulation levels
o Window area, location, and type
o Air infiltration rates
o The number and ages of occupants
o Occupant comfort preferences
o The types and efficiencies of lights and major home appliances
(which give off heat).
And as the webpage discusses, it is best to have a local contractor
(who is familiar with your specific region of the country and
who can see your cottage's specific configuration) run the correct
sizing calculations (not just us using estimates using "rules
of thumb").
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from dave
on 10/1/2009
i have one of my zones passing hot water when zone is not calling
for heat.zone controller shows off .three other zones fine.i also
have a outside wood boiler connected to existing propane fired
boiler.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 10/13/2009
Dear Dave:
Do I understand correctly that your problem is that all of a sudden
one of the zones in your baseboard heating system is coming on,
even though the thermostat for this zone is in the off position?
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from BILL
on 10/1/2009
SOME OF THE RADIATORS FOR MY BASEBOARD HEATING SYSTEM ARE NOT
HEATING UP. OTHER RADIATORS BEFORE AND AFTER THE PROBLEM ARE HEATING
UP AS THEY ARE FED BY THE SAME OUTLET. COULD THIS BE
THAT THERE IS AIR IN THE SYSTEM ?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 10/13/2009
Dear Bill:
Regarding your question about your baseboard heating system, if
I understand your problem correctly, the radiators that you are
referring to are all in the same zone, right? If they are, then
yes, the problem could be that you have air trapped in one section
of radiators, and this is keeping this section from properly heating
up.
However, if the section of baseboard where you are having problems
IS in a separate zone from the other sections, then the problem
could still be with air trapped in this zone, but it could also
be a problem with the zone valve or thermostat for this zone.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Arthur
Perazzo on 10/4/2009
I go away in the winter and so I worry about the hot water baseboard
heating pipes freezing if the electricity goes off for an extended
period of time. Is adding antifreeze a good solution? Does doing
so affect heating? Any other cons to using anitfreeze?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 10/13/2009
Dear Arthur:
If you are going to be away for extended periods over the winter,
then yes, you are right to be concerned about the possibility
of your baseboard heating pipes freezing if you lose electricity.
The safest thing to do of course is to drain the water from your
hot water baseboard system completely (and also drain the water
from your toilets, hot water heater, etc.). If you want to not
drain your baseboard system, you might want to consider adding
anti-freeze to your system. You should check with the manufacturer
of your heating system to find out specifically what type of anti-freeze
that they recommend for your particular location and system, and
what percent mix that you should target for. NEVER use automotive
anti-freeze for a baseboard heating system. Your system will run
fine with anti-freeze in it, however the system will not operate
quite as efficiently, since the anti-freeze reduces the heat transfer
properties.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from CB
on 10/5/2009
We live in a one bedroom corner unit apartment with baseboard
heating. Recently, when the heat was turned on in the building
for fall, our pipes started to vibrate/pulse. They emit a constant
humming that is similar to the drone of a washing machine. I can
actually feel the vibrations in my ears and it never stops. We
tried turning the heat off in our unit but this made no differnce.
I lived in another unit in this building earlier this year and
never had this issue. Do you have any suggestions as to what could
be causing the pipes to vibrate?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 10/13/2009
Dear CB:
I'm wondering if what you are hearing is the vibration from the
heating oil piping for your furnace. You mentioned that recently
moved from another unit in your building to the corner unit, and
when you moved to the corner unit, that you started hearing the
vibration noise when the heat came on for the season. What I'm
thinking is that being in the corner, that you may be now located
over the area where the apartment building furnace is located,
and be the first unit downstream of the boiler. Further, since
the oil piping may be located near the ceiling, and may not have
sound insulation, it could be adding to the noise problem and
giving the humming drone sound that you mentioned.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Peggy Mara on 10/12/2009
My house is for sale and is empty. What temperature should I keep
the house at with water base board heating. I have a gas furnace
and live in Michigan . What temperature outside do I need to turn
the heat back on?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 10/14/2009
Dear Peggy:
I wouldn't think that you would want to set the thermostat below
around 50 degrees F. And to be sure that the water pipes do not
freeze, I would recommend NOT turning off the heat (unless you
completely drain the system, your water heater, toilet, etc.).
Further, since you are going to be out of the house for extended
periods of time, you might want to consider adding anti-freeze
to your baseboard heating system (I assume that since you may
be showing the house from time to time, that you don't want to
drain your system). This way if you lose electricity, that you
don't have to worry about pipes freezing and bursting. You should
check with the manufacturer of your heating system to find out
specifically what type of anti-freeze that they recommend for
your particular location and system, and what percent mix that
you should target for. NEVER use automotive anti-freeze for a
baseboard heating system. Your system will run fine with anti-freeze
in it, however the system will not operate quite as efficiently,
since the anti-freeze reduces the heat transfer properties.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Tammy
Mossuto on 10/12/2009
I have a question about switching ou my olo cast iron radiators
from the 50's with the new hydrolic baseboards. I need to know
if my system can handle it. The boiler I am currently using is
a lennox as pictured on this site http://www.lennox.com/products/boilers/GWB8-E/S/
The baseboard I want to use is on this site... http://www.alpinehomeair.com/viewcategory.cfm?categoryID=255
Any of the hydronic baseboards will do as long as the size is
right. money is extrem;y tight so we are trying to make do with
the boiler we already have. Thank you, for reviewing my question.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 10/14/2009
Dear Tammy:
In general, I would think that your new baseboard radiators would
be more efficient than the old-style radiators that you are replacing.
And as such, if your existing boiler had adequate capacity, then
it should have enough capacity for the new, more efficient baseboard
radiators.
However, here is a webpage that describes the issues with sizing
a heating system: http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/space_heating_cooling/index.cfm/mytopic=12340
As you will read, properly sizing a heating system will depend
on factors such as:
o The local climate
o Size, shape, and orientation of the house
o Insulation levels
o Window area, location, and type
o Air infiltration rates
o The number and ages of occupants
o Occupant comfort preferences
o The types and efficiencies of lights and major home appliances
(which give off heat).
And as the webpage discusses, it is best to have a local contractor
(who is familiar with your specific region of the country and
who can see your home's specific configuration) run the correct
sizing calculations (not just us using estimates using "rules
of thumb").
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from pingber
on 10/13/2009
I've been having problems with bleeding my hot water baseboard
system. The tech has tried it twice, but it still gurgles in the
lower floor zone when the pump kicks on and then again when the
water reaches hot (around 170 or so). I noticed that if I carefully
lift the boiler pressure relief valve, air escapes for a few seconds
before water is released. I did this when the boiler was only
warm, not hot. could this air be a source of my problem?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 10/14/2009
Dear pingber:
Yes, it does sound like your system has air trapped in it that
still needs to be bled. When the technician comes out, you might
also want them to confirm that your boiler is operating at a pressure
of between 12-15 psi.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
QUESTION from pingber
on 10/14/2009
Hi and thanks for the quick reply.
The tech came out and noticed a few things. First, he was on the
"install team" when this furnace was put in. He immediately reset
the aquastat to 160 instead of 180 becuase he said that this furnace
continues heating for about 10 degrees or so after the aquastat
is "tripped" and at the time of the install, he felt that 190
was too high. Second, he set the circulator speed for medium instead
of low (new circulator was put in last year, old one only lasted
1 year), 3rd, he bled the system again, this time from a COLD
state, one loop at a time, then both loops together. FInally he
set the pressure to about 19-20 psi. Everything seems fine this
morning (that's why I'm writing so early ... I was up before the
boiler kicked in).
What do you think?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 10/14/2009
Dear pingber:
It sounds like when they came back that the tech has done a nice
job of properly adjusting your heating system.
A couple of thoughts. I assume that the technician is familiar
with your particular system, and this is the reason that they
set the pressure at 19-20psi, which otherwise seems a bit high.
Also, you mentioned that they bled the system of air when it was
cold. It was good that they did this, as when the system is hot,
more of the air can be entrained in the warmer water (which is
why when you run hot water from the faucet in your sink that the
hot water will look cloudy from the trapped air).
And 160 degrees is a good set temperature for your aquastat. It's
not to high, which is good for energy efficiency; and it's not
too low, which could risk Legionnaires disease.
So it sounds like you should be in good shape now.
Regards,
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Adam
on 10/14/2009
I have a 6 zone water heated system with 3 circulating pumps,
2 zones and 1 pump per floor. Last year I had to bleed the air
from several of the radiators on the 3rd (top) floor. This year
most of the radiators on the 3rd floor are not getting very warm.
I went to begin bleeding the air again and discovered that when
I opened the bleeder valve on the first 2 radiators that they
were sucking air in and not releasing it out. What could make
this happen? I also observed at one point that all 3 of the pipes
leading to the circulating pumps were warm but the pipe supplying
hot water to the 3rd floor was cold.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 10/15/2009
Dear Adam:
From what you've described, I'm wondering if you have a blocked
water feeder pipe.
If water supply is properly coming into the system, then when
you open the bleeder valve, air should come out followed by water.
If water is not coming out then it's possible that something is
blocking the water from coming in.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from GENE
on 11/11/2009
HOW DO YOU PURGE THE WATER FROM AN AMITRON MODLE 15 EXPANSION
TANK. I HAVE BASEBOARD HEATER AND THE WATER IS LEAKING OUT OF
THE TOP OF THE EXPANSION TANK. I WANTED TO PURGE IT AS IT SEEMS
TO BE OVERFILLED. I CAN NOT FIND A PURGE VALVE ON THE TANK OR
NEARBY.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/15/2009
Dear Gene:
Here is a link to a page that describes how to diagnose problems
with the expansion tank for a hot water baseboard heating system:
http://homerepair.about.com/od/heatingcoolingrepair/ss/trblsht_boiler_5.htm
Did you actually mean an "AMTROL" 15 expansion tank? This model
expansion tank comes pre-charged from the manufacturer at 12 psi.
If you are seeing water leaking out of the top of it, I'm wondering
if the piping connection is loose there, and the water that is
leaking is coming from your heating system, rather than from the
expansion tank itself.
Here is a link to an operating manual for it: http://s3.pexsupply.com/manuals/1249544554380/extrolbroch.pdf
And here is the customer service phone number for Amtrol: 401-884-6300
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from chris
on 11/12/2009
one zone on our hot water base board system will not stop heating
the recirulator pump is not running unless you turn the heat up
enough it will run normally but even with the heat off there is
still hot water flowing and the rooms are around 75 all the time,
is there a valve in the recirculator pump that goes bad and lets
hot water bypass or does somethins else control the pump?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/15/2009
Dear Chris:
Have you checked to see if the thermostat for this zone is operating
properly?
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Scott
in Alaska on 11/21/2009
We have a Weil McLain boiler PCG-5. We have no manual to assist
us, so thank you for any help you can offer. This is a two story
house. There are two tyco valves. We are not getting any heat
upstairs and the downstairs is just maintaining a 70 degree temp
regardless of how high we turn up the thermostat. Water temp reaches
185 degrees, but no pressure. Help!!! Thanks!
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/22/2009
Dear Scott:
Does you system have an automatic water make-up valve? If so,
you can try manually opening this make-up valve to see if this
will allow the pressure in your system to increase.
If you do not have an automatic water make-up valve, then locate
the water inlet valve for your system and open this valve and
see if this allows the pressure to build up in your system.
If these don't work, then just let us know, and we'll see if we
can come up with something else for you.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from chris
cilley on 11/22/2009
base board hot water heater wont stop heating on 1 zone just replaced
the t-stat and it did not help this t--stat has a on and off switch
and i turned it off for a day and then back on and the heat worked
nornally for a week and now it is doing the same thing again i
shut the t-stat back off and this time it keeps heating is there
any resirculator pump wiring issues to look for?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 11/22/2009
Dear Chris:
Since you have already tried turning your thermostat to the "off"
position, the next thing to try is to remove the thermostat from
the wall, and be sure that the wires from the wall are not touching.
If the heat for this zone turns off, then the problem is likely
your new thermostat.
If it does not turn off, then try disconnecting the wires from
this thermostat at the furnace. If the heat for this zone now
turns off, then the problem is likely in the wiring between the
furnace and thermostat.
If that still doesn't stop the heat from coming on, then it is
likely that the control board at your furnace is bad.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Adkjim
on 12/1/2009
We have electric baseboard heating with individual thermostats
in each room. Some of them make banging noises when they heat
up. Since they have no air or water pipes, how can this be addressed?
Thanks
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/2/2009
Dear Adkjim:
I suspect what is happening is that as your electric baseboards
are heating up, that as the elements expand and are slipping through
the clips that hold it. And as they get stuck and release, it
is creating the banging noise that you are hearing. You might
try spraying a little WD40 oil where the elements go through the
clips.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Frustrated
on 12/6/2009
I have a 1-zone hydronic baseboard system which heats a basement,
1st floor, 2nd floor and a small room in the attic. There are
3 returns, each with a bleeder/return valve. The thermostat is
on the 1st floor. The 2nd floor and attic aren't heating nearly
as warm as the 1st floor. There are bleeders in 1 of the bedrooms
and the attic baseboard, which I've bled all the air out. I've
also tried bleeding at the return valves and no air gurgled out
after a thorough session. The return pipe for the upper floors
doesn't get nearly as hot as the other two. Two questions:
1. I recently replaced the circulator pump with a lower horsepower
Taco model. Can this be a reason why the upper floors aren't heating
as effectively?
2. Can I get more heat upstairs simply by partially closing the
return valves that come back from the 1st floor & basement?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/13/2009
Dear Frustrated:
If you have already done a thorough job of bleeding your system,
and if the piping of your system is such that water from your
boiler goes first to the radiators on your first floor, then yes,
your problem could be the lower horsepower of the Taco circulation
pump that you installed. And yes, you can try partially closing
the return valves that come back from the first floor and basement.
The risk is that your circulator pump may fail sooner, since you
will need to run this pump longer to heat your home (circulate
the hot water), than would a higher horsepower pump that your
system was designed for.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from mark
on 12/8/2009
I am going to renovate my bathroom and I need to move two hot
water heaters. I have two pumps. One for upstairs and one for
downstairs. Can I drain the upstairs zone with out draining the
downstairs? One other thing when I want to heat the basement and
not the upstairs. The upstairs heats too. I didn't have the upstairs
pump on. My boiler is oil and my house was built in 1963 and pipes
are copper.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/13/2009
Dear Mark:
Regarding whether you can drain one zone without affecting the
other zone, it will depend how your particular system is piped.
However, since you said that when you run only the basement zone
that the upstairs heats up too, then I would suspect that the
two zones are connected somewhere (for example, they may share
a common return section).
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from deanna
Wilson on 12/10/2009
My baseboard heating system is only working in one of my upstairs
bedrooms. What can I do to fix it?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/13/2009
Dear Deanna:
We would be glad to try to help you, but we will need some more
background on your heating system. For example, what type of heating
system do you have? Is it forced air or hot water radiators? How
many heating zones do you have? Are the upstairs bedrooms in a
separate zone from the rest of the house?
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Chad
P. on 12/11/2009
We have hot water boiler (baseboard) heat. The boiler was replaced
last summer and has only 1 season of Michigan heating on it. I
have 2 issues to ask about:
1. When the upstairs-main zone comes on, the pipes seem to bang
for a few seconds, first moderately loud then trailing off quietly.
This was not an issue prior to the boiler replacement. Is it possible
that supports for the zone pipes were loosened accidentally during
replacement? (The zone and noises are directly above the boiler
location.)
2. The other upstairs zone (bedroom) has one room that is generally
5 or more degrees colder than the others. House built in 1965,
so windows and insulation is likely a major factor, but this room
is in the middle of the zone. It is a corner room with only 1
baseboard, however the master BR is next to it (same amount of
baseboard) and does not suffer the same way.
Thanks!
(sorry if this is a duplicate - I didn't register first - not
sure if it sent it the first time)
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/13/2009
Dear Chad:
Here are some potential causes of the knocking and banging noises
that you are hearing when your boiler for your baseboard heating
system turns on:
1) Air is trapped in the line, which needs to be bled out.
2) As you suspected , your pipes may not be supported properly,
such that when the boiler turns on, the pipes bang into one another
or into other things.
3) A pipe to or from your baseboard radiators are running through
a hole in a wall, etc. that is too tight, which doesn't allow
sufficient expansion for the pipe's thermal expansion.
4) A zone valve is installed backwards.
Regarding your second question, even though the bedroom has the
same about of baseboard as the other bedrooms, because it is on
a corner of your house, it could have more heat loss than from
the other bedrooms, which is why the room tends to run about 5
degrees colder than the other bedrooms. One way of balancing the
heat between the bedrooms is to shut the covers or remove some
sections of fins from the rooms that run warmer, so that there
is less heat going into these rooms (leaving more heat to go into
your colder corner bedroom).
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Bob
on 12/11/2009
I recently bought a co-op apartment with baseboard hot water radiators.
One of the radiators puts out very little heat, mostly from the
bottom of the pipe, so I'm assuming it needs to be bled. My questions:
1. Since my apartment is on the 2nd floor of a 4 story building,
I don't have access to the main boiler for turning off anything
there. Can I just go ahead and bleed the radiator?
2. The radiator has a valve similar to the one I have on the main
water meter in my home, and like any outside water valve you might
use with a garden hose, etc. Is this what I use to bleed the radiator?
I don't see any other valves, only on/off levers on either end
of the radiator.
3. If this is the valve to use and do I just turn it on and have
a pail or receptacle to catch the water? At what point do I turn
it off?
Thanks for your help.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/13/2009
Dear Bob:
Regarding bleeding your radiators, it depends on what type of
radiators and heating system that you have. Here a couple of videos
which show how to bleed radiators. From your description of the
radiator putting out heat mostly from the bottom, it sounded like
you have a wall-type radiator system, so here are videos for wall
style hot water radiators:
http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-bleed-your-radiator
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1455704/how_to_bleed_a_radiator/
And if you have a baseboard heating system (single pipe with fins
around it), here is a Home-Wizard video which describes how a
baseboard heating system works, and if you skip ahead to around
the 6-minute point in the video, it will describe how to bleed
air out of the system:
http://www.home-wizard.com/Baseboard_Heating_101.asp
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Arie
on 12/13/2009
My base board heater system is leaking between the copper and
the soft pvc conections. Is there something to add to the water
to stop the leaking?
thanks
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM
on 12/13/2009
Dear Arie:
No, I would not recommend that you add anything to the water of
your baseboard heating to try to stop the leaks. It is not worth
taking the risk of damaging your boiler, pumps, pressure relief
valves, etc. Since you know where the leaks are (connections from
the copper to the pvc), I would suggest fixing these directly.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Elissa
on 12/28/2009
High pitch noise from baseboard heater in bathroom. I just moved
into an apartment (It isn't an apartment in a building, but rather
a 2 family house and I live with my landlords). Whenever I turn
on the heat, I hear a high pitched squealing noise coming form
the bathroom only, and as soon as the thermostat clicks off it
stops. I can't bleed the radiators from my apartment.. my landlord
said he has to get someone to come do it in his boiler room, but
the noise is driving me crazy. (I'm not sure if our heat is on
2 different systems.) Is there anything I can do from inside my
apartment? (I already looked and there are no valves inside the
baseboards) Also-- I read how gurgling or whooshing noises usually
mean air is trapped.. not high pitched noises... What would cause
a high pitched noise? Do you even think that bleeding the pipes
will resolve my issue? Anything you think I can do until my landlord
gets around to having someone look at it? Thank you SO much for
any help. Much appreciated!
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/28/2009
Dear Elissa:
What could possibly be causing the problem is that when your thermostat
clicks on, and begins to send hot water through your baseboard
radiator, that as the radiator heats up it expands. And if there
is a tight spot, for example, where the pipe comes through the
wall, then you could get a squealing sound when the expanding
pipe tried to slide through the opening. One thing that you might
try is to GENTLY tap the pipe at the ends of the baseboard with
say a gym shoe where the pipes go into the wall. If this helps
to reduce the sound, then this is where the wall opening needs
to be enlarged.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
QUESTION from Elissa on 12/28/2009
Thank you so so much.
I apologize that my question was posted several times.. I thought
it wasn't going through until I scrolled down and saw it was already
posted! Oops! Thank you so much for your quick reply. Much appreciated!
:) I noticed that the pipe going into the wall on the baseboard
heat in the bathroom (where the noise is) seems to be very loose.
I can easily jiggle the pipe on both ends. Is this normal? It
almost seems like it is open ended and not connected to anything.
I showed my landlord , but I don't think he knew... he said it's
"fine". He thinks the valves need to be bled (still waiting on
when he is bringing someone in to do that). Do you think that
will help at all? You mentioned the opening may need to be enlarged.
How do they do that? Sorry for so many questions.. I am curious
and like to learn :)
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/28/2009
Dear Elissa:
Usually bleeding a baseboard heating system will help eliminate
"sloshing" or "gurgling" type noises. A high pitched squeal sound
when the heating zone turns on is typically caused by expansion
of the pipes.
If the pipes are loose where they come through the wall, then
you might want to try gently pulling back and forth on the pipe
to see if the sound changes. If this helps, then the tight opening
where the pipe comes through may be deep inside the wall, which
could mean having to open up the wall and then expanding where
the the pipe goes through a tight opening. What I mean by this
is that if the pipe is going through a tight opening in say a
2x4 stud inside the wall, then the wood around the pipe would
need to be cut away.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Barry
on 12/29/2009
What causes black stains on the walls above my hot water baseboard
registers? Some of the baseboard is fairly new and they seem to
be the worst.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/30/2009
Dear Barry:
Is the wall that you are seeing the black stains above the the
heat registers an outside wall? It sounds like you might have
what is called "thermal tracking."
Here is a webpage that describes the causes and fixes for thermal
tracking:
http://www.inspectapedia.com/interiors/ThermalTracking.htm#ThermalTracking2
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Tom
on 12/29/2009
I have gas baseboard heating. I have one zone in my home. Within
the past two days, I've noticed that my daughter's room radiator
is cold when the other radiators are warm. I don't understand.
It seems illogical to me. The radiators in the rooms on either
side of her bedroom are working. Can you help me?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/30/2009
Dear Tom:
Since you only have one heating zone, and there is one section
of baseboard radiator that is cold and the rest are hot, it sounds
like the problem is that you have a section of baseboard radiator
that is "air-blocked."
Here is a webpage that describes what "air-blocked" is, and how
to fix the problem:
http://www.inspectapedia.com/heat/AirBleedValves.htm
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
QUESTION from Tom on 12/31/2009
This is a follow up from my 12/30/09 response from you. I have
one zone baseboard heating with one radiator not heating up. It
seems to be one in the middle of the circulation. I turned up
the thermostat, let it heat up, checked the other radiators (they
were all hot)the one was still cold. I have unscrewed my single
air bleed valve (like a bicycle tire valve). Nothing came out.
I depressed the valve stem & I got a shot of air, then water.
I closed it. Then loosened it. The radiator (I waited about 10
minutes) is still cold. What do I do next? Is there anything I
can do?
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 1/2/2010
Dear Tom:
When you turn up the thermostat and let the other radiators heat
up, and then purge the air out of the bleeder valve . . . when
the water starts to come out of the bleeder valve is the water
hot, warm or cold?
Home-Wizard.com
QUESTION from Tom on 1/3/2010
The water that comes out of the bleeder valve when I push the
valve down is very hot.
What does that mean?
Tom
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 1/3/2010
Dear Tom:
You said that you have one heating zone, and the section of baseboard
radiator that does not heat up is located in between sections
of baseboard radiators that are working fine.
Is the piping for your heating system a series loop system, where
the main supply goes from boiler into one radiator and then to
the next, and so on? Or do your radiators have a diverter valve
for each section, which diverts the flow of water into that section
of radiator?
If it's the latter, then I'm wondering if you have a problem with
the diverter valve for the section of baseboard radiator that
is not heating up. If this diverter valve is not opening up enough
(or is partially plugged), this could explain why there is hot
water coming out of the bleeder valve, but not enough flow to
heat up the section of radiator.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Christina
on 12/30/2009
How do you remove air that is trapped in pipes of hot water base
board heaters? I can't find any valves? I used to have radiators
in my old home, and each one had a little valve on the side.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/30/2009
Dear Christina:
If you go to this webpage in Home-Wizard's Maintenance Library
for baseboard heating systems:
http://www.home-wizard.com/maintenance/baseboardheating.asp
You will see a link for a tutorial video at the top. When you
click on this link it opens a video which describes how your baseboard
heating system works and its different parts. And then at about
the 6 minute point of the video, it describes the procedure for
how to purge air from your baseboard heating system.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Michelle
on 12/30/2009
I have an old 3 story house with baseboard steam heat. There is
one baseboard that runs the entire length of the wall in the 3rd
story bedroom. The first 1/3 of the baseboard heats up, but the
rest of the baseboard is ice cold. I have opened the air valve
and air does hiss out. But the baseboard does not heat up even
after I close the valve. If I open the valve 30 minutes later,
I get the air hissing again. What could be wrong? Thanks.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 12/31/2009
Dear Michelle:
Steam radiators have a valve that allows steam to flow through
at a controlled rate so that the radiator can heat up. If this
valve is clogged with mineral deposits or stuck shut, it restricts
the flow of steam to the radiator, so it doesn't heat up properly.
It is sometimes possible to unclogged these valves, but usually
it's better just replacing them.
Another possible problem is that the pipe leading to the radiator
is not properly sloping downward towards the boiler. If this has
occurred (due to your house settling, the pipe not installed properly,
etc.), then the condensation within the radiator that would normally
flow back to the boiler is instead pooling in the pipe. This can
block the movement of steam to the radiator.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Dave
on 12/31/2009
Hi. I own a property with a gas furnace and baseboard heat. A
tentant called and complained that his room was cold. He said
he blead the baseboard heater and air came out for awhile and
then stopped. He never saw water. He also mentioned that he was
away for awhile and he had the heat turned down and maybe the
pipes to the heater were frozen. When I went over, we blead the
baseboard in his room again and alot of air came out, then nothing.
All the other heaters on the second floor (the floor his room
is also on) were hot. Inspecting the furnace I noticed that I
only have one recirc pump so I'm assuming it's all one zone. Also
all supply and return pumps felt hot. Do you think the pipe is
really frozen? What else can I do to to try and trouble shoot
this problem? Thanks.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 1/2/2010
Dear Dave:
If you only have one zone, and the baseboard heating pipe was
frozen for one section of your baseboard radiators, then it would
be blocking the circulation for the other sections as well. You
mentioned that you only have one recirculation pump, but then
you went on to say that the supply and return pumps (plural) felt
hot.
Is it possible that you have more than one heating zone? One way
to tell is if you have more than one thermostat.
If you do have more than one heating zone, then you need to turn
off the thermostat for the zone where you suspect you have your
frozen pipe, and shut off the water supply feeding this zone.
If the frozen pipe has burst, now that your tenant is back and
your place is heating back up from the other zones heating up,
then you could have a flood when the frozen pipe warms up.
If your pipe has frozen inside the wall, then you will probably
need to call a professional plumber who will need to open the
wall, find the frozen area, defrost it, check for any cracks,
repair the crack and test it.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Shell
on 1/4/2010
I have a 2-zone, single circulator oil heater that heats my hot
water and the hot water for my baseboard heaters. We have hot
water, but the baseboards are cold. We have had multiple service
calls, but still no heat. We have replaced the expansion tank,
air valve near the heater, and the box that controls the temperature
the hot water is heated to. There are no air release valves on
the pipes, so we were advised to drain the system completely,
then re-fill while releasing water until all bubbles were gone.
None of these things have restored heat to the registers. Can
you suggest anything we can try or may have been overlooked.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 1/4/2010
Dear Shell:
It's rather difficult to diagnose a problem like this without
being able to physically inspect your system. But with that said,
let's see if we can help you as best we can.
If you haven't already, you should look at the tutorial video
about baseboard heating systems in our Maintenance Library:
http://www.home-wizard.com/maintenance/baseboardheating.asp
Then use this as a guide for checking the parts of your system
that may not be operating properly. For example:
1) Is your room thermostat working properly, and telling the circulation
pump and furnace to turn on?
2) Is your circulation pump for the baseboard radiators working
properly (that is, when you turn up your thermostat, can you feel
the circulation pump start to vibrate)?
3) If the circulation pump is running when you turn up your room
thermostat, is the piping upstream and downstream of the circulation
pump both hot?
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Dennis
Durant on 1/7/2010
I have a HW base board return heating system.We just bought the
house last year.This winter has been very cold.The furnace was
replaced last year.We cannot get enough heat.The room temp. stays
around 60 or lower.I was told there is not enough footage of base
board installed.My main concern is the new furnace is being over
worked.I am going to add (additional attic insulation).If I dont
add more base board in the house and just tough it out thru the
winter.
1- Are my fuel costs increased because of the lack of base board.
2-Is the furnace being overworked,therefor shortening its normal
life and efficiency.
Thank You Dennis
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 1/7/2010
Dear Dennis:
There could be a number of issues that you could be facing, so
let me go through each of them.
It could be possible that when your furnace was replaced last
year that it was replaced with a unit that is too small for your
baseboard heating system. Hopefully this wasn't something that
the previous owner did on purpose when they knew that they were
planning to sell the house. On the other hand, the problem could
be that the furnace is adequately sized, but it is not getting
adequate fuel supply. For example, if you use oil, then the fuel
nozzle could be too small. Or your gas regulator could be set
too low.
Regarding adding footage of additional baseboard radiator versus
additional insulation, yes, it would be much better to add insulation
and save energy (heat) , rather than just putting more heat into
the rooms. In addition to more roof insulation, you might want
to consider replacing your windows with higher efficiency rated
windows, weatherstipping your doors, blocking electrical switches
on outside walls, etc.
With respect to your question about increased fuel costs due to
the lack of sufficient baseboard length, it actually will increase
your electric bill because your water circulation pump will need
to operate for longer periods of time (and if you are only getting
up to 60 degrees F in your home, then your system is probably
running constantly). But your fuel costs will probably be lower
because you are not getting enough heat (energy) into the rooms.
But this raises the question as to whether your furnace is too
small, or if your baseboard lengths are too short. One way to
check this is to carefully check the temperature of the return
water that is circulating back to your furnace (be careful grabbing
any pipes around your furnace, as they could be very hot). If
the water return pipe at your furnace is relatively cool, then
the problem is not that baseboards are too short, but more likely
that the furnace is not putting enough heat into the water supply
(this is why the hot water "runs out of gas" by the time it runs
through the system . . . assuming that you are not losing excessive
heat through leaky windows, doors, electrical switch plates, poor
insulation, etc.). But if the return water going back to your
furnace is relative warm, then the furnace size is probably fine,
but there isn't enough length of baseboard radiators to remove
heat before it goes back to the furnace.
And finally, regarding your question about your furnace being
over-worked, yes it's not good for its service life if it is running
all the time (and still not heating up your home). However, it
is not as bad as the reverse problem of your furnace cycling too
often because it is over-sized for your system.
And regarding the efficiency, it's actually more efficient to
operating in steady state than cycling, but the problem is that
you are not getting enough heat into your home.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
QUESTION from Kyle
Hoogendoorn on 1/9/2010
Hello,
I moved into my brothers condo 4 months ago, in the fall. The
weather started to turn cold and since then my hot water baseboards
in my apartment. there are two thermostats in my place, one for
the bedroom and one for the rest of the 600 square foot condo.
I have taken the thermostat that controls the main part of the
apartment right off the wall but the baseboards wont turn off.....
My place is sitting at 28 C !! I am on the ground floor which
is about 3 to 4 feet bellow ground level (my windows are just
above the sidewalk. The pipes are continuously hot and I can not
find the pump. (only box on the pipe that I can see is the one
in the bedroom on a separate thermostat).
How do I fix this, or are my baseboards designed to be on constantly
to keep them from freezing since I am slightly below ground level?
I also went into the main furnace room for the building but can
not see any piping that would be going to my apartment specifically.
(three story building with 12 apartments).
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD.COM on 1/10/2010
Dear Kyle:
A couple of questions regarding your problem of your baseboard
heating system not shutting off:
1) Are you have the same problem with both heating zones?
2) When you disconnected the thermostat from the wall, were you
careful not to let the wires touch that are coming through the
wall?
3) Can you tell where the wires from the thermostat connect to
the furnace (they will be the same color wires as you see coming
through the wall to your thermostat)?
If you can find where the thermostat wires connect to your furnace
(and you are comfortable that you can work safely around electrical
wires around your furnace), you can disconnect these wires and
see if then your furnace and recirculation pumps turn off. If
you are certain that the wires are not touching where you removed
the thermostat, and the furnace turns off when you disconnect
the thermostat wires at the furnace, then the problem is likely
that you have a short circuit somewhere in the thermostat wiring.
Regarding your question about baseboards heating systems being
designed to run continuously because your condo is partially underground,
no this is not typically done. And actually, being partially underground
will keep your condo warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com
____________________
|
Home-Wizard is brought to you by
our network of sponsors
as part of a commitment to making it easier for you to manage your home.
Each month, Home Wizard can send you free personalized tips & reminders that will help you save energy, improve safety, and more.
Each month, Home Wizard can send you free personalized tips reminders that will help you save energy, improve safety, and more.