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Author:
m8480 (NY)
I have a well mcclain gas fired boiler for hot water radiator heat. Two zone 1st and 2nd floors, each with own circulator pump no zone valves. Had air in 2nd floor radiators. Decided to bleed. Shut off valves near circulators and opened 2nd floor spigot to bleed. Got air out water running smooth. Still had the running water noise in system after restart. But now heard in 1st floor as well. Decided to purge both same method one at a time. 2nd floor first. Bled both until water ran smooth. Restart and both zones have air.
Any thoughts? Do I need to drain boiler too? What is that process?
Thanks for your help
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Author:
packy (MA)
it sounds like you are doing it correctly.
what will help will be to increase the system before and as you are purging.
find the automatic fill valve on the cold water inlet to the boiler.
hopefully it has a fast fill feature. post a picture of it if you aren't sure.
so by increasing the pressure you will blow the air out better. you can not let the pressure get over 30 PSI or the relief valve will let water out all over the floor.
so increase the pressure to somewhere over 25 pounds and then open the hose valve.
one little trick is to put the end of the hose in a bucket of water and watch for bubbles.
it is a balancing act to increase the pressure, open the hose valve, watch the pressure, if it drops too fast close the hose valve a little. watch the bucket for bubbles as well.
lastly, you do not need to get air out of the boiler as purging the piping will do that. set the pressure at 12-15 PSI when done.
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Author:
Lee (NJ)
Packy:
I also have air in my cast iron radiators. I have Weil Mclain oil burner with hot water in the radiators. At the boiler, water is coming out of the round cylindrical thing with a bicycle valve on it. This bicycle thing with valve is located kind of close to the expansion tank. Water drips out of that valve with the cap on it(that is loose). If I lift up that lever that is attached to the bell(I believe it is a pressure reducing valve) and let more water in to build pressure then bleed the air out of each bleeder valve on radiators in each room . Wont the cold water from automatic feeder/pressure reducing vlave hurt/ maybe crack the hot oil burner/boiler or no? Seems even if I turn oil burner off the boiler will still be hot when I lift up that lever? ? I do not understand honestly.
Thank you.
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Author:
packy (MA)
OK, one problem at a time...
the round cylinder thing is a float vent. they work for a while and then become waterlogged. so, just close the cap on the top and worry about it another day. its not doing its job anyway..
2) how do you know the cast iron radiators have air in them? are you opening the air vent on top and getting air?
if you are letting air out of the radiators and the pressure slowly stops then the auto fill valve is clogged and needs to be replaced. ( a common problem with iron body fill valves) the replacement should be a brass body valve.
lifting the lever to get more water into the boiler will do no harm. remember when the radiators are cold and the circulator kicks on, you are dumpimg a whole bunch of 60 deg water back into the boiler. if that doesn't stress it enough to crack it, how can trickling a little cold to raise the pressure hurt it?
cabeesh?
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Author:
Paul48 (CT)
With the cast iron radiators, just make sure your pressure is 12+ psi and don't worry about lifting the bypass lever. Just bleed each radiator.
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Author:
Lee (NJ)
Thank you very much Packy and Paul48 !
Every Christmas my wife and I drive up to Southern New Hampshire(Bow) to visit relatives. Just over the border into New Hampshire actually. I must be driving past Paul48's territory and then toward Packy in Massachusetts. I once went to Frank Pepe's pizza in West Haven or New Haven Connecticut, oh, probably 30 something years ago - excellent Pizza! Paul you probably know about Pepe's? If anyone reading this is in that area of connecticut. I highly recommend Pepe's brick oven pizza!
Thanks again guys. Oh one more thing anyone know of a good book I could read on Hydronics? I like plumbing and would like to be more self -sufficient when it comes to my boiler.
Edited 1 times.
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Author:
Paul48 (CT)
I'm 10 minutes from Wooster St., and Frank Pepe's Pizzaria Napolitano.I'm also 10 minutes from Lou's, arguably, either the first or second place in the country to serve a hamburger. Sign up for Taco's FloPro University. It's free, and you'll learn a lot from the tutorials.
Edited 1 times.
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