In my boiler fed, household hot water radiator system, is there a way
I can determine the direction of circulation?
I need to cut, cap and isolate a room to find a leak.

Thanks.

"coustanis" wrote in message
oups.com...
In my boiler fed, household hot water radiator system, is there a way
I can determine the direction of circulation?
I need to cut, cap and isolate a room to find a leak.

Thanks.


Look at the pipes/tubing leaving the boiler. There are probably a couple of
valves in the system that will have an arrow on them showing flow. Then
just follow the pipes.

I don't mean this to be nasty, but if you don't know how to find the flow
direction, are you qualified to cut into the system?

In article eZSbi.11174$Nz5.6713@trndny09, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:

Look at the pipes/tubing leaving the boiler. There are probably a couple of
valves in the system that will have an arrow on them showing flow. Then
just follow the pipes.

I don't mean this to be nasty, but if you don't know how to find the flow
direction, are you qualified to cut into the system?

I'm wondering why the flow direction even matters for his purposes. In order
to isolate the area from the rest of the system, he needs to cut and cap both
the supply and return pipes anyway... so why does it make any difference which
is which?

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

On Jun 13, 10:14 am, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
"coustanis" wrote in message

oups.com...

In my boiler fed, household hot water radiator system, is there a way
I can determine the direction of circulation?
I need to cut, cap and isolate a room to find a leak.

Thanks.

Look at the pipes/tubing leaving the boiler. There are probably a couple of
valves in the system that will have an arrow on them showing flow. Then
just follow the pipes.

I don't mean this to be nasty, but if you don't know how to find the flow
direction, are you qualified to cut into the system?

Probably not but I can drain the system, I'm good at sweating copper
and I'm fairly well mechanically inclined.
It'll be a learning experience and money is tight. I need to learn
not to be afraid of the system anyway for future problems.
I have already located the two pipes I want to cut and now that you
mention it, I believe the air purge valve has a direction arrow
cast onto it.
I feel fairly confident (famous last words).
The plan is to install a snifter valve and pump the suspect loop with
about 10 pounds of air.

On Jun 13, 10:22 am, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article eZSbi.11174$Nz5.6713@trndny09, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
Look at the pipes/tubing leaving the boiler. There are probably a couple of
valves in the system that will have an arrow on them showing flow. Then
just follow the pipes.

I don't mean this to be nasty, but if you don't know how to find the flow
direction, are you qualified to cut into the system?

I'm wondering why the flow direction even matters for his purposes. In order
to isolate the area from the rest of the system, he needs to cut and cap both
the supply and return pipes anyway... so why does it make any difference which
is which?

I need to install the snifter valve in the correct section. That is
to say into the suspect room loop, not the still connected to the
furnace loop.-

coustanis wrote:

On Jun 13, 10:14 am, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:

"coustanis" wrote in message

groups.com...


In my boiler fed, household hot water radiator system, is there a way
I can determine the direction of circulation?
I need to cut, cap and isolate a room to find a leak.

Thanks.

Look at the pipes/tubing leaving the boiler. There are probably a couple of
valves in the system that will have an arrow on them showing flow. Then
just follow the pipes.

I don't mean this to be nasty, but if you don't know how to find the flow
direction, are you qualified to cut into the system?


Probably not but I can drain the system, I'm good at sweating copper
and I'm fairly well mechanically inclined.
It'll be a learning experience and money is tight. I need to learn
not to be afraid of the system anyway for future problems.
I have already located the two pipes I want to cut and now that you
mention it, I believe the air purge valve has a direction arrow
cast onto it.
I feel fairly confident (famous last words).
The plan is to install a snifter valve and pump the suspect loop with
about 10 pounds of air.


Hey, thanks for teaching me a new term, "snifter valve". The one time I
needed something like that I carved the brass part out of a tire rim
valve and sweated it into a hole drilled through a brass pipe plug. G

Good luck with your project, it sounds like you'll be able to handle it,
and I don't see any major dangers to life and limb from what you plan on
doing.

"You can only succeed as far as you dare to fail."

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.

On Jun 13, 1:50 pm, Jeff Wisnia wrote:
coustanis wrote:
On Jun 13, 10:14 am, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:

"coustanis" wrote in message

groups.com...

In my boiler fed, household hot water radiator system, is there a way
I can determine the direction of circulation?
I need to cut, cap and isolate a room to find a leak.

Thanks.

Look at the pipes/tubing leaving the boiler. There are probably a couple of
valves in the system that will have an arrow on them showing flow. Then
just follow the pipes.

I don't mean this to be nasty, but if you don't know how to find the flow
direction, are you qualified to cut into the system?

Probably not but I can drain the system, I'm good at sweating copper
and I'm fairly well mechanically inclined.
It'll be a learning experience and money is tight. I need to learn
not to be afraid of the system anyway for future problems.
I have already located the two pipes I want to cut and now that you
mention it, I believe the air purge valve has a direction arrow
cast onto it.
I feel fairly confident (famous last words).
The plan is to install a snifter valve and pump the suspect loop with
about 10 pounds of air.

Hey, thanks for teaching me a new term, "snifter valve". The one time I
needed something like that I carved the brass part out of a tire rim
valve and sweated it into a hole drilled through a brass pipe plug. G

Good luck with your project, it sounds like you'll be able to handle it,
and I don't see any major dangers to life and limb from what you plan on
doing.

"You can only succeed as far as you dare to fail."

Jeff


I just learned the term yesterday when I was explaining to the guy at
the plumbing supply place what I wanted to do. The valve cost 1.49,
and is threaded.
That, the other three caps and a sweat-on-able(?) fitting for the
valve to thread into cost all of 6 dollars.
Cheaper than a plumber.
Thanks for the good luck wish. I started last night and found that I
had marked a wrong pipe. It's hard to trace those things sometimes.
In and out of walls, through floors.
I was really ****ed off and cursing up a storm about not finding the
proper pipe when my 5 year old points and says 'you mean that pipe
right there?'
It was the right pipe. My 5 year old is smarter than me. Now that
everything is located it should be a quick job to cut and cap.

In article .com,
coustanis wrote:
In my boiler fed, household hot water radiator system, is there a way
I can determine the direction of circulation?
I need to cut, cap and isolate a room to find a leak.

Thanks.


In the winter when the heat is running you "may" be able to detect a
difference in temperature between the supply and return pipes at a
radiator. The best way would be to visually inspect the piping and trace
back to the circulator pump. BTW, there will be pressure on both lines, I'm
not understanding what you are trying to do to find the leak. How
will capping of a line help?



--
There are no stupid questions, but there are lots of stupid answers.

Larry Wasserman - Baltimore Maryland - lwasserm(a)sdf. lonestar. org

"coustanis" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Jun 13, 1:50 pm, Jeff Wisnia wrote:
coustanis wrote:
On Jun 13, 10:14 am, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:

"coustanis" wrote in message

groups.com...

In my boiler fed, household hot water radiator system, is there a way
I can determine the direction of circulation?
I need to cut, cap and isolate a room to find a leak.

Thanks.

Look at the pipes/tubing leaving the boiler. There are probably a
couple of
valves in the system that will have an arrow on them showing flow.
Then
just follow the pipes.

I don't mean this to be nasty, but if you don't know how to find the
flow
direction, are you qualified to cut into the system?

Probably not but I can drain the system, I'm good at sweating copper
and I'm fairly well mechanically inclined.
It'll be a learning experience and money is tight. I need to learn
not to be afraid of the system anyway for future problems.
I have already located the two pipes I want to cut and now that you
mention it, I believe the air purge valve has a direction arrow
cast onto it.
I feel fairly confident (famous last words).
The plan is to install a snifter valve and pump the suspect loop with
about 10 pounds of air.

Hey, thanks for teaching me a new term, "snifter valve". The one time I
needed something like that I carved the brass part out of a tire rim
valve and sweated it into a hole drilled through a brass pipe plug. G

Good luck with your project, it sounds like you'll be able to handle it,
and I don't see any major dangers to life and limb from what you plan on
doing.

"You can only succeed as far as you dare to fail."

Jeff


I just learned the term yesterday when I was explaining to the guy at
the plumbing supply place what I wanted to do. The valve cost 1.49,
and is threaded.
That, the other three caps and a sweat-on-able(?) fitting for the
valve to thread into cost all of 6 dollars.
Cheaper than a plumber.
Thanks for the good luck wish. I started last night and found that I
had marked a wrong pipe. It's hard to trace those things sometimes.
In and out of walls, through floors.
I was really ****ed off and cursing up a storm about not finding the
proper pipe when my 5 year old points and says 'you mean that pipe
right there?'
It was the right pipe. My 5 year old is smarter than me. Now that
everything is located it should be a quick job to cut and cap.



It is unclear to me from this thread whether you realize that you must
isolate both the feed and return lines to isolate a part of the system.
Otherwise your pressure will still pressurize the entire system. Your
reference to "a pipe" rather than "those two pipes" made me wonder.

Don Young

On Jun 13, 10:35 pm, "Don Young" wrote:
"coustanis" wrote in message

oups.com...

On Jun 13, 1:50 pm, Jeff Wisnia wrote:
coustanis wrote:
On Jun 13, 10:14 am, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:

"coustanis" wrote in message

groups.com...

In my boiler fed, household hot water radiator system, is there a way
I can determine the direction of circulation?
I need to cut, cap and isolate a room to find a leak.

Thanks.

Look at the pipes/tubing leaving the boiler. There are probably a
couple of
valves in the system that will have an arrow on them showing flow.
Then
just follow the pipes.

I don't mean this to be nasty, but if you don't know how to find the
flow
direction, are you qualified to cut into the system?

Probably not but I can drain the system, I'm good at sweating copper
and I'm fairly well mechanically inclined.
It'll be a learning experience and money is tight. I need to learn
not to be afraid of the system anyway for future problems.
I have already located the two pipes I want to cut and now that you
mention it, I believe the air purge valve has a direction arrow
cast onto it.
I feel fairly confident (famous last words).
The plan is to install a snifter valve and pump the suspect loop with
about 10 pounds of air.

Hey, thanks for teaching me a new term, "snifter valve". The one time I
needed something like that I carved the brass part out of a tire rim
valve and sweated it into a hole drilled through a brass pipe plug. G

Good luck with your project, it sounds like you'll be able to handle it,
and I don't see any major dangers to life and limb from what you plan on
doing.

"You can only succeed as far as you dare to fail."

Jeff

I just learned the term yesterday when I was explaining to the guy at
the plumbing supply place what I wanted to do. The valve cost 1.49,
and is threaded.
That, the other three caps and a sweat-on-able(?) fitting for the
valve to thread into cost all of 6 dollars.
Cheaper than a plumber.
Thanks for the good luck wish. I started last night and found that I
had marked a wrong pipe. It's hard to trace those things sometimes.
In and out of walls, through floors.
I was really ****ed off and cursing up a storm about not finding the
proper pipe when my 5 year old points and says 'you mean that pipe
right there?'
It was the right pipe. My 5 year old is smarter than me. Now that
everything is located it should be a quick job to cut and cap.

It is unclear to me from this thread whether you realize that you must
isolate both the feed and return lines to isolate a part of the system.
Otherwise your pressure will still pressurize the entire system. Your
reference to "a pipe" rather than "those two pipes" made me wonder.

Don Young

I cut the pipe as close to where it enters the suspect room as I could
and capped both open ends.
Then I cut the pipe again as close as I could to where it exits the
suspect room and capped only the exposed end that returns to the
furnace.
I then installed a special cap that I made with the snifter valve in
the last exposed end (the one that is exiting the suspect room).
I then refilled / repressured the now sealed furnace loop with water
to 12 psi and verified no leaks.
I then used my air compressor to pressurise the now sealed loop to the
suspect room (via the snifter valve) to about 15 psi.
Now I can see if the boiler pressure holds (it did overnight) and I
can see if the air pressure in the suspect room holds.
I haven't rechecked that yet but I strongly feel that it won't. I
have thought all along that the leak is where the pipe is laid in the
concrete pad of the suspect room.
If the air pressure zeros out then I was right. If it holds then I
was wrong and the boiler pressure would drop.
There is definately a leak somewhere.
Just trying to pinpoint it's location.

"coustanis" wrote in message
I haven't rechecked that yet but I strongly feel that it won't. I
have thought all along that the leak is where the pipe is laid in the
concrete pad of the suspect room.
If the air pressure zeros out then I was right. If it holds then I
was wrong and the boiler pressure would drop.
There is definately a leak somewhere.
Just trying to pinpoint it's location.


What makes you think there is a leak? Do you see water?

Copper in concrete over many years can corrode and leak. Some older homes
with copper radiant heat had problems and the solution was to change over to
baseboard rather than tear up the slab.

On Jun 13, 9:18 am, coustanis wrote:
In my boiler fed, household hot water radiator system, is there a way
I can determine the direction of circulation?
I need to cut, cap and isolate a room to find a leak.

Thanks.

Any reason you can't just turn down the thermostates until the system
goes cold (or at least cool), then turn up a thermostat so the system
comes on and feel which pipe gets hotter before the other.

It's rather low tech but that's the way it's been done for
generations.

On Jun 14, 9:37 am, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
"coustanis" wrote in message
I haven't rechecked that yet but I strongly feel that it won't. I
have thought all along that the leak is where the pipe is laid in the
concrete pad of the suspect room.
If the air pressure zeros out then I was right. If it holds then I
was wrong and the boiler pressure would drop.
There is definately a leak somewhere.
Just trying to pinpoint it's location.

What makes you think there is a leak? Do you see water?

Copper in concrete over many years can corrode and leak. Some older homes
with copper radiant heat had problems and the solution was to change over to
baseboard rather than tear up the slab.

It is baseboard.

The reason I think there's a leak is because the boiler pressure drops
to almost zero every couple of days and I can hear the water gurgling
and flowing in the pipes as if the level was low.
It didn't used to do either of those things and it suddenly started to
do so one day.
I see no water. That's why I have thought all along it's in the
concrete pad. Knowing that pipe in concrete will corrode combined
with the fact that except for the concrete pad, the piping in the
house is largely exposed visually. Where it's not visually exposed
it's in walls and such. I see no water anywhere. No puddles on the
floor, no wet walls and no water dripping from ceilings. No water to
be seen anywhere. Deductive reasoning (however faulty mine may be)
dictates that it has to be in the pad and I guess it's flowing down
and going somewhere as opposed to coming up onto the floor. I have
been using my plumber as a sounding board and he seems to agree with
my thoughts. I asked him if it could be a steam leak and he said no.
Bless his heart for talking to me instead if insisting that he do it
for a lot of money.

Anyway, the deed is done. I have isolated and pressurized the room in
question so either it will lose pressure or the boiler will. I'll
find out tonight when I get home.
I'll keep you all posted. Isn't home ownership fun?

On Jun 14, 10:21 am, Pat wrote:
On Jun 13, 9:18 am, coustanis wrote:

In my boiler fed, household hot water radiator system, is there a way
I can determine the direction of circulation?
I need to cut, cap and isolate a room to find a leak.

Thanks.

Any reason you can't just turn down the thermostates until the system
goes cold (or at least cool), then turn up a thermostat so the system
comes on and feel which pipe gets hotter before the other.

It's rather low tech but that's the way it's been done for
generations.

I would have done that but once I located the proper pipes to the room
in question, it became obvious.
Plus, the valves all have arrows on them.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

"coustanis" wrote in message

I haven't rechecked that yet but I strongly feel that it won't. I
have thought all along that the leak is where the pipe is laid in the
concrete pad of the suspect room.
If the air pressure zeros out then I was right. If it holds then I
was wrong and the boiler pressure would drop.
There is definately a leak somewhere.
Just trying to pinpoint it's location.



What makes you think there is a leak? Do you see water?

Copper in concrete over many years can corrode and leak. Some older homes
with copper radiant heat had problems and the solution was to change over to
baseboard rather than tear up the slab.



At the risk of asking a really dumb question.....Is something akin to an
automotive cooling system "stop leak" product ever put into a hydronic
heating system to plug a small leak (maybe as just a stopgap "fix")
without screwing up something else in the system?

I thought about that because I know its not uncommon to use an
antifreeze mixture in hydronic heating systems at places like vacation
homes where the temperature may deliberately or accidentally get down to
freezing when the place is unoccupied.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.

On Jun 14, 10:48 am, Jeff Wisnia wrote:
Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"coustanis" wrote in message

I haven't rechecked that yet but I strongly feel that it won't. I
have thought all along that the leak is where the pipe is laid in the
concrete pad of the suspect room.
If the air pressure zeros out then I was right. If it holds then I
was wrong and the boiler pressure would drop.
There is definately a leak somewhere.
Just trying to pinpoint it's location.

What makes you think there is a leak? Do you see water?

Copper in concrete over many years can corrode and leak. Some older homes
with copper radiant heat had problems and the solution was to change over to
baseboard rather than tear up the slab.

At the risk of asking a really dumb question.....Is something akin to an
automotive cooling system "stop leak" product ever put into a hydronic
heating system to plug a small leak (maybe as just a stopgap "fix")
without screwing up something else in the system?

I thought about that because I know its not uncommon to use an
antifreeze mixture in hydronic heating systems at places like vacation
homes where the temperature may deliberately or accidentally get down to
freezing when the place is unoccupied.

I don't know if there is or not but I did think about that. Then I
decided that I should just fix it properly because I don't know how
long something like that would be effective.
I'd end up having to fix it sometime anyway.

In article , Jeff Wisnia wrote:

At the risk of asking a really dumb question.....Is something akin to an
automotive cooling system "stop leak" product ever put into a hydronic
heating system to plug a small leak (maybe as just a stopgap "fix")
without screwing up something else in the system?

No. Stuff like that can prevent valves from seating properly.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Doug Miller wrote:
In article , Jeff Wisnia wrote:


At the risk of asking a really dumb question.....Is something akin to an
automotive cooling system "stop leak" product ever put into a hydronic
heating system to plug a small leak (maybe as just a stopgap "fix")
without screwing up something else in the system?


No. Stuff like that can prevent valves from seating properly.


Y'know I thought about that but then said to myself that I'd never heard
of it causing problems with the valves which control the flow of water
through the heater core in most cars, so maybe that "stop leak" stuff
only "clogs" small holes between the fluid side and the "outside".

But, I'll take your woid for it...G

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.

"coustanis" wrote in message

The reason I think there's a leak is because the boiler pressure drops
to almost zero every couple of days and I can hear the water gurgling
and flowing in the pipes as if the level was low.
It didn't used to do either of those things and it suddenly started to
do so one day.
I see no water. That's why I have thought all along it's in the
concrete pad. Knowing that pipe in concrete will corrode combined
with the fact that except for the concrete pad, the piping in the
house is largely exposed visually. Where it's not visually exposed
it's in walls and such. I see no water anywhere. No puddles on the
floor, no wet walls and no water dripping from ceilings. No water to
be seen anywhere. Deductive reasoning (however faulty mine may be)
dictates that it has to be in the pad and I guess it's flowing down
and going somewhere as opposed to coming up onto the floor. I have
been using my plumber as a sounding board and he seems to agree with
my thoughts. I asked him if it could be a steam leak and he said no.
Bless his heart for talking to me instead if insisting that he do it
for a lot of money.


If you don't find a leak, get back to us. There are other reasons you can
hear the gurgling sounds, such as faulty expansion tanks, etc. There was a
lengthy thread on this just last week. BTW, do you keep the feed valve open
to the system? If no, did you before you had the problem?

Jeff Wisnia writes:


No. Stuff like that can prevent valves from seating properly.

Y'know I thought about that but then said to myself that I'd never heard
of it causing problems with the valves which control the flow of water
through the heater core in most cars, so maybe that "stop leak" stuff
only "clogs" small holes between the fluid side and the "outside".

Yeah, the "stop leak" stuff is a bunch of small particles that are
supposed to clog and block any small holes to the outside world.
There's no worry about blocking the thermostat because that's a *big*
opening when it's open. Nor do you care about the thermostat not quite
closing properly because it has a deliberate bypass passage so there's
always some coolant flowing anyway.

On the other hand, solenoid valves sometimes have very small pilot
valves (that switch water pressure that then opens the main valve). You
wouldn't want to block that or the valve might not open. Nor would you
want the main valve to leak when it's supposed to be off, since that
might mean heat in a room that is already warm enough.

Dave

On Jun 14, 1:57 pm, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
"coustanis" wrote in message

The reason I think there's a leak is because the boiler pressure drops
to almost zero every couple of days and I can hear the water gurgling
and flowing in the pipes as if the level was low.
It didn't used to do either of those things and it suddenly started to
do so one day.
I see no water. That's why I have thought all along it's in the
concrete pad. Knowing that pipe in concrete will corrode combined
with the fact that except for the concrete pad, the piping in the
house is largely exposed visually. Where it's not visually exposed
it's in walls and such. I see no water anywhere. No puddles on the
floor, no wet walls and no water dripping from ceilings. No water to
be seen anywhere. Deductive reasoning (however faulty mine may be)
dictates that it has to be in the pad and I guess it's flowing down
and going somewhere as opposed to coming up onto the floor. I have
been using my plumber as a sounding board and he seems to agree with
my thoughts. I asked him if it could be a steam leak and he said no.
Bless his heart for talking to me instead if insisting that he do it
for a lot of money.

If you don't find a leak, get back to us. There are other reasons you can
hear the gurgling sounds, such as faulty expansion tanks, etc. There was a
lengthy thread on this just last week. BTW, do you keep the feed valve open
to the system? If no, did you before you had the problem?

The expansion tank is brand new. I keep the feed valve closed and
have always done so. I will get back to you.
I need to let another day or two go by to allow the pressure to drop
if it's going to.

"coustanis" wrote in message
The expansion tank is brand new. I keep the feed valve closed and
have always done so. I will get back to you.
I need to let another day or two go by to allow the pressure to drop
if it's going to.


Read this posted by hvacmedic a few days ago. It is part of a thread from
your original ost.


If the expansion valve is correctly sized, and correctly charged with
air, then the system will never drop into a vacuum, and thus never
suck in air. Under and overpressurization is the very purpose of the
expansion tank. If yours doesn't work, then the solution is to fix it,
not to shut off the make-up valve. Shutting off the valve will
introduce problems of its own. As air bleeds off through the airtrol
valves (or equivalent) then the valve must be open in order to allow
the pressure in the system to be maintained at the regulator setting.
With it closed, all of the air in the expansion tank will begin to
bleed out of the system as it diffuses into the water, where it makes
its way to the airtrol valves. The pressure in the system will
steadily drop until the low side is at or below atmospheric. After
that air will be sucked into the system and subsequently released from
it during each full heating and cooldown cycle. Water will then have
to be added to the system manually, and the air cushion in the
expansion tank reset. Where the water is leaving the system is at the
expansion tank, i.e. when you blow it down to refill it with air.- Hide
quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

In retrospect, I think you said that you only had problems when the
valve was closed. In that case, what I went over above is why you had
problems before, i.e. with the valve closed. The valve is supposed to
be open, so you didn't do anything special to your system, you only
set it back the way it was supposed to be. Pardon the oversight.

On Jun 15, 11:46 am, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
"coustanis" wrote in message
The expansion tank is brand new. I keep the feed valve closed and
have always done so. I will get back to you.
I need to let another day or two go by to allow the pressure to drop
if it's going to.

Read this posted by hvacmedic a few days ago. It is part of a thread from
your original ost.



If the expansion valve is correctly sized, and correctly charged with
air, then the system will never drop into a vacuum, and thus never
suck in air. Under and overpressurization is the very purpose of the
expansion tank. If yours doesn't work, then the solution is to fix it,
not to shut off the make-up valve. Shutting off the valve will
introduce problems of its own. As air bleeds off through the airtrol
valves (or equivalent) then the valve must be open in order to allow
the pressure in the system to be maintained at the regulator setting.
With it closed, all of the air in the expansion tank will begin to
bleed out of the system as it diffuses into the water, where it makes
its way to the airtrol valves. The pressure in the system will
steadily drop until the low side is at or below atmospheric. After
that air will be sucked into the system and subsequently released from
it during each full heating and cooldown cycle. Water will then have
to be added to the system manually, and the air cushion in the
expansion tank reset. Where the water is leaving the system is at the
expansion tank, i.e. when you blow it down to refill it with air.- Hide
quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

In retrospect, I think you said that you only had problems when the
valve was closed. In that case, what I went over above is why you had
problems before, i.e. with the valve closed. The valve is supposed to
be open, so you didn't do anything special to your system, you only
set it back the way it was supposed to be. Pardon the oversight.


Ok. You lost me on all that. Let me read it a few times and think.

"coustanis" wrote in message


The valve is supposed to
be open,

Ok. You lost me on all that. Let me read it a few times and think.



I condensed it for you. It is very possible you do not have a leak. Try
running the heat (if you live in a cool enough place) for a couple of days
and leave the feed water valve open.

On Jun 15, 2:06 pm, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
"coustanis" wrote in message

The valve is supposed to
be open,

Ok. You lost me on all that. Let me read it a few times and think.

I condensed it for you. It is very possible you do not have a leak. Try
running the heat (if you live in a cool enough place) for a couple of days
and leave the feed water valve open.

Can I run the circulator pump with a loop capped off? Other rooms
loops are still intact, so probably. Also, I believe I need to make
sure the expansion tank pressure is about equal to the boiler
pressure. That shouldn't be a problem, I guess. Just release or pump
in air to about 12 pounds.
No one has mentioned this possible scenario to me. Have been getting
told it is a leak.
If I leave the feed valve open and there is a leak, won't it just keep
feeding in water and never allow the pressure to drop.
That is why I was told to keep it closed. I also wouldn't know how
far to open the valve (slider lever thingie). I tried that once a few
weeks ago - opened it just a crack and the pressure was headed merrily
up to the high 20's or low 30's. I shut it back off so the safety
valve wouldn't blow.
I may be getting in over my head at this point but I'd like to keep
trying.
If you keep talking, I'll keep listening.

On Jun 15, 2:06 pm, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
"coustanis" wrote in message

The valve is supposed to
be open,

Ok. You lost me on all that. Let me read it a few times and think.

I condensed it for you. It is very possible you do not have a leak. Try
running the heat (if you live in a cool enough place) for a couple of days
and leave the feed water valve open.

So you're telling me that air air in the expansion tank will diffuse
into the water? I thought it was contained in a rubber bladder.
I couldn't measure the amount of water I had to add every few days but
I would estimate around a quart or so. Maybe more. Hard to tell.
Not only do I feel like I've been barking up the wrong tree but I'm in
the wrong damn forest.

"coustanis" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Jun 15, 2:06 pm, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
"coustanis" wrote in message

The valve is supposed to
be open,

Ok. You lost me on all that. Let me read it a few times and think.

I condensed it for you. It is very possible you do not have a leak. Try
running the heat (if you live in a cool enough place) for a couple of
days
and leave the feed water valve open.

So you're telling me that air air in the expansion tank will diffuse
into the water? I thought it was contained in a rubber bladder.
I couldn't measure the amount of water I had to add every few days but
I would estimate around a quart or so. Maybe more. Hard to tell.
Not only do I feel like I've been barking up the wrong tree but I'm in
the wrong damn forest.


I do know that if I run the system with the feed closed, I do get some air
in the system. I had a leak in the packing of hte feed valve and kept it
closed and after time, air was gurgling. Replaced valve, left it open, a
day or so later, noise was gone.