My hot water boiler is running around 22 psi, 110 F. Basement pipes are hot. Overheat expansion tank is cool. 10 radiators on the system, two of which are on the second floor. Came home this evening and saw blackish water on the floor near fifth radiator in the system on first floor. Noticed second floor was air locked. Tried to burp, but didn't get anywhere. Finally had the sense to start at radiator no. 1. After two and a half hours, no heat past radiator 5, and even that one I never got to bleed. Have been repeating back and forth between 2, 3, and 4, sequentially. No. 1 always has water. What gives? I can hear the water in the pipes. Should I continue on with this process? I can tell you I did not do a good pre-season bleed as I was ill, and then it slipped my mind until the current situation. Btw, as I've been bleeding, thermostat has been progressing upwards. Appreciate any thoughts. Thanks!
sounds like your pump went bad that the only part that pumps hot water check it..,.....
kate?..I wish I had a good woman to work on my boiler system. don't add any more pressure to your exp. tank. and don't bleed it either. look at it this way...plain and simple. if you take a garden hose stretched out in your yard and poke a hundred holes in it, the water coming out at the faucet will be a lot greater than the water at the end. its a follow path of least resistance thing. your system needs only to be bleed properly and your problem is solved. plain and simple.
What do you mean by didn't get anywhere? Did the bleeder open or not? What came out? You should not speculate about any components until the air is bled out. With that small a quantity of radiators, it doesn't matter which order you bleed them, but you must have working bleeds on all of them. In commercial buildings they always bleed the top floors first to get the risers filled, and then work their way down. When they get to the bottom they reverse their direction and work their way back to the top. This is the fastest and most effective method. You have the typical symptoms of a defective pressure gauge and a low system pressure. If your pressure is 22 psi you would have large amounts of air or water blowing out of the second floor bleeds. In a two story building this is the case even if the circulator pump is off, because 22 psi x 2.31psi/ft. = 50.82' of static head. You would still want the pump running when you bleed the system to keep the circulation of the water entrained air. Once you are sure all the air is bled out, then you can look for other problems if need be.
Sounds like you lost PSI in the system. Unless you have an auto water feeder, you have to add water to the system as your letting out the air. I am puzzled when you say there is water on the floor by a radiator. Is there a auto vent on it? Also your expansion tank, Is it the older style, long and round, holds about 15 gal of water? or the newer style Ex troll tank? If you have the old style expansion tank, it maybe water logged and needs draining. You will know if you add water and the PSI comes up fast. Start by filling the system to 25 LBS go to the first radiator in the system and bleed out the air, with the heat off. Go back to the boiler and check the PSI. Add if necessary. Go to the second and do the same. repeat PSI check after bleeding each radiator. Do the same on the second floor, one radiator at a time. Be sure to maintain the PSI. After you can turn on the heat and everything should work. If the expansion tank needs draining, you need to turn off the heat, close the valve going to the tank, and drain water out of the drain valve at the other end of the tank. Drain until empty, close drain valve and then open back up the valve to the tank. Keep an eye on the PSI. Most two story systems run 15- 20 LPS. Good Luck!! After reading your update, it seems the expansion tank needs draining. You drain it when it gets waterlogged. The temp has no bearing. Drain the tank, fill the system and follow the instructions on how to bleed the radiator's. Im quite sure that will solve your problem.
