boiler ping


  #1  
Old 01-19-05, 01:47 PM
Junek
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boiler ping

The boiler in my 2 zone baseboard hot water heating system is making pinging noises when it fires up. It didn't do this last year. There are no gurgling or water noises in the pipes. I have bled the baseboard radiators repeatedly, and am not getting any air out of them.

I do not have an air separator installed. I do have a diaphragm tank. The system has been installed for at least 10 years.

I replaced/added gaskets to one of the Taco circulators this year as it had a slow leak at one of the flanges, but the boiler was making these noises before that. I've also had to replace a couple of the bleeder valves. After I refilled the system, I ran it out the drains a bit, but didn't notice any air bubbles in the outflow.

One zone has 2 loops, and I've put an automatic bleeder in one of them. Should I put one in the other loop?

Other than continuing to try to bleed the radiators, is there another way to get the air out of the system?

Thanks.
 
  #2  
Old 02-03-05, 09:49 AM
Junek
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Turns out both zones have two loops. I now have auto bleeder valves in both loops of both zones, and the pinging/popping sounds aren't as bad, but they are still there. I have bled all the valves (the 4 autos and the 6 manuals) a few times now, and haven't gotten any air out of them nor has it made a further improvement in the noise.

The house dates from 1959, we've lived here for 27 years, the gas fired boiler replaced an oil fired one 14 years ago, and this is the first year I've had a problem with boiler noises.

I don't get any running water noises out of the circulation pipes. I have noticed some slight popping noises in the lower zone pipes near the boiler when the water is hot and the circulator is going. Other than that, just the usual pipe expansion noises.

I've read most of the posts on bleeding, and the only other thing I see is to try hooking a hose to the lower zone drain valve and letting it run for 5-10 minutes. I do this with the boiler off, the circulators off and the cold water make up on full?

Any suggestions on other things to try would be appreciated.
 
  #3  
Old 02-05-05, 03:35 PM
shrtct
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do you have flowcheck valves in the lines.
shrtct
 
  #4  
Old 02-05-05, 06:42 PM
Junek
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Yes, one flo-check valve in the feed line for each zone. There is an expansion tank connected to one of the valves.

Is a bad flo-check a possibility?

Early on after the initial installation, we had a bad expansion tank, but the symptoms of that were a build-up of pressure and a release of water from the pressure relief valve. I'm not getting that here. The pressure stays steady at around 20#.

Thanks for the response.

June
 
  #5  
Old 02-05-05, 07:09 PM
shrtct
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you can open up that flow check buy the top acorn screw not remove but internaly when u twist it it will open that flowcheck up and try to move the air that is inside the flowcheck. this is my guess where the noise is coming fro,.
shrtct
 
  #6  
Old 02-05-05, 07:12 PM
Junek
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Thanks. I'll give that a try.

June
 
  #7  
Old 02-09-05, 09:20 AM
Junek
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I tried unscrewing the thumb screw on the top of the 2 flo-check valves. They unscrewed, then popped up a bit. I pushed them up & down a few times and then screwed 'em back in. There wasn't anything noticeable happening while I did this (no rush of air, or drips of water, or anything). Does it matter if I do it when the circulator is running or not?

Thanks,
June
 
  #8  
Old 03-05-05, 06:08 PM
Junek
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I finally found the users manual for my boiler, and it says that I've probably got some lime buildup within the boiler sections, and it needs to be de-limed. So, off to call the installer to have it checked out.
 
 

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