I know I have to bleed the radiators every once in awhile, but how do you do it? I was told once that you have someone in the basement turn the water to the furnace on and off while somone else does the bleeding of the radiators, Is this true? aAnd if so could you explain it? Also, I have an old honeywell thermostat that I want to update to an electric one, Is their anything that I need to check to make sure I'm getting one that will work? Thanx

 

if you have a hot water system you should have an auto feed,if you have castiron radiators there should be a bleeder in the upper part of your radiator , it may be a screw or a key type vent if it is a screw just turn the screw open untill water comes out if you have key vent go to hardware store and tell them you need a key vent for your radiators if you have heat in your radiators and they are not making noise then leave them alone remember DONT FIX IT IF IT ISNT BROKE thermostats are all electric some 24v and some 120v you are probally talking about a digital go to home depot or whatever a tell them what you want it for they should help you good luck

 

Make sure to get a digital thermostat that allows you to adjust the cycles per hour. Most thermostats are set to a default setting of 6 cycles per hour, which is for gas forced air furnaces. You're going to want to set it to either one or three. I have hot water heat, and I have mine set to cycle only once per hour. The manual suggested three for hot water heat and one for steam heat. I've tried both and cycling once per hour seems to work best for our system.

 

"I know I have to bleed the radiators every once in awhile" - False

You really shouldn't need to. If you do, then I'd get the system addressed. Using a modern bladder type tank connected to some form of air elimination device that is piped in front of the circulator, there shouldn't be any air circulating around in your system. What kind of tank do you have?

>>air scoop>>>>>>circulator>>>>
^
bladder tank

Is your system piped like this?

As to how to bleed your system, it depends on how the zones are piped. If it is monoflo, you need to bleed each branch/radiator. A loop design usually has purging hardware located near the boiler. It really depends. If you have an autofeed you shouldn't need anyone in the basement. The best way to find out how to best bleed your system is to have your service contractor show you when they are doing the annual clearing.

For a t-stat, Honeywell makes a wide variety of good thermostats and they are well priced and the company has a good reputation for controls.

When you dispose of your old thermostat, please remember that it should be taken to a recycling centre because it contains mercury. Don't throw it in the trash or hang onto it after you have the digital working properly.

 

OK, I bled some of the radiators until water came out. But for some of them it blew out a bunch of air but no water. I tried again later but instead of blowing out air it sucked air in, and then again later when i tried it blew out air and stopped and again never blew out water. Whats the matter? Thanx

 

If you're getting air & no water when you bleed the radiators your system pressure is probably too low; if you have a single story house the boiler gauge should read at least 12 psi; if a 2-story or 3-story, it should read 15-20 psi.

There is a screw adjustment on the PRESSURE REDUCING VALVE near the boiler that can increase the pressure if it's too low.

Also check for 12 psi on the expansion tank schrader valve (looks like an auto tire valve) with a tire pressure gauge, & match the pressure with a tire pump if you change the setting on the Reducing Valve.

 

Get help quickly - the person who sells you fuel is better than someone random from the yellow pages (unless you have a regular service person).

 

OK, One quick question which way do I turn the screw to add pressure, I'm assuming I would turn it clock-wise, Correct?

 

Most reducing valves have a lock nut on the screw. You will need to loosen the lock nut & turn the screw in (clockwise) to increase the pressure.

 

OK. I fianally got all the air bled out of the system. Now for the thermostat part. I want to update to a digital one, Will any one work or is their something I need to check to make sure it is compatible. Also i'm really dumb when it comes to this, Is their any current running through the themostat wires that I need to be careful of when installing the new one? Thanx

 

First you need to know if your existing thermostat is line voltage (120 volts) or low voltage (24 volts). If you know nothing about electricity, I suggest you get someone else to do it for you. We don't want you to get hurt or see you damage your equipment.
If you can host a picture of your existing thermostat on photobucket, yahoo, or a similar photo hosting web site & provide a link here, maybe we can help you determine what you have.