Whenever my heater is called for heat the thing goes "boom-boom-boom" starting at the boiler and transmitting the noise to some of the baseboards. The boiler gauge goes crazy during each boom. It shoots from about 12 to about 22 psi. After about 12-15 "booms" the system is quiet again except for the pleasant little ticks and pops you hear in the pipes. All the baseboards are getting plenty of heat. If it's an air problem, the baseboards have no bleed screws. The overflow pipe leaks about half a teaspoon per day.

I attached links to a couple of pictures of the system... I'm not sure how to attach photos so I just pasted in the links.

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m213/cassellgrafx/Furnacediagram1.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m213/cassellgrafx/Furnacediagram1b.jpg

Thanks.

 

You probably have sediment in the bottom of the boiler. Try closing valves 3 & 9 in the first picture, hook a hose to valve 7 & drain a few gallons. I would drain until the water ran clean. If the sediments are baked on, there might be some kind of chemical treatment available to help remove them.

 

Thanks for the reply Grady. I do remember a heating guy telling me my pressure was too low (10-12 p.s.i.) a few years back when the upstairs wasn't getting as warm as it could and the banging noise was happening. Well, tonight I found a piece of paper with his notes that said "keep pressure 18-20 p.s.i. / temp 180-200". I was running around 10 p.s.i. so I attached a garden hose to the valve #7 in the picture and added water to the boiler and got the pressure to about 18 p.s.i. I didn't expect it but this stopped the banging immediately. The pressure stopped spiking. As far as the sediment goes, I'll wait for a warmer day and drain the crud out of the boiler. Thanks again!

 

Dont the boiler have an auto fill on it????
Most boiler run at 160o on 180o off
18 psi should get you up to the 2nd floor???

 

Ed,

12# should do a two-story structure. I'm beginning to think that higher than standard pressure is often used to quiet noisy systems that are not well-configured (e.g., not pumping away from the expansion tank; have zone valves in non-standard locations, etc.). So could be the heating guy in this case figured that out and at least left a note.

Technically, it's no big deal to run at higher pressure, until you get to the point where you start pushing the 30# pressure relief valve, which obviously you don't want to do.

The autofill should be able to be adjusted to autofill to 18#. Grady has a good simple set of instructions around here somewhere.

Will agree that 180-200 is a bit high. I would adjust to 160-180 or maybe 170-190 and see how the house heats.

 

To set the reducing valve for the pressure you want, follow these steps:
1. Drop the pressure in the system to aprox. 12# by draining some water.
2. Refering to photo #1: The reducing (feed) valve is labeled as "2". Loosen the locknut (1/2") at the base of the screw in the top of the reducing valve.
3. Back off the screw 2 full turns.
4. Refering to photo #1:
There appears to be a valve in pipe "1" which is closed. If that valve is closed & upstream of the reducing valve, it should be opened.
5. If you hear water flowing, observe the pressure gauge to see where it stops (could take 5 minutes). NOTE: If the pressure gauge rises to beyond 18#, turn off valve. (Reducing valve needs to be replaced.)
6. Turn screw on reducing valve in (clockwise) 1/2 turn at a time until pressure reaches desired level. Allow water to stop flowing between adjustments.
7. Once desired pressure is reached, tighten lock nut on reducing valve screw.

 

OK. The reducing valve does absolutley nothing when the screw is turned up or down to get the set pressure. No water noise, no changes on the gauge. Could this reducing valve need replacement if there's no response? This was attempted while everything was cool. The heat's been off most of the day as it was fairly warm outside. I also noticed a little bulge sweatted into the pipe about an inch downstream from the reducer valve with a square nut on top of it. Is that another kind of valve? Yes the valve on pipe "1" is the water supply valve from the house's cold water supply and is always on. Well, thanks everyone for your valuable time. I'll keep poking around with this thing.

 

The valve to which I was refering & looks like it is closed is the green handled ball valve behind & above the one for the water heater. That bulge with a nut on top is likely a check valve & could be the cause of not feeding water. Turn the screw all the way in & see what happens. If nothing, rap that bulge firmly with a hammer. If it is a check valve it could be stuck. When you turn the screw all the way in, be prepared to quickly back it off or turn off the water.

 

Oh, yes the pipe is laying horizontal so it is open. Down is off. I sweatted these new ball valves in when I installed the water heater this fall. The old gate valves were dripping. Here's a close up...

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m213/cassellgrafx/Furnace4.jpg

OK, I turned the screw all the way down on the reducer valve and one wrap of the hammer on the chack valve did the trick! I could hear the water rushing in. I pulled that nice new ball valve shut and then drained the boiler down to about 15 p.s.i. I then set the screw mid point and turned the water back on. I turned the screw about 3/4 turn up until I heard the water stop and set the nut. Is that check valve somethng I can service to prevent further malfunctions? Like remove the nut and clean it out? Grady, thanks for the help you're a great moderator! Thanks for viewing all of my photos!

 

You deserve the credit for such good photos & labeling of them. You can't imagine how much easier they make things when trying to describe how to do what & where.
It is truly my pleasure to read that I've been of some help.
In order to service that check valve, you would have to drop the boiler pressure to zero. It is not something I would mess with unless I had to.

 

how can we view the pics?

 

Welcome to the DoItYourself.com forums refer guy

You'll have to copy and paste to view the pics

 

need a drip leg on those two gas line drops