I have a 2001 Weil-McLain CGi gas boiler. It was serviced 2 years ago because the radiators all went cold.. no heat at all.
When the service tech went to fill the boiler the cold water pipe that leads to the auto-fill (bell shaped housing) was completly clogged with rust and black junk... so the tech ran a hose and filled it through the drain tube instead... The pipe was not repaired and now 2 of the upstairs bedrooms in my home have no heat... So I bleed the radiators and quite a bit of air came out but never got water out. The psi guage reads a whopping 2 when boiler is hot or cold. So... I went back upstairs and tryed to bleed more air out of radiators but instead the darn radiators started to suck air IN.. How do I add water to the radiators and will that bring up the psi to 12 or whatever it should be? Can I add water to the individual radiators that are cold? Heaven help us.. I can't afford to have a service tech come out right now...

 

The quickest & easiest way to add water would be the same way the service tech did the last time.

Run a garden hose from a convenient faucet to the drain at the bottom of the boiler & make the connection with a short length of clothes washer hose (one that has a female compression connection on each side).

Run some water from the hose into a bucket to remove the air, then make your connection to the boiler & open the drain & slowly bring the boiler up to 15 psi & close the boiler drain.

You will have to bleed the radiators of any additional air; if there's nothing else wrong with the system, it should work.

A service tech should be called as soon as possible to correct the problem with the clogged pressure reducing valve; there is an entry point at the bottom of the valve that contains a small screen, designed to catch the crud in the water supply; the water supply should be shut off & the screen completely cleaned.

 

Thank you Jack... I sure hope this works... the upstairs is freezing cold....I will get right on this... turning the thermostat all the way down should be all I have to do to keep the boiler from switch on while adding the water correct? Will the psi go up right away while I add the water?
Should I bleed the radiators before turning the boiler on again? Or do I bleed them while it is running?
Just curious but is it possible to add water to the radiator? I know it would take forever through that tiny hole... but it sucks air in why not water? It may seem like a silly question but would it work?

 

It's best to shut off the electric safety switch at the boiler rather than simply turn down the T-stat; it follows that the procedure should be done with the boiler off.

It's possible to add water to the upper floor radiators; it will take longer, probably messier, & you may not get in enough water if the radiator fills up quickly.

If you want to try it this way, remove the entire bleed valve with a wrench or pliers & jamb a 3/8" piece of plastic hose (Home Depot/Lowe's) in the hole & attach a small funnel so it will be easier to add the water.

Remove the funnel & re-install the bleed valve when done.

The psi needle on the boiler gauge should register the rise right away; you should have 15 psi to 18 psi when you're done if you have a 2-story house to make sure the system water can get up to the 2nd floor radiators.

 

Thank you so very much Jack... You have no idea how much I appreciate all your help with this...
Radiators are now nice and toasty :-) ... One problem that did accure however is the Temp.&PSI
gauge has water inside it under the glass... There is about a quarter inch of water in the bottom of the gauge... It is hard to read because of the condensation now in the gauge... but I am able to see that the Temp. needle rises to 175ish when hot... and the PSI needle sits at 15 with very minumal fluctuation while running or off... what did I do that made the water go into this gauge??
Will the gauge continue to work? Thanks again for sharing your desperately needed knowledge and time...

 

The main problem is that the boiler's slowly losing water, probably because of a leak somewhere.

This is why I advised having the pressure reducing valve changed as soon as possible; the reducing valve acts as a safety device that will automatically add water to prevent problems.

What may have happened is that the boiler fired when the water level was very low & some steam was produced which compromised the seal in the gauge or elsewhere.

The boiler needs immediate attention; check for any leaking water from anywhere around or under the boiler; if the gauge continues to leak, it will have to be replaced (low cost item);.

There may also be a leak somewhere in the piping distribution system (inside a wall, for example); see if you can detect any moisture coming from this source.

If there IS a slow leak, the boiler will continue to loose water & serious damage will result if it fires on low water or without any water in it.

Get a service tech in there; explain your situation & see if he/she will accept partial payment & time installments.

Sometimes local community service agencies have financial help available for such an emergency.