sloshing/gurgling in pipes?
#1
02-05-09, 03:15 PM
sloshing/gurgling in pipes?
i have a forced hot-water heating system fed by 15 year old gas fired boiler. i assume the noise i hear being emitted from the pipes when the circulator pump is running is air trapped in the system. unfortunately, there are no bleed valves at any of the baseboards in my system. boiler pressure is about 12psi/ 180 deg. any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
#2
02-05-09, 03:37 PM
Is the noise "gurgling" or just a rasping or squealing noise. If the latter, maybe it's just flow noise - no cure except to reduce the flow velocity.
Otherwise, you must bleed the system of air. Many people insist that they have no bleeders, but I sometimes wonder if it's a matter of not knowing exactly what to look for? When the system was initially installed, and probably several times since during the last 15 years, the system must have been bled of air!
Has the system recently been opened for repair or maintenance? Has the pump been replaced?
Doug
Otherwise, you must bleed the system of air. Many people insist that they have no bleeders, but I sometimes wonder if it's a matter of not knowing exactly what to look for? When the system was initially installed, and probably several times since during the last 15 years, the system must have been bled of air!
Has the system recently been opened for repair or maintenance? Has the pump been replaced?
Doug
#3
02-05-09, 04:05 PM
thanx 4 the reply, doug. the noise is rather loud and i really don't remember it being quite so noticeable in the past. the system has not been opened since i've owned the house(5 yrs). u raise a good point about bleeding the system during installation and such. i've looked at the inlet and outlet of all the baseboard radiators for the system and cannot see any bleed valves. i would think u need 2 bleed at the highest point---is there somewhere else i should look?
#4
02-05-09, 04:59 PM
Member
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Manch-vegas, New Hampshire
Posts: 1,985
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes
on
0 Posts
Depending on the type of system you have, you may have purge valves located on the return piping used to purge the entire zone, versus one baseboard at a time.
#5
02-05-09, 05:08 PM
MX, got a digi camera? take a bunch of pics, set up a free account at Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket and upload the pics there, drop a link to your album here for us to see what ya got.
If you've only got 12 PSI at 180°, you don't have enough pressure in the system and that's why you've got the gurgling going on... ASSuming your gauge is correct! (I hate gauges!)
How many floors are you heating? or more specifically, what is the HEIGHT of the heating system from the bottom of the boiler to the top of the highest radiator/baseboard?
Bleeding will do you no good if you don't have enough pressure in the system.
The bleeders on baseboard runs should be at the 'downstream' ends of the baseboards, where ever the pipes turn to go DOWN again... they may also be placed at obvious high spots.
The bleeders at the ends of the runs are generally best bled with the circulator RUNNING, and the ones at the high spots when the circulator is NOT running.
If you've only got 12 PSI at 180°, you don't have enough pressure in the system and that's why you've got the gurgling going on... ASSuming your gauge is correct! (I hate gauges!)
How many floors are you heating? or more specifically, what is the HEIGHT of the heating system from the bottom of the boiler to the top of the highest radiator/baseboard?
Bleeding will do you no good if you don't have enough pressure in the system.
The bleeders on baseboard runs should be at the 'downstream' ends of the baseboards, where ever the pipes turn to go DOWN again... they may also be placed at obvious high spots.
The bleeders at the ends of the runs are generally best bled with the circulator RUNNING, and the ones at the high spots when the circulator is NOT running.
