How do you bleed a baseboard system?


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Old 10-12-09, 07:41 AM
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How do you bleed a baseboard system?

Hi,

I am a new homeowner and have never had baseboard heating. I just turned up the thermostat and only the 1st floor got warm.

Oddly, I have thermostats on both floors, but only the first seems to make a difference. Is it possible with only one boiler to have two different zones and something is wrong with the 2nd floor zone?

Do I need to bleed the 2nd floor? I've only done this with radiators, so I don't know where to start.

Thanks!
 
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Old 10-12-09, 07:54 AM
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Originally Posted by marilights
Hi,

I am a new homeowner and have never had baseboard heating. I just turned up the thermostat and only the 1st floor got warm.

Oddly, I have thermostats on both floors, but only the first seems to make a difference. Is it possible with only one boiler to have two different zones and something is wrong with the 2nd floor zone?

Do I need to bleed the 2nd floor? I've only done this with radiators, so I don't know where to start.

Thanks!
I think that we need a little more information here.

First off, how old is the home?

Second off - how old in the boiler?

Bleeding the lines - probably won't do anything - if the system has already been installed and was installed properly.

All bleeding the lines would do is take the air out of the system, not physically make the water go someplace.

In most systems, which the key here is that you already said that you have two thermostats is that you probably have zone valves.

Do a internet search for the zone valves attached to the pipes on your boiler - read the tags on the sides of the zone valves and you will get a wiring diagram from the manufacturer.

Then you will need a volt's meter and some knowledge of electricity and reading schematic's.

Usually there is some terminals that you can short to see if the zone valve is working and if the boiler responds to the thermostat or not.

Moving on from there, you can check the continuity of the circuit going to the thermostat in the upper rooms of the house and by the process of elimination - check all electrical devices until you figure out what is wrong.

Thermostats do go bad, along with improperly wired thermostats or a thermostat that is not level.

Along those lines, I have seen examples where the home builder put a nail through one of the wires going from the thermostat to the boiler and a few years down the road, the wire lost contact and the thermostat lost it's circuit.

The same is true with telephones.

Your best bet is to call a professional HVAC repairman and have them diagnose the problem and find the best solution.
 
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Old 10-12-09, 08:02 AM
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bleeding is same principle, regardless of radiator type:
you let air escape from the highest points of the system, and there should be installed bleeder valves at each high point.
Get a wrench that fits your bleeder: specail type, at boiler supply store,probably, a small square less than 1/4 inch. open the bleeder valves,and you will hear air come out until you see water(which you will catch with the rag you have handy) then onward to next bleeder valve.

whether that will fix the problem is unknown.

you may well need to trouble shot as above poster describes.

for there to be no heat due to air block,, you should be able to release a lot of air.
 
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Old 10-12-09, 08:46 AM
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Thanks

As I and my fiance are not the real handy types, we called an HVAC specialist.

He seemed to think one of our zone valves was broken. In addition, we want programmable thermostats & he'll do that too.

Thanks for your replies.
 
 

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