Hi there!
I just bought a house that seems to have an issue with one of the zone valves being stuck open. There are 5 zones, plus the hot water zone (so 6). The even with the thermostat off and/or removed from the wall, the heat keeps coming. I had someone out to look at it, he disconnected the wires from the controller and we still had the problem. Pretty much anytime the furnace (boiler?) runs, we get heat in that zone...sometimes making the room 80+ degrees.

The guy said, he thought the hot water was "leaking through" the valve...it's on the return, which he thought was odd, it should be on the supply.

Part of my question is...now that we're coming out of home heating season, can I just turn off the supply and return valves manually without harming the system....I know it's pressurized and don't want to further mess it up. The boiler is going to keep running to produce hot water...but we don't really want heat in May, June, Etc.

Thanks!

 

Was this 'someone' a qualified person? How so?

I want to give a wizeazz answer here... but will refrain. I mean, of COURSE it's leaking through if it should be closed and you are still getting heat!

Zone valves can be on either the supply OR the return, they will work fine at either location.

What is the make and model of the zone valves?

Can you take photographs? WELL LIGHTED, IN FOCUS and LARGE ENOUGH to see details. Set up a FREE account at Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket and upload the pics there, come back here and post a link to your PUBLIC album for us to view.

 

My upstairs zone has the same issue. I am unsure on what to replace, the pump or the valve.

Sorry for the rookie question...this is my first experience with boiler heat.

 

Hi Jimmy, we've all gotta start somewhere, no need to apologize!

Tell us a little bit more... it sounds as if you know that your system has electric zone valves, is that correct? The pump won't be the culprit... if you've got one pump and electric zone valves.

Do you maybe have a pump for each zone? Some systems do...

Perhaps take some well lighted, in focus pictures? If you can, you need to upload them to a photo hosting site like Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket and post a link to your PUBLIC album here. We'll have a better idea how to help if we can see the system.

 

I snapped a few pics. Here's the link to the PB album:

Boiler pics pictures by jimveillette - Photobucket

I have a pump for each zone.

 

What's with all the garden hoses hanging off the drains?

All those greenish/whitish crusty deposits are caused by leaks. Those should be attended to.

With individual pumps such as you have, each zone also needs to have a 'flow check' valve. These flow check valves prevent other zones from getting flow when a different zone is pumping, and also to prevent what is known as 'gravity flow' or 'ghost flow' or 'thermo-siphon'.

Gravity flow can occur because hot water is more buoyant than cold water and will 'float' up out of the boiler and actually induce a flow in the zone.

If you have them, one could be stuck open. NOT a zone valve, you don't have any...

I am not sure if there are any flow check valves... don't think I see any in the pictures.

What is the full model of each of the pumps? They sometimes have check valves built into them.

 

I have no idea what the green hose is for, it was there when we bought the house. The other hose is where I tried to bleed the air out of the system...I just left it connected and draped it up and out of the way.

I know the leaks need to be fixed, but what I really want to do is re do the entire system in an organized manner. I hate seeing that mess back there, I'm too OCD to have that.

I'd like to replace the thing in pic #4 because it is leaking, but I don't know what it is.

 

I believe that's a 'float type automatic air vent'. To temporarily stop the leak until you can replace it, simply screw the cap on top down tight.

You can probably pick up a replacement at HD or Lowes... look for 'Maid-O-Mist' #67 ... there are other brands, but this is the one I usually see at the hardware and home stores.

In that same pic, what is the thing further back on the pipe with the red tag on it?

 

Thanks for the tip on the float type air vent, I tightened the top of it. I'll look into getting a new one.

The thing with the red tag is a flo-rite.

 

Well, after much deliberation on what to do with my heating system, I have made the decision to tear into this and route the pipes in a manner that is more organized with labels and such. I am hoping for something like this after it's all said and done:



I can turn wrenches and solder...I am not afraid to learn and prefer to do stuff on my own partially because I'm too proud(read poor) to have someone else do it. My issue is how do I start?

 

How about several years apprenticeship installing and troubleshooting hydronic heating systems?

Seriously, what you really need to have, first and foremost, is a solid understanding of the basics of hydronic heating before you can tackle a job like that. One of the "tools" you might consider obtaining at the outset is a good book on hydronic heating fundamentals. And don't think it's going to be done totally on the cheap even if you do all the labor yourself. Which is why you might as well invest in a good reference manual now.

Is it your ambition to install a whole new heating and hot water system? If not, then you should seriously consider it - because, by the time everything is said and done, it'll probably be easier to do that than to re-pipe the system keeping your existing boiler. Not to mention all the other benefits a new system would bring. IMO, you might as well go for whole enchilada. But one step at a time. First learn the basics.