Banging noise.


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Old 01-20-20, 10:40 PM
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Banging noise.

Hi. I have an oil fired, forced hot water system, and lately been having some loud banging noise. It seems to be coming from the BG flo control valve. It doesn't happen every time there is a call for heat, but it seems to be getting worse lately. My first thought was maybe air in the pipes, but I can't find bleeders anywhere.
There are pics of my system in this old post from when I replaced a circulator pump taco circulator pump
I'm really not sure what to do. I'm worried.
Thanks for reading.
 
  #2  
Old 01-21-20, 04:19 AM
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Best bet is to call a plumber. He can explain what you have and what you need if there is no way to bleed air from the heating system. Have him do the work if it is out of your comfort zone.
 
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Old 01-21-20, 05:31 AM
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How much pressure is on the boiler? If low, increase it via the pressure reducing valve to 12-15#. Sometimes the reducing valves get crud in them & don't operate as they should. You may need to purge air as you did when you replaced the circulator.
 
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Old 01-21-20, 07:40 AM
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I will take a look after work. If it's low, do I need to let it cool down before operating that valve? Turn the system off?
Honestly, I have always wondered if I purged it correctly.
 
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Old 01-21-20, 10:22 AM
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So, I went home on my lunch break, and took a look. It looks like about 17 psi.
I tried turning on one zone at a time, the downstairs zone was nice and quiet. Seemed to work normal. When I turned on the other zone, upstairs zone, the noise happened. Could I possibly have air in one only zone, but not the other? Could it be a circulator pump issue? It is the same zone that I replaced the pump on 4 years ago. The noise is rattling inside the BG Flo check. It resonates through the pipes.
When the circulator was not working someone advised me to open one or both (i can't remember) of the valves in this picture, and it basically made the whole house one zone. I wonder if I should try that again.
 

Last edited by frankjc; 01-21-20 at 12:06 PM.
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Old 01-21-20, 12:11 PM
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frankjc is probably right that banging nose is air going through B&G flow control valve in 2015 post picture. https://www.supplyhouse.com/Bell-Gos...oduct-overview

Venting air at boiler level is not always completely effective. Would try venting at high point of system. If no high vents, try loosening a fitting.

A temporary solution is venting with saddle valve installed at system high point. Eventually it should be replace with regular fittings. https://www.supplyhouse.com/Wal-rich...alve-Lead-Free
 
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Old 01-21-20, 12:24 PM
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I really can't tell. would the 2 zones need to be bled separately? Or are they connected? It seems to only happen when the upstairs zone kicks on. Then goes away.
The pump on the right is the "upstairs" pump, wich I replaced 4 years ago, and it's the one that comes on when the noise starts. That's actually the old pump in the picture.

 
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Old 01-21-20, 12:57 PM
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Each zone is bled separately. Every zone is completely independent of each other.
 
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Old 01-21-20, 03:04 PM
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Also also the temperature in the boiler is 170 is that too cold you should be higher than that?
And and thank you all for your responses by the way I really appreciate it
 
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Old 01-21-20, 05:10 PM
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180° is typical so 170° could be a tad low but that won't cause that noise.
170° water will heat the house a bit slower.
 
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Old 01-21-20, 05:14 PM
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As long as you are satisfied with the heat you are getting and domestic hot water if you have a coil that is fine. Your aquastat is adjustable if you want to experiment. Aluminum fin baseboard if figured at about 600 BTU's a foot at 180 deg. water for heat output.

Example would be if your figured room comes up with 6000 btu's of heat loss it would take 10 ft. of baseboard with 180 deg. water running through it to heat that room. That would be 600 btu's x 10 ft of board. The higher the water temp., the more heat the baseboard puts out. The lower the temp, the less heat it puts out.

This is for typical #30 baseboard. They also make a lower output or a higher output which happens due to the size of the fins.
 
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Old 01-21-20, 07:00 PM
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While it varies with each system layout, good practice is to vent at the high point of each zone. An auto vent on each zone automates the venting. https://www.supplyhouse.com/Watts-05...Vent-3679000-p
 
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Old 01-21-20, 08:19 PM
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Air will tend to work it's way into an upstairs zone sooner than the downstairs. If there are vents on the upstairs baseboards that's where I'd start. The saddle valve would be a last resort for me. If you don't have any place to vent upstairs, I'd try purging at the valve near the circulator.
 
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Old 01-22-20, 04:26 AM
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I can't find a bleeder anywhere in the whole house.
I may need a refresher in bleeding the system. I am pretty sure it's just the upstairs zone.
I really can't remember how I did it after replacing the circulator.
 
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Old 01-22-20, 05:09 AM
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I also want to remind folks... Temps Outside/Inside and Pipeline may be varied! It could also be caused by the contraction and expansion of metal! (We forget about this sometimes!)
 
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Old 01-22-20, 08:52 AM
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So, If I am going to bleed that zone, do i:
Shut the system off. Let it cool down.
Connect a hose to the drain just above the upstairs circulator. Open that valve.
Flip the lever on the pressure reducing valve.
Let the water run, until I see no air.
Close the valve. Flip the lever back.
Turn the system back on.
Am I missing anything?
 
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Old 01-22-20, 10:35 AM
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You would want to close the ball valves on both loops, connect your hose to the top hose bib, and procede as you stated. Keep an eye on the pressure & try to maintain between 15 & 25 psi while purging. Once you don't get any more bubbles, flip the reducing valve lever down & set your pressure to about 12 psi.
 
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Old 01-22-20, 11:26 AM
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So, keep the ball valves closed? Would that be the ones just above the circulators?
Leave them closed during the process?
 
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Old 01-22-20, 01:48 PM
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The ball valves are the ones with the flat handles (yellow on one zone, red on the other). Yes, leave them closed while purging. By doing so, you force the water in the normal direction of flow. If the ball valves are open, water could flow thru the boiler & circulator thus not purging the loop.
 
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Old 01-22-20, 01:55 PM
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Since I can't seem to be able to edit the previous reply..... It's best, if you can, to purge into buckets keeping the hose end submerged. By doing so, you can actually see air bubbles coming out of the system.
 
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Old 01-23-20, 04:55 AM
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Ok, I understand what to do now, except for setting the pressure, not sure how to do that.
Thank you for the help.
 
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Old 01-23-20, 08:21 AM
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After purging & opening the ball valves, look at the pressure gauge. If it shows over 12-15 psi, you will have to drain some water. The pressure reducing valve (fill valve) should stop feeding water at 12 psi. If it doesn't I can tell you how to adjust it.
 
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Old 01-23-20, 09:30 AM
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Ok Thanks again.
I will do it this weekend.
 
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Old 01-26-20, 10:26 AM
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All set. Working good now. Thanks for the help.
 

Last edited by frankjc; 01-26-20 at 12:03 PM.
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Old 01-26-20, 03:52 PM
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You're welcome. Glad we could help. Were here should you need us again.
 
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Old 02-22-20, 12:04 PM
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Is anybody still here? I have some banging and I think it is expansion/contraction. Might be my imagination but it seems alot worse this year. Last fall I replaced a B&G series 100 with a Taco 007. I thought the B&G was too noisy and the Taco is no maintenance. I have a single zone no flow valve. Could the check in the Taco be causing the banging. I've kept it pretty well bled.
Thanks for any help.
 
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Old 02-22-20, 07:01 PM
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Can you trace the noise to a certain area?
 
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Old 02-26-20, 08:49 AM
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Seems like different radiator each time. It happens at night too, when the thermostat has it off (setback).
This is mmcc100. I forgot my new password an d am using my old account.
 
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Old 02-26-20, 01:42 PM
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Different one each time? That makes things difficult to track down. Are these radiators fin tube, cast iron baseboard, or upright cast iron?
 
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Old 02-27-20, 05:26 AM
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Upright cast. It’s an older house , @1940 that we need to sell. I think it’s expansion but it seems worse this year.
 
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Old 02-27-20, 11:55 AM
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mac,
With a 1940's cast iron rad system I'm guessing it was originally a gravity fed system meaning there was no pump until added later. With CI rads I'm thinking you either have a monoflo system or a 2 pipe system which cannot be properly bled by conventional means like a loop system.

I'm guessing you have vents on each rad which is how your system must be bled. With a 2 pipe you may have some success but your mostly bleeding the main line and not so much of the rads.

On a 2 pipe all the rads are fed by a supply line and return in another line back to the boiler so bleeding from a purge station doesn't guaranty you will get all the air out of all the rads. On a monoflo system the rads are all fed and return to the same single line by special tees that force the water into the rads. This system cannot be bled by purging.

Pics of your system would be very helpful to see what you have.
 
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Old 02-28-20, 06:08 PM
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I’m not sure how to load pictures yet. It’s a 2 pipe system. When l replaced the circ l had to drain the system. I also had to drain it last winter to replace the aquastat. The thermostat shuts down at 11 and it was still banging at 1. Sometimes in the wall sometimes at the radiator. Not always the same radiator. It seems like expansion/contraction but l’m wondering if the check in the Taco circ is causing the problem. It’s the only new part to the system since last year.
 
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Old 02-28-20, 07:36 PM
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mac,
You mention in an earlier post you have a single zone but in a previous posted pic it shows 2 pumps. You also mention no flocheck valve. What is keeping the water flowing in the right zone and only that zone on a call for heat.
 
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Old 02-29-20, 06:21 AM
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Those aren’t my pictures. I also have a banging problem. I’m still trying to figure out how to post pictures.
There wasn’t a check in the system until this year. I’m wondeging if that could cause the banging.
 
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Old 02-29-20, 09:56 AM
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mac,
Do you have a tankless coil. If not why to you need a check valve with only 1 one zone and if you do have a coil why no flocheck all these years.

Just curious until pics come.
 
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Old 02-29-20, 11:01 AM
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Something is fishy. "The thermostat shuts down at 11 and it was still banging at 1." If it were thermal contraction, it certainly shouldn't be going on 2 hours after the thermostat turn down.
 
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Old 02-29-20, 06:16 PM
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The check is built into the circ. I didn’t put any thought into it until now. The B&G didn’t have one. It’s the only difference in the system since last year. I’m going to get rid of the check and see if that fixes it. I hope that fixes the late night banging too.
 
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Old 03-01-20, 03:22 AM
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The only thing going on late at night would be maybe something with the feeder.
 
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Old 03-01-20, 05:48 AM
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Unless there's a leak somewhere, the feeder should not be active.
When boilers are installed today, we install a low water cut-off switch & often shut off the feeder.
 
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Old 03-01-20, 07:10 AM
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This might be the pictures
And this doesn’t work either. I’ll keep trying with the pictures.
 
 

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