floor heat

[Jimmy Buffett]

My floor heat has been less than satisfactory this year. Yesterday the boiler went out. I got some phone help and got the boiler relit but I still had ice this morning. It is pumping 110 degree glycol through the system just like always but this year it's not keeping it clear. What goes wrong with these things? When I had a pm done recently the guy put a check in the box that said he checked the glycol level but I guess that doesn't necessarily mean that he did. I don't know how to check it. If I am pumping 110 degree glycol why would it fail?
Thanks

 

[Whale of a Wash]

Did you put a hand on the output and was it that warm and what about the return line-did it feel warm. Maybe the pump failed.

 

[Jimmy Buffett]

I had already left before I got this so I can't check now but the last time I checked 1 pipe was very warm and the other was not. Does that indicate a pump failure? I know the motor is working.
Thanks

 

[mjwalsh]

I had already left before I got this so I can't check now but the last time I checked 1 pipe was very warm and the other was not. Does that indicate a pump failure? I know the motor is working.
Thanks

Jimmy, Whale & others,

There is a not too expensive way of know the flows of a pump in a more precise way than just paddle flow switches in line. Gerand ball valves are not too expensive & they have 2 ports on them to check with a meter. I have about 7 of those ball valves strategically placed about 20 years ago. I very recently purchased a Gerand meter off of Ebay but have not done much with it yet. The Gerand valves do put an operator in a position of "not shooting in the dark" as much when it comes to level of flow from a circulating pump.

MJ

 

[bigleo48]

Jimmy, doesn't it have a pressure gauge? I monitor mine with pressure and return temp.

 

[Jimmy Buffett]

Well Leo I think that it does. I just never knew what it was measuring. I will look tomorrow. The Good Lord took care of the temp today. We had a snow storm Wednesday and it's going to be sunny for the next week. Business should be good!
Thanks

 

[dogwasher]

What state are you in? As you know here in Chicago and many other areas we are getting Extreme temperatures.....dont forget your boiler may be undersized for these temps

 

[6t7gto]

Are you sure your pump is pumping?
My coupler had come loose, from the motor to the impeller.
Even though the motor was running it wasn't turning the impeller.

david

 

[Jimmy Buffett]

I'm sure that my boiler is big enough. I'm also sure that my motor is running. I'm not sure about the pump. Could be something as simple as a keyway maybe? I will get there in the early afternoon and check. We had a record day friday the broke it yesterday. I don't think we are going below freezing in the next 7 days so I have time to figure some things out.
Thanks

 

[Jimmy Buffett]

Well now that it is 55 degrees it will be hard to check! I guess if I turn it on manually I will be able to check the pressure. We are so busy that floor heat is not at the top of my list today!

 

[sparkey]

I had a problem similar to yours. I found junk in the pump impeller. Looked like a piece of foil from a Jug of antifreeze stuck in it.

 

[Jimmy Buffett]

It was running this morning. One line was hot and the other was not. The pressure guage read about 120 lbs. Does that mean anything?
Thanks

 

[dogwasher]

It was running this morning. One line was hot and the other was not. The pressure guage read about 120 lbs. Does that mean anything?
Thanks

That pressure shouldn't read more than 18-25 Lbs!!

Sure thats not the temp? 120 temp in the floor is perfect...no mre than that

 

[dogwasher]

The relief valve should unload the high pressure at about 30lbs

Unless your running a high pressure boiler system? What type of boiler is it?

 

[Jimmy Buffett]

It's a raypak. I'm blind as a bat so that could be temp although there is another thermometer on the line. There are actually 2 functions on the guage, 1 read 120 the other was not registering. It seems likely that 1 was temp and the other was pressure. It won't be running when I get back this afternoon. It almost has to be the pump doesn't it?
Thanks

 

[dogwasher]

It's a raypak. I'm blind as a bat so that could be temp although there is another thermometer on the line. There are actually 2 functions on the guage, 1 read 120 the other was not registering. It seems likely that 1 was temp and the other was pressure. It won't be running when I get back this afternoon. It almost has to be the pump doesn't it?
Thanks

Yes, since you have 120 degrees in at least one run then this sound like a flow problem.
Its important to know the pressure, this system may be low on glycol or have a leak?

 

[Jimmy Buffett]

I recently had a pm done and he checked the box that said he checked the glycol level but that doesn't mean that he did. How do you check it? I know that I have never added any.

 

[Rudy]

I've been having a floor heat issue with one or two loops intermittently. After reading this thread, I checked my system and found out that there was ZERO precharge in the closed loop system. My system relief valve is set at 30psi. I used the "air stem" on the side of the expansion tank, and filled it to 15 psi with an air hose. The glycol level is OK.

Here's my question. How important is having the closed system "presurized"? My wash is 18 years old, and I don't think I've EVER checked this. What is the effect of running the floor heat with an unpressurized system? Could this be part of my problem? FWIW, we have NEVER run low on fluid, so I don't think there's any way that air could have gotten into the system.

 

[mjwalsh]

No pressure reading needed for my Raypak

I've been having a floor heat issue with one or two loops intermittently. After reading this thread, I checked my system and found out that there was ZERO precharge in the closed loop system. My system relief valve is set at 30psi. I used the "air stem" on the side of the expansion tank, and filled it to 15 psi with an air hose. The glycol level is OK.

Here's my question. How important is having the closed system "presurized"? My wash is 18 years old, and I don't think I've EVER checked this. What is the effect of running the floor heat with an unpressurized system? Could this be part of my problem? FWIW, we have NEVER run low on fluid, so I don't think there's any way that air could have gotten into the system.

Rudy,

Our Huron Valley Sales deicer system has never had any pressure that shows on its pressure gauge & its properly sized Taco Pump has always circulated the way it should.



Mike Walsh of Bismarck, ND

 

[dogwasher]

I've been having a floor heat issue with one or two loops intermittently. After reading this thread, I checked my system and found out that there was ZERO precharge in the closed loop system. My system relief valve is set at 30psi. I used the "air stem" on the side of the expansion tank, and filled it to 15 psi with an air hose. The glycol level is OK.

Here's my question. How important is having the closed system "presurized"? My wash is 18 years old, and I don't think I've EVER checked this. What is the effect of running the floor heat with an unpressurized system? Could this be part of my problem? FWIW, we have NEVER run low on fluid, so I don't think there's any way that air could have gotten into the system.

I shouldn't have posted to Jimmy B about the 15-25 LBs of pressure because that would be on a system that is fed by street pressure with a regulator installed. Most all of our floor heat boilers are a closed loop system. SO Rudy, your system is a closed loop and you do not need any pressure, you should have a holding tank mounted above the boiler, this is where you fill the system, check your fluid level(site glass should be on the side), and this tank is what keeps gravity pressure on the system because of the weight of the fluid. When the boiler heats up this will cause the pressure to raise in the system. The 30lb relief is there just in case the water ever boils