Boiler Furnace Help

Discussion in 'DIY' started by The Occultivationist, Dec 8, 2010.

  1. The Occultivationist

    The Occultivationist Veggy Stage

    about a week ago my furnace started acting up. it was building up too much pressure, 40psi, and hot water was coming out of the pressure release valve. so i did the normal and re-charged the expansion tank. to be exact i did it twice. first time i did it, because my tank has a combination valve, i just let about 5 gallons out. it lowered the pressure some, but overall it was still too high @ 30psi. so i went backand did it a 2nd time, but emptied the entire tank. this worked well. it went to about 15-18 psi (which im not postive is correct either) when running. i did notice my expansion tank was hot at the bottom and not at the top which should mean its working correctly. the system was ran for atleast 24 hours to properly adjust before i did it the second time. so now its been a few days later and when i went down today there was yet again water coming out of the pressure relief valve and it was back to 40 psi. and again my expansion tank is cold and the pipe leading all the way to it is HOT. so common sense says its not working, but i just re-charged it. can anyone please help?????????
     
    TheCarpenter likes this.
  2. blah blah boy

    blah blah boy Harvested Fat Sticky Bud

    If water is not being lost from the system due to a leak than can you shut the water supply to the boiler? Meaning that your boiler is always calling for water, just deny it.


    Careful if the pressure gets to low it will blow a the cut off switch.
     
  3. The Occultivationist

    The Occultivationist Veggy Stage

    im pretty sure its supposed to regulate itself and i shouldnt need to shut the water off to it. i havent needed to before and it worked just fine. im worried if i shut it off, my system may need the constant water supply.
     
  4. blah blah boy

    blah blah boy Harvested Fat Sticky Bud

    it does need a constant water supply and you do have one hooked up all ready. but if the boiler is at it's pressure mark than if there is no leak than shutting off the water supply the boiler wont make a diff.


    It will however if the boiler pressure drops. Which is a big problem.


    Can you monitor it and see how it reacts?


    Other than that call a technician. and he can change the pressure release valve or the expansion tank or both.


    Whats the boiler temp?


    Is this a new install?
     
  5. ncmaineac

    ncmaineac Harvested Fat Sticky Bud

    boiler help


    i cannot stress enough that boilers are in the same catagory as electricity....get someone who knows whats what and pay the man...find one that likes to get high..whatever..but find an expert, please....not sure if there are other people in the house with you but taking a chance on a boiler doing what boilers do from time to time.....:fireworks: :fireworks: :fireworks: ka-boooom...


    ok thats my two cents...
     
  6. The Occultivationist

    The Occultivationist Veggy Stage

    well i looked for the temp, and the guage is broken. when its cold its reading what it should be when hot, and when its hot the needle moves into the pressure increments side of the meter. i can monitor it all the time, but i think i need a pro. i dunno any HVAC tech's that are smoker-friendly, and my garden is half my basement so im screwed. im gonna shut the furnace off til i can get someone in there.


    thanx for the help Blah
     
  7. blah blah boy

    blah blah boy Harvested Fat Sticky Bud

    You better get someone in there and play it safe :thumbs-up:


    It's good time for cleaning also while you move things around. Sorry I can't be more help.
     
  8. teamster6

    teamster6 Guest

  9. teamster6

    teamster6 Guest

    I wasnt sure either ofo just ran into that thought I would throw it out.


    Teamster6
     
  10. The Occultivationist

    The Occultivationist Veggy Stage

     
  11. Hank Chinaski

    Hank Chinaski Ruminating

    I'm surprised no one has thought of this yet. You should check the flux capacitor. If that goes, the whole thing is fucked.


    :passsit:
     
  12. The Occultivationist

    The Occultivationist Veggy Stage

     
  13. RkyMtnWayHigh69

    RkyMtnWayHigh69 2010 NAGC Winner

    Sorry I didn't see this before. I'm a plumber, so I can help . . .


    Make sure there is no air in the system. Like from the air separator, causing the expansion tank to have much air, causing the pressure to rise and the T&P to do it's job and release the extra pressure.


    I would change the expansion tank with a new one . . . you can get it at Home Depot of Lowes or wherever. If the T&P looks old and doesn't seem to be overly rusted, I'd replace it too. Should be just a 3/4" for under $20.


    Both the expansion tank and the T&P will cost under $50, easily. Like I said, the air separator would be the problem if those aren't the issue.


    About 12psi is normal operating pressure. So, those pics seem to right where it needs to be. Do you have a pic of the expansion tank?


    If your adding air to the expansion tank and it's leaking into the system, then your going to have this problem.


    Change the expansion tank and the T&P if it seems like it'll come out easily. T&P is most likely still fine.


    Let me know through PM if you have any other Q's, if I don't see it here. :alienwink: :affro:


    I'd bet it's the expansion tank . . .


    Ohhhh BTW, DON'T DO THIS IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO BLEED THE SYSTEM TO RELIEVE THE PRESSURE BEFORE WORKINGON IT! OTHERWISE YOU WILL SCALD YOURSELF BADLY!
     
  14. RkyMtnWayHigh69

    RkyMtnWayHigh69 2010 NAGC Winner

    I just saw the expansion tank and it's an old galvanized which eventually dissipate their air and need to be periodically recharged. Read the tag or model # plate, to see the proper pressure to recharge it to.


    You need be able to bleed the air out of the system.


    Does water come out of the sharder valve at the top of the expansion tank when you press it in? If so, the tank is flooded.


    Make sure your doing this all cold.


    That tank doesn't have a bladder.


    You could also bleed the entire system down and then recharge it and see if that helps.


    Like I said in the last post, I'd replace it and the T&P and I'm sure you'd be just fine after that and it shouldn't take but a couple hours at most for an inexperienced handyman.
     
  15. The Occultivationist

    The Occultivationist Veggy Stage

    i cant thank you enough for your help Rocky. i got it on there in 15 minutes just like u said. hardest part was finding the tank! i kicked my furnace on and all seems well, but the pressure is still high. its between 20 and 25 psi as of now. it may still be slowly climbing, but it hasnt leaked out of the T&P yet (knock on wood). any thoughts?


    [​IMG]
     
  16. RkyMtnWayHigh69

    RkyMtnWayHigh69 2010 NAGC Winner

    Yea, your going to need to purge all the air out of the system.


    You should be able to open a bleeder somewhere along the line.


    Let me know if your able to get the air out.
     
  17. The Occultivationist

    The Occultivationist Veggy Stage

    yea i was able to get a fair amount out. i opened a bleeder on the 2nd floor. i keep checkin my pressure and tryin to let more out every few hours.


    my T&P was leaking when my pressure was only 25-ish. it was a steady drip. stops when it cools down tho. i manually opened it and let it reset itself. seems to have slowed down but was still dripping. this was before i started purging the lines so im guessing the air in there was doin the same as the failed tank was. which by the way, was definatly leaking. it had a crack in the top at the seam!!! good call on that one. :passsit:
     
  18. The Occultivationist

    The Occultivationist Veggy Stage

    im pretty sure i let all the air out, but my system is still slowly hitting a high pressure and leaking.
     

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