Cold Family – Steamed Wife

[Paul Hathaway]

My FHW baseboard heat is not heating up in two of my 1st floor rooms. Half the rooms get hot, half stay cold. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[GuestParticipant]

Ah, yes, Watson, with the scantiest of clues, the great sleuth will find out all that could possibly be the cause of this problem.

The facts given: Some rooms on the first floor are cold, while others are hot. We know that the heating elements should have hot water in them to heat the rooms. If the other two rooms on the same floor have water in them, then there is probably water in the other two rooms.

Is it possible that a zone valve has failed that would let water pass to the other two rooms? Probably not, it sounds like a cheapened system. Is it possible that the system was installed incorrectly with a loop that is too long? Possibly. Is it also possible that the system is a one-pipe system with the other baseboard loops full of air? Probably. Could we go on with no other information? NOT! How many angels can dance on the head of a pin is the region of other philosophers.

The next chapter brings a prolonged monologue of expertise in hot water heating developed over a lifetime. Keep tuned.

[rackem4meParticipant]

Tried to keep it short because I was unfamiliar with the workings of the list. I’ll expand.

I had a licensed plumber convert my Oil system to a new gas system. It has three zones. Two hooked up and functional. The third is for expansion. It seemed to be working well (hard to tell being as it’s been so warm in NH).

From the furnace, on the first zone, the pipe coming from the furnace feels, well, not hot, but warm. Whereas the pipe coming from the second zone, going to the second floor, is very hot to touch. If I feel the elements on the half of the first zone closest to the furnace, it is putting out heat. The second half is not. The thermostat on the first floor (zone 1) is set to 70, and the actual temp is 64. Upstairs (zone 2) is fine all over.

Thanks again.

[rackem4meParticipant]

One other thing you mentioned that I forgot. I think it is a one-pipe system, from what I can see in the basement.

[GuestParticipant]

If the zone valve is open, the circulator would force water to go through that zone as well. The piping is cool, so the water is not flowing there. As it is zoned, it may be that the zone valve is not working. This could be a problem with the thermostat or the zone valve.

[Author]

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