5 most common Boiler Problems đ„đ ïž
VloĆŸit
- Äas pĆidĂĄn 18. 09. 2023
- In this video we talk about the 5 most common boiler repairs that we encounter that can leave you without heat in the middle of winter
______________________________________________________________________________________________
If you're in the Denver Metro or Phoenix, AZ Metro area, click here to schedule an appointment with one of our technicians or contact us with more questions:
thebeehvac.com/schedule-hvac/
Currently Serving:
Denver, CO
Phoenix, AZ
triangle tube instinct boiler,Instinct Solo Wall,Instinct Combi Wall,instant boiler,triangle tube,combi boiler,best combi boiler,types of combi boiler,combination boiler,combi boiler review,combi boiler installation,plumbing & heating,hvac,hvac technician,hvac training videos,hvac school,air conditioner,air conditioning,heat pump,air conditioning system,best water heater 2023,tankless water heater,which ac to buy in 2023,The HVAC Dope Show,boilers - Jak na to + styl
Here to help pass my gas exam haha. Appreciate the help on the Zone valves
Nice haha good luck on the exam đ
For more videos like this on how you can get the best HVAC for your home and avoid common mistakes, make sure youâre subscribed to the channel here youtube.com/@TheHVACDopeShow?sub_confirmation=1
Thank you
Thank you for your video. I'm in the process of trying to figure out why my boiler is not heating and if I need to replace the system and all this would entail - such as: what system to purchase, who should I hire, what should it cost, what kind of warranty should one expect on equipment and installation, what should home owner prepare to do (maintenance) in order to keep system in top notch shape, how long should one expect a boiler heating system to last?
For what itâs worth we prefer cast iron systems even though theyâre less efficient because the cast iron boilers are just generally more durable than a combi boiler. Some people are just âgung hoâ on high efficiency and dead set but really cast iron is much less maintenance, and if you did nothing to it at all it would likely be 5-10 years or more before your first service call. Whereas combi boilers are definitely more finicky if not maintained / flushed periodically. This makes more sense on propane because itâs so expensive (at least in Colorado, anywhere from $2-$3 a gallon) so it really makes efficiency count.
First I want to say thanks for info on your video, it really does help narrow things down. I read a comment here on their boiler having a high boiler pressure of 40 and like you said, it should be around 12-15 psi. I'm trying to diagnose my system which is currently reading at almost 0, I was thinking on opening the pressure valve, but what if I do that and pressure keeps going down? My expansion tank seems to be fine, water on top and air on the bottom, not full of water. Does this just happen overtime, we haven't done any piping around the house đ€The main reason I was checking my boiler recently is because we lost heat on the second floor, and I don't think it's the zone heads. I thought maybe it was the second-floor zone head that was bad, but when I unwired a good zone from the first-floor, and hooked the possible bad head to the first floor, the heat on the first floor worked just fine and the good head for the second zone wasn't working. There is voltage going through the heads, thought when I call for heat on the second zone, the furnace doesn't fire up. I realized then that the PSI from my boiler was almost 0. What could this mean?
Unfortunately it could be a leak somewhere, if it wonât fill then the water is leaking out somewhere. But you pressure reducing valve should be letting water in until it hits set point
And by set point I mean pressure set point on the PRV
on the taco zone valves how long do they typically take before opening enough to call for heat if one is taking longer than others is it going bad?
Once thereâs a call for heat it should open up right away⊠if the zone is not heating / circulating might be bad valve if everything else is open, assuming itâs not air locked and plumbed correctly. If itâs always worked before now and just stopped and the other zones are heating I wouldnât be surprised if the valve went bad
I have a Dunkirk boiler at our church that wonât ignite. Initially I had a two flashes for the code. I found the flame roll out switch broken so I replaced it. Now I have four flashes for the code & still wonât ignite. This system has electronic ignition & the control module buzzes when I turn the power on but no spark @ the ignitor. Any suggestions what I should check next. John
Without knowing what that code is I donât know, sounds like an igniter is bad/burnt out maybe⊠but find out what that code means it will be in the manual for the boiler, flashes arenât universal from system to system but it will tell you what that means in the manual for that model. Check that before replacing more parts because it could be several things
I have high pressure about 40psi what can be the cause of this it was running fine at 20-27 psi around there and then went up gradually stopped at 40 for now ?
Pressure reducing is stuck or bad. It should be 12-14. 20-22 on the high side when itâs hot but if youâre expansion tank is the right size or big enough to cover the expansion normally it will hold under 20 psi.
I have 3 zones in my house and one zone is very warm, 73 degrees when I turn it to 60 for nighttime sleeping, regardless of what I set my Thermostat at, or if I turn it off. What should I troubleshoot the end switch? Thanks
Sounds like the zone valve is stuck open, normally we replace the body and motor (the silver box if you have a Honeywell zone valve)⊠not sure if anything has been repiped recently because if so then it could be a plumbing or wiring issue but if it just started happening sounds like a stuck end switch. Replacing the zone body will replace the end switch and motor too
Thanks for your reply, I was thinking the same thing. Also hoping there was a way to close the valve manually. Yes I have 3 Honeywell silver boxes.@@TheHVACDopeShow
My Bryant BW1aan is not firing, I change the Aquastat, added a thermocouple. don't hear the circulator pump how to look for the problem
Did you check for power at the aquastat to make sure it was the problem first? If the circulator isnât kicking on check for power at the aquastat circ terminals when thereâs a call for heat / jumper heat, but your circulator wonât kick on if itâs not firing. It sounds like itâs not firing because itâs not responding to a call for heat so Iâd verify the 24v call for heat first. Hope that helps!
Hello, Iâm trying to begin diagnosing my boiler in my home, Iâm a auto tech so this is definitely new to me, but I have no heat in the house Iâve tried the most basic and replacing the batteryâs in the thermostat to no help. I went down to the boiler while my girlfriend turned it on and I can hear it start up but no flames are lit at the bottom where thereâs a cover u can pull off. Any help would be appreciated. Iâm 99%sure someone has mentioned to me I should replace my expansion tank, but Iâm not sure if thatâs whatâs cause it
Boilers can be pretty hard to diagnose without experience honestly because you have to see the setup. Depends on what you have going on and how old the boiler is. Has it been replaced in the past 10 years? If the flames are not igniting itâs not going into the ignition sequence so youâd want to start checking for voltage. If you have zone valves and the end switches arenât closing that can cause it not to start the ignition sequence. Is it natural draft or induced draft? If the inducer is coming or thatâs a tell that itâs calling for heat but not igniting for some reason. If itâs natural draft but newer it will have a damper on the exhaust that opens during the start of the ignition sequence on a calm for heat. It might be worth it to have someone come out and diagnose it because by comparison with forced air it is easy to throw a lot of money and parts at a boiler and not actually fix whatâs wrong. If the water is low you have a low water cut off on some systems that will trip. If the boiler has an igniter vs a pilot the igniter could be out, or if the pilots out thatâs often a very simple fix and just a matter of replacing the thermocouple so you can get the pilot to stay on. Hopefully that helps give you a few places to start!
Are these common problems on a multi family apartment building boiler system also?
Yes, depends on the system though. If you have a high efficiency system setup in a cascade (multiple systems daisy chained for example) it can get very complicated very quickly, really have to see these ones in person because theyâre all piped differently.
Forgot to mention that I have a Brrnham boiler as my heat source.
Temperature on furnace is reaching 250 degrees. Water and steam are shooting out of the relief valve. Trying to figure out why water is overheating.
If itâs not shutting off at the set point then thereâs something wrong with the aquastat most likely because itâs not shutting the boiler off when temp is satisfied.
I'm in of a pickle no heat . Need help live in Bronx NYC can you recommend someone.
Master comfort or Binaku? I donât know any I just looked up on google they seem to have good reviews, not sure who youâve tried calling already
Yost and Campbell also showed up as highly rated
Trying to find answers for most common boiler system problems on apartment multi family buildings.
Iâd start with the zone valves
Apartment buildings are pretty much the same just depends on how big of a building⊠if youâre talking about a system with more than 10 zones itâs probably a little more complicated. But zone valves, pumps, and pressure issues are the most common causes as well as air locked in the zones / or sediment buildup over time will substantially impede flow and eventually cause issues
Thank you Sir. Have you ever been in a situation where you have to do hot water heater work on an apartment multifamily and need to drain the tank and open a hot water faucet to do a repair but you don't have access because you're in a hot water heater room?
Hi, I have a radiant system that uses a Takagi TK-3 tankless water heater. While I've had lots of issues with the system, the most recent one was a head scratcher that I'm hoping maybe someone has some thoughts as to what may have been going. The system had ignition issues this fall when I first fired it up this season, the burner would ignite and then blow out a few minutes later and throw a flame blow out error on the circuit. After doing lots of diagnosing, I replace the ignition rod and flame sensor to find that it was still having issues. Upon testing, I determined my gas supply was sufficient for the system and due to deductive reasoning, took an educated guess that the gas manifold/solenoid had failed. I found a new replacement and installed it and it started working again. Here is where I'm noticing a strange but positive result from replacing the part. 1. The burner is nearly quiet now compared to before, I suspect it was not burning very efficiently with the failing gas manifold. But more importantly 2. The house is heating better and the system is running less than it used to. Before the system would start with a 2-2.5 gpm flow rate but drop down to 1.2 or so after it ran for a couple hours. Over night the house couldn't hold temp and I'd notice the system would struggle to reheat during the day. After replacing the manifold, the house holds temp at night and no longer has to run continuously and the flow rate is holding steady at around 2.1 gpm which is what was suggested in the Takagi manual for residential closed loop heating systems. So I'm wondering if you have any idea as to why the manifold would fix all the issues I was having. Why my flow rate from pumps on each loop (Grundfos 3 speed 120v pumps) is steady, and why the house is staying warm even on nights that dip into the teens or lower? Appreciate any feedback, just recently found the channel and love the content!
Oh and the burner was able to get the water to the 140F set temp before and after. I see about a 20F temp drop from input to output temps which is in range of what I was seeing before the manifold failed. Should have mentioned that in my question. The system covers mostly an in floor heating loop but also covers a second baseboard loop in the basement. For what its worth, it does appear to be somewhat poorly designed the power vent is shared with my water heater to the chimney vent stack and the install manual absolutely says that is not a correct setup. I still need to figure out how that can be fixed (if possible)
Sounds like the installer maybe took some shortcuts. When you say manifold do you mean gas valve? Or manifold? Not familiar with that brand but if itâs quieter too one thing Iâve seen is people running the wrong Venturi (mixes air and gas) for LP vs natural gas and the system will sound terrible when thatâs happening like a jet engine. It sounds like a few bad parts. My first guess was the heat exchanger was getting dirty or something (Iâve seen those clog and need be cleaned out after being clogged). But it just sounds like you had several issues causing it to not function properly and now that the flow rate has returned youâre getting better heat transfer in the home.
And the PVC exhaust probably just needs a separate dedicated exhaust is what it sounds like (in terms of how to fix that part). Which can be done and is not a big deal.
One thing about baseboard temps vs radiant floor temps⊠you should have mixing valves in there to keep the radiant floor below 130/135 F and the baseboard loops should be allowed to get up 180F or more. Anything under 180F on baseboards significantly cuts down your baseboard efficiency.
@@TheHVACDopeShow Thanks for the responses, lots here to respond to. So the part is called the "Manifold assemby" which includes multiple solenoids and attached is the manifold that gas is directed to the burner. It probably was clogged but nearly impossible to take apart and a replacement was reasonably priced. The system was already in place when we purchased the house 3 years ago but I believe it was installed in 2004. It was lacking a refill valve and PRV so it would run low on water for the previous owner. I added one and found both pumps had failed, replaced those, the air scrubber was bad, serviced that. If you can't tell it was a mess. Thankfully its fairly easy plumbing and I was taught plumbing growing up so replacing parts was certainly not a challenge.
We have a problem. We will see if I can figure it out. 4 zone Navien dual HW heating and on demand HW. 3 out of 4 zones function correctly. WE have unlimited HW from the tap. I figured it was a T stat so we ordered a digital one. (no idea why they'd install mercury switch) It has not yet arrived. Looking into manually flipping it on. I find an issue. Lever flops like it is not even connected to anything. I also see stripped gears on the lever. Motor appears normal. I tend to believe something internal to the lever is busted. I removed the power head. The pin that would be attached to the rubber ball moves freely about 1/4 turn or so. I will be picking up a new power head tomorrow. Hoping it is an easy fix at least
Sounds like a bad zone valve lmk if it fixes it!
The lever will be loose when itâs powered thatâs how you know itâs engaged (Honeywell zone valve) but if itâs like that when itâs loose it might not be making good contact or just be a bad valve, we see that sometimes on the powerheads
@@TheHVACDopeShow forgot to mention. The gears on the lever are so stripped that it can't hit the END switch. I am just hoping I don't need to replace the ball part. The new valve comes with it just in case. It also appears the motor does not stop spinning
@@TheHVACDopeShow I replaced the power head today. When it calls for heat. I see it move the lever. A red light on the controller comes on starting the pump but still no hot water going through. I then turned of all T stats. On the 3 that are fine. I manually opened each valve and then closed it. I hear water when I shut it off. Makes a noise. With the one that is a problem. I don't hear the noise the other 3 make. I am stumped now and migh need to have someone replace the rubber ball.
@@TheHVACDopeShow Had a plumber come by. He seems to think it is ice. Been down to -26C for a few days, Warmed up to -4 today. Supposed to get +5C on Sunday. When I was talking to him, I had an AHA moment. I think what went wrong is the valve lever stripped and failed. Had no way to open the valve. I felt the pipes and did note 3 were hot and one with the failed valve was quite warm. So the water stopped flowing. At that the pipes froze somewhere along a wall. He thinks he knows which radiator pipe it is based on water coming out of individual valves on each radiator. One of two things is going to happen. We will be fine and water will start flowing as normal. 2, Mop and buckets. Hoping for the best. lol.