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Dumb question, I know, but I can't seem to get my heat to work.
I have hot water heat (radiant baseboard) heated through a boiler. The boiler is hot but the baseboard heaters are cold. Also, all exposed pipes leading from and to the boiler are cool to the touch.
All thermostats and circuit breakers are working and on. (2 zones; monoflo piping)
I suspect it is a pipe/pressure/bleeding issue.
Anyone have insight on how to get the heat working?
antipode, first off, im guessing there are three themostats in the house.. Each thermostat controls a seperate pump, so yes you need to have all three pumps wired correctly(three zones). This is how it should be, but without seeing it for myself, it really hard to say. Ive seen some pretty crazy things done on boilers by people that didnt have a clue as to what they were doing. Please verify that you have three thermostats in the house, and it will tell me that each one is for a separate pump.
I still say you should get a pro in there to look at your setup. If the coal burner is no longer wired, its doing you no good, i suggest having it completely removed from the system(repiping so that it is not physically connected to the hot water piping). There may be isolation valves to shut off water entering and exiting coal burner, but once again, its most likely gonna take an on site visit to get this all cleared up.
Now, you said the pumps were not wired,,, this is your main problem as of now, if pumps arent wired, they can not circulate the water, hence no hot water to registers. Good luck, and keep the questions and updates coming. Lee.
Thanks for the guidance. I'm trying to avoid the plumber if I can help it.
I have 2 thermostats in the house. Perhaps one of the pumps belonged to the coal burner? Or maybe it's residual from before the house was converted to 2 zones. Dunno.
As for the coal, there are shut off valves isolating it, so it should be a non-issue.
In a year or 2, when the gas burner dies (it's an o-l-d oil convert from the 80s) I'll remove both boilers, re-pipe everything cleanly, and hopefully, Franken-boiler will be no more.
Since everything worked before I disconnected the coal burner, I guess I should just re-connect all three pumps, and bite the bullet.
I was just trying to avoid having to do all that re-wiring. It was a real mess of wiring before.
yep, need to get the pumps wired,,but you need to know which pumps are controled by which thermostats, and need to know what the third pump is for,,it is possible that one of the thermostats controls two of the pumps(very likely). Make sure to take the time to do this(or have it done) correctly, or you will have nothing but headaches, trust me. Hot water heat is a very efficient heat, dust free, nice and even heat, but, only if its installed and functioning properly. Wish you the best. Lee.
If you notice in my first picture, there are two thermostat boxes on the boiler. They are prominently marked "1st floor" and "2nd floor." Off to the right, there is a different box -- taller and thin. Out of the picture, on the right, there is a 4th box.
Any idea what there other 2 boxes are?
BTW, the circulator pump on the right of the photo is markedly older (maybe 1960s) than the other 2 (prob 80s or 90s).
Antipode, like mygirlsdad says if you undid all this wiring and disconnected the pumps you may as well start over and do it right. There are zone controllers that will simplify the installation and can even give you some new energy saving features on your old boiler.
How do you make hot water? Do you use the same boiler? I'm thinking the third zone is for hot water.
OK, I'm not sure what the other box is. Can you post another picture or get a model # off of it.
The nearer boxes appear to be Honeywell switching relays. One should work for each zone. When the thermostat calls for heat you should hear a click from unit. A thermostat wire should run to each.
Can you pull the cover and check if you have 120vac to each at the L1 and L2 terminals? The pump is switched using the NO and COM connections.
When the thermostat calls for heat the switching relay is energized. It will start the boiler using the TT terminals on the relay. It will also start the circulator.
I figured out that the skinny box is an "aquastat" and controls the temp of the water, and the non-pictured box is the junction box between the aquastat and the thermostats.
I've got 120v, and am in the process of re-connecting everything properly.
OK, so a lot of trial and error, but I figured out which thermostat connected to which pump. I reconnected everything as it was originally, and all is good in the world.
Linear Mode
