Hello, I am having trouble with my hot water heat. It seems to be heating just fine downstairs, and not upstairs. I have checked the water pressure, and I was told to keep the gauge between 10-20. Its at about 18. I know nothing about this thing, and I would really appreciate some suggestions, I would rather not call a fix-it person yet... any advice would help! Thank you!:confused:

Sounds like you have air in the line and the upstairs needs to be bled.

OR

The pump impeller is weak causing the water not to circulate upstairs.

OR

You could have a defective gauge on the boiler showing the wrong pressure.
Not likely but I thought I would mention it.

OR

The zone valve for upstairs if so equipped could be defective.

Do you have separate thermostats for upstairs and then one for downstairs?

We do have separate thermostats... I have checked the lines, the one leading upstairs is hot, but it does not go past the bend, then the pipe leading back into the heater is cold. Also, all the registers upstairs are cold. How do I bleed the pipes... if that is what the problem is... My roommate says the pipes are loud up there when it kicks in, which tells me there is air in the lines.

There should be bleeder valves on the baseboard, radiators or registers as you call them unless you have a hot water to air system. Do you have a blower that blows out the heat ?

I think I figured out my problem. There was a box that said Valve A on it, has all the wires and stuff on it, and the return pipe going through it, and at the bottom of the box, there was a dial, and above it it says manual operation... so being both curious and a little silly... not knowing what the heck that meant, I pushed the dial, then all of the sudden it started to spin on its own... then the water began to flow! Hope I didn't mess anything up, but now the water is circulating... so I don't know what that means, but it's working now, I also bled the pipes... a lot of air came out!

So I guess my question is now, did I screw this thing up worse... or did I fix it? Thanks!
:eek:

It should be OK but you will you will probably need to replace the valve operator.

I am now assuming that for some reason... maybe the thermostat... that the valve was not opening like it should... could it be the thermostat?. any thoughts would be much appreciated... also... if I pushed the manual operation wheel, does that mean its not going to close! I'm so very confused! Please help! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

It will probably not close by itself. It could be a 24 volt or thermostat problem.

Well, I guess I will have to wait and see if it closes on its own or not. Then I guess I will replace the thermostat... I am assuming that will be much cheaper! Thank you for your help! This 23 year old girl is very very very grateful! I do feel smarter now! I think I have a better idea on how this thing operates now! Thank you again!:D

well, I guess I will have to wait and see if it closes on its own or not. Then I guess I will replace the thermostat...I am assuming that will be much cheaper! Thank you for your help! This 23 year old girl is very very very grateful! I do feel smarter now! I think I have a better idea on how this thing operates now! Thank you again!:D


You need to have the system checked with a meter to find out is it is a thermostat or valve operator or a power problem to the valve.

I hate to see people just replace good parts with guess work. At least it is working on a temporary basis.

The valve seems to be opening and closing on its own now. I have a friend that has a meter that is coming by to check it today! Thank you so much for all your help and good suggestions! :D