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franz546 · Dec 26, 2008, 08:43 AM

My son recently moved into a home and is having heat problems. One circulator does the first and second floor. He has the thermostat (first floor) set at 69 degrees. The second floor is always warm, but the first floor takes a very long time to reach 69. All radiators are working. I would think the first floor should be warmer than second floor? He also has a hot water problem in the shower. He get about 2 minutes of hot water and then it turns cold. No separate hot water tank. Oil boiler is from 1983. :confused:

hvac1000 · Dec 26, 2008, 09:19 AM

Heat rises so that can explain the heat situation between the first and second floor.

From what you have said the hot water for the shower comes from the boiler itself. It is possible a control problem is complicating the situation or the coil in the boiler could be restricted/need to be serviced. Under normal circumstances you can get far more than 2 minutes of hot water for a shower.

My suggestion is to all a pro For a on site inspection and repair since boiler/boiler work is not usually homeowner friendly unless the homeowner has experience with them. It could be that the system has not had professional service for many years.

The upstairs heat differential can sometimes be adjusted with a valve if the system is so equipped.

franz546 · Dec 29, 2008, 09:28 AM

He is going to have his hot water lines cleaned. Is it worth it? ($90)

hvac1000 · Dec 29, 2008, 10:48 AM

As I mentioned before (or the coil in the boiler could be restricted/need to be serviced. Under normal circumstances you can get far more than 2 minutes of hot water for a shower.)

So the answer is if the lines for the hot water are restricted in the boiler for the hot water for the shower etc then YES it is good to have them cleaned and eliminate the problem. $90 is cheap to have hot water again.

franz546 · Dec 29, 2008, 11:06 AM

Thanks for your help.

franz546 · Jan 2, 2009, 06:15 AM

My son just had the water lines cleaned on Tuesday. What a difference!! My daughter-in-law can take a 12 minute shower with plenty hot water and the radiators are much hotter. Well worth the $90.

hvac1000 · Jan 2, 2009, 08:41 AM

I figured that would work. It is good to have hot water again.