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Hi,
We have an old ( circa 1972 ) Crown Boiler for hot water and heating.
About three weeks ago, we started hearing running/rushing water sounds in the baseboard heating pipes when any of the zones turned on. It last about a minute or two, then we hear the regular moans and groans of the baseboards. The rushing water sound is new. This only happens with the heating zones, not the household hot water supply.
Any ideas would be appreciated.
Have you let the air out of (bled) the system and made sure the circuit/boiler has the proper amount of water in it?
Either the bleeder valves on the boiler are all clogged up or I don't know how to work them. Also, how do I know what the proper amount of water is, by the pressure on the indicator? That is only between 8 and 10 PSI if I'm reading it correctly. Thanks
I'm surprised it works with only 8 pounds...most safety valves require at least 12-13 or more pounds pressure to satisfy the low-pressure safety interlock. You may need to check both the switch and gauge - one or both are off. What temperature do you run the boiler at? Rushing water sounds means air in the system. Rumbling could be steam if things aren't flowing well and the pressure is too low.
Look around the ends of the baseboard units - see if you can find vents on each one. The bleeding has to happen at high points in the plumbing. There should be a water supply line going to the boiler. It probably has a shut off valve and needs to have a backflow preventer. That needs to be turned on and providing water when you do the bleeding.
Did you recently purchase the house? Has yearly maintenance been done? If no regular maintenance has been done, I would probably get someone in that understands hot water boilers and have it cleaned, flushed, and checked.
And see if you can find a manual.
Hi,
I did a search for Crown boilers, could not find the "oldies" section in tech support for manuals. Just from all the helpful input from you guys, I think I'm going to get some professional help on this one. The pressure is real low, the temp goes really high(over 180) in the boiler, plus it's due for an over haul. We will be upgrading it soon due to an addition on the house, so I hope it's not too expensive of a tech call. Any idea of how much to expect? Thanks again for all your time.
Since it was in the teens here, we decided to get some help with this. Turns both auto vents were bad, as well as the auto fill valve. The Tech said we were a couple gallons of water away from cracking the boiler tank. I picked the Tech's brain, and watched everything, he was a good guy. I know exactly how the boiler works now, for the next time. Thanks for all the help here.