Question for a plumber on a forced hot water system
 

Hello,

I have a forced hot water system that uses pex pipes. The problem is that the part of my condo that receives the hot water last is too cold. The area of my condo that receives the hot water first is used just for storage. I would like to change the direction that the hot water flows into my place by swaping the inflow pipe with the outflow pipe. Will this work or do I have to worry about gravity issues? I am assuming because this is a forced hot water system that gravity is not an issue. Thanks in advance.

Steve

:think:
can you access the flex pipes and cover them with foam pipe insulation? Maybe the temperature can be tweaked upwards at the heating unit.... Allot of times you need a winter setting that's lowered again come springtime.

the problem with reversing direction would be if there were one way valves in the run..

Raven,

I cannot get to the pipes to insulate them. Good point about the valves. Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing if there are any valves.

Thanks,
Steve

what about the tempertaure setting?
 

look at the heating unit....
and see what it is...

then relate your finding...

it may be set to low...

they usually can be reset with just a screw driver

Is this radiant or baseboard? if it is radiant you don't want to go much higher than 140 on the mixer if you have hardwood floors and there should not be more than about 15 degrees drop over the run. I cant remember what the drop if for baseboard tho. if there is there may be another problem.

I have baseboard and hardwood floors. It is less than two years old. Is it normal to hear the water rushing through when it kicks on or does that mean that there is air in the system?

No its not normal. Sounds like you h ave air in the system that is restricting the flow. do you have bleeder valves on it?

should have scooper valves on the highest point of the runs at the furnace. You can manually open the bicycle valves and see if air or water comes out. If you hear something that's air in the lines. Oil guys charge $$$$$$$$ to bleed these and I have found that you can do them easily yourself with the valves if needed. Should be no air in the system unless the scoops are bad or you've done work on the system and not bled it.

they look like this

Alright, so I bled the valve last night and there is no air. If air is in the baseboard, how do you get it out?

When the heat kicks on again I will check the temperature of the boiler. I think that it is fine though.

I think you can switch the direction easily just as you said. Shouldn't make any difference. I know it wouldn't be a problem if I did it at my house but i suppose there may be something different about your system but I doubt it.

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if you have a thermometer and can take readings....
at the hot end and the cold end....
hypothetically
when you go and reverse the flow the temperatures should change or reverse too. worth a shot.

Sounds like it's air bound,air in the circuit will cause water flow problems like lack of heat in the highest area of the dwelling.

bleeder valve could be clooged how old is the system.

Un sweat the fittings and reverse the water flow?I wouldn't recomend this,most systems are created & designed to run a certian way.

You are positive that you have forced hot h2o.What I mean is you have bbh but do you also have a Hydro pack in the attic which produces forced hot air through a hot water coil located in the air handler,hot water is delivered to this coil from Pex tubing or (copper but pex in your case)& fed from the boiler.




Bob

Trapped air in forced hot water heating system
 

I would not reverse direction of water flow. Best to solve the root cause of the problem, which sounds like it's AIR IN THE PIPES.
The smallest amount of trapped air can (and will!) block water flow and explain the hot/cold water symptoms you describe.
If you bleed all the air from the system and you can still hear air (you should NEVER be able to hear water flowing), you're still introducing air into the system. Check suction side of pump to see if you're s#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&g in air. The air is being introduced somewhere, maybe when boiler (heater) shuts off and water begins to cool in the pipes. When you heat water and then allow it to cool, negative pressure (a vacuum) develops which will suck in air if plumbing connections are not tight.

Thanks for all of your replies.

The entire system is only two years old. I am positive that I have a forced hot water system. I live in a condo with no attic.

Last night I drained the boiler and pipes. I attached a hose to the output pipe and I was able to get some air out of the pipes. When the heat came on this morning, I was not able to hear the water rushing through them. I will keep monitoring it for the next few days and let you know.

Thanks again,
Steve

"Un sweat the fittings and reverse the water flow?I wouldn't recomend this,most systems are created & designed to run a certian way."



The pump will only pump in one direction but its up to you if you send it left or right around your house by how you hook up the pipes to the radiators

Most pumps suck the water through the pipes, they don't push it. That may be why you're having problems bleeding the system.

Most Taco circ pumps oo7 or lower size models come with a designated flow direction also some new homes have incorporated re vamped venturie uni flow direction tee valves which allows hot water flow to be more efficient but if there is a change in flow direction you could be putting a lot of strain on the pump and room temp's will take longer to achive desired set point.



Bob

I have to do this to mine every year. forced hot water with baseboards and big ole' radiators
there's a pyramid shaped valve thats lets in more water. pump it up to about 15 pounds on the gauge. then run around and bleed all the air out from each baseboard heater. starting with the one closest to the boiler, ending on the top floor farthest from the boiler. then keep adding more water thru the pyramid valve thingy till the system stays at 15 pounds and it's all out of air.
Same thing happens to me the top floor doesn't get heat. usually when I hear the pipes creaking I know it's time to bleed the system again.