Hi Zim, My my water city valve located up of the valve that you turn off in the video. If I turn it off the valve, then the city water is not going to the system as picture. Should I turn off the valve or not? Thanks
@@nhatlinhvo no, don’t ever turn off the water feed to the system. That always needs to stay on! Many residential systems don’t have a low water cutoff. You can create a dangerous situation with the makeup water turned off
I had three different hvac companies try and get the air out of my system, no luck. Watched this video and did it myself, worked perfectly. Can't thank you enough.
I love the fact that you had 3 zones, it gave us the chance to watch you demonstrate the process 3x.... my second floor has no heat and all the kids rooms are up there. I will be doing this tomorrow. 🤞🏽. Thanks
Hands down the best explanation of “how to” video. I am super impressed by you taking the time to explain everything including the expansion tank. I am still new to hydronic boilers so this is a blessing to see first hand.
This is a great purging video for sure...only discrepancy I have is regarding inlet of expansion tank. The orientation of the label means nothing. How the info is printed on the tank is only that way because of manufacturer. The correct way to tie in an expansion tank on horizontal piping is not hanging below directly it, particularly in a system with iron components. Eventually particulate matter from these components, or copper shavings, etc will settle in that port and on top of the diaphragm causing he tank to fail. Upright is best, if the tanks Schrader valve is not too high and accessible. Many if not all horizontally plumbed air eliminators have a 1/2" port on the bottom for expansion tank hookup and this is fine as long as it's offset with a few elbows. Expansion tanks lose about 1# of air per year thru osmosis...so they need to be checked yearly included in the annual inspection. They should be plumbed in as near to the boiler as possible and as near to the Autofill/prv as possible. This is your point of no pressure change and if possible...ALWAYS pump away from this. You will have virtually zero air issues if it's done this way. Expansion tanks should be plumbed in to the system with a valve and then boiler drain before they tie in because the pressure must be drained off the tank before checking with gauge. Hope this helps!!!
@@bnice12 that all makes sense, that the inlet should be on the bottom and the air bladder above. If the expansion tank has no air pressure in it and then filled with water to the nominal 12 or so psi, would that damage the bladder in the tank or does it have enough flexibility to push all the way to the walls of the tank?
This was absolutely fantastic. Your ability to narrate, demonstrate, and at the same time anticipate and preemptively answer your viewers' questions is uncanny and something which every UA-camr should strive to emulate. I'm now going to spend the next several hours watching every video you've made 😂
This is a great instructional video for many with baseboard heating systems that need to be purged to get the air out. Great job. There is one of your statements that I disagree with… and I feel that it is very important to make a note of herein.. At about 10 minutes and 25 seconds you state that "you do not want to have a relief valve discharge because once it opens up it will never close again." THIS IS A DANGEROUS STATEMENT to be telling the DIY community. If you read the instructions that come with that particular relief valve, it clearly states that you "MUST OPERATE THE RELIEF VALVE ANNUALLY" to be sure the passageways are not blocked. There are three things that can happen when you operate a relief valve. 1. The valve will not discharge any water at all because it is stuck closed. That is not a safe condition and can cause a boiler explosion. You MUST NOT OPERATE that boiler until there is a working relief valve installed. 2. The valve will open and release water as it should, then the valve will attempt to close and may leak. You can try to clear the debris that is keeping the valve from closing 100% by operating it again and again until it seals completely. If it does not seal completely then you need to replace it. 3. You operate the relief valve and when you release the valve handle the valve closes and the water stops flowing. I find this happens about 75 to 80% of the time when you operate the valves annually. In all three outcomes, you end up with the knowledge that you are operating a safe boiler in your home. NEVER TELL PEOPLE NOT TO FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURER'S INSTRUCTIONS WHEN IT COMES TO RELIEF VALVES.
This was the best video on the subject that I have seen. You just saved me $150/hr to have someone come out. Yes, I was actually just quoted that today by a heating/cooling company.
Hi! My aunts home as inherited, was built in 1942. I went from Florida to Maryland for Thanksgiving. There was only heat in the living room and dining room. Needless to say, my Florida butt was freezing in the house. (30 degrees inside) So all back story aside, I wanted to thank you. My son and I watched your video, and then went into the basement and fixed the baseboard heating for the whole house! Thanks so very much for sharing this information.
I have been cleaning, maintaining, and repairing my Buderus/Riello burner with indirect 40 gallon water tank since installed in my house 15 years ago. I empty the horizontal hot water tank which sits directly below the boiler every two years to vaccum out salts and sand that fall out of the water. I was surprised how much the sacrificial rod had eroded in two years after replacement. The fill valve information was super important as I had problem of air entering into the system automatically under normal 12 psi because of too much air in the system. I had not left the faucet open on second floor so too much psi in system. When I open the metal tab on fill valve all the way to allow water at city pressure I good to go from there. Best hydronic instructions for hot water boiler on UA-cam bar none, Zim.
I did this a few times myself without knowing exactly what I was doing. I just made sure the pressure in the system was alright. You video makes sense and now I understand better how it works. Thank you so much.
Thank you a 1000 times! From a working guy trying to the right thing like updating baseboards , old drain valves and circulator pump, was working just over 20 years old. Tried to bleed at each baseboard, spent 1 day doing and still two furthest baseboards barely warm. Did exactly what you instructed! Awesome!
@@fixitwithzim help!!!!? My rads wake me at night !! I recorded the sound I've had multiple people look at my system .....it sounds like a sledgehammer hitting the rads... It's doing it in 3 of the 6 we have .... Any ideas. Our last resort is pulling them and trying to clean them out.... I've drained the system. Bled the rads multiple times. I dunno what to do it's driving me nuts
This guy is ah master professional in his trade. I totally got your message, my wife got your message, delivery was on point. I appreciate your video and now I am fully heated. Thank you very much. Happy holidays
Thank you so much for this video. I am so appreciative of your being willing to help homeowners learn and understand their heating system as well as being able to do certain maintenance tasks as the homeowner. It is so frustrating to have people come in and always try to tell you something is bad and then you find out it was all a scam to get thousands of dollars out of the homeowner that were not required - even to the point of saying you need a new system when you don't. So, thank you very much for education us.
Thank you so much for this video! My husband and I are first time homeowners and had never lived somewhere with baseboard heating until we bought our home. We were getting worried when we started to hear all that noise coming from the heaters but your video popped up when I was searching on what could be causing it. Took us all of 15 minutes to fix after watching your video, no noise since.
This is the best video I've seen. I've watched about a dozen, the detail and simple instructions made this so easy to understand. I have a 2 zone system and I have loud gargling noise. I'm now about to purge my system thanks to you. Thank you sir for the great video 🙏🏾
Besides being an excellent explanation for how to bleed the system, it's just an overall great video. Very informative, no time wasted, no nonsense yacking. I just bought a house with this kind of system and I wasn't familiar with how it worked. Thank you for posting this!!!
Hi. I am not sure if I got an air problem. After flushing my toilet, the reservoir immediately stops filling. And next one..I turn on the main bathtube valve. Water flows normally. When I switch to shower positions, water stops in seconds, like a magic. In both cases in 20-50 minutes everything comes back to normal.What you can say?-Miroslaw@@fixitwithzim
Finally!!! I've watched dozens of videos that could have helped me learn this process, but none of them had the level of explanation that this video had. I'm so thankful for you're ability to share all this information 🙏 I'm so glad I can stop watching hours and hours of boiler videos now lol.
Assuming you had to drain the entire system in order to make those replacements. I also need to replace teh expansion tank on mine, but there are no shut off valves for my system anywhere. It literally connects to the water main. There are no shut off valves to the entire hydronic system. I need to shut my entire house off and then drain all of my plumbing and the entire hydronic system so i can make the repairs.
Great video you mentioned everything I learned over 35 years in my home. My system still has the ancient expansion tank. I added a 3rd zone 10 years ago. Turning the gates valves on and returning 1/2 turn to keep the gate loose. Priceless info. Nobody tells you this. Info is handed down and hardly learned. Thank you.
BLESS YOU SIR. This video saved me having to deal with the heater service guy again. Mine was a little different in that the valve handles were shaped different and I had to make sure to set the relays into the manual "open" position to let the water flow but it was all the same concepts as you described. Thank you!
Thank you! For anyone struggling--read this. Basic premise is you need to know the direction of the water flow. You want city or well water to come into the boiler through the pressure regulator, go through the boiler, and out into ONE zone at a time but before it gets back to the boiler you want to close a valve to stop it from going back into the boiler. Hopefully, right above that valve, you have a drain valve that you can hook a hose up to and let the water circulate until no bubbles come out. I have one circulator and three zone valves. The zone valves are usually on the return side and they have arrows on the brass to show the direction of water flow. To help others, in the Read More down below, I've listed Nine steps that worked for me. Step 1--shut off power to boiler. Step 2--note what the pressure is, there should be a dual gage that shows temperature and pressure. Mine was 18lbs but I think most are lower. Step 3--figure out direction of water flow, usually up out of boiler, past expansion tank and splitting off into multiple zones. Step 4--wherever the zones come back, shut the valves on all but one of them. If there are no physical valves, you can leave the zone valves in the auto position and just put one of them in the manual position, which is open, and you can bleed that zone first. Step 5--close the main return valve to prevent water from going back into the boiler. Step--6 hook up the hose to the drain valve which should be right above the return valve you just closed, and put the hose in a 5 gallon bucket where it can overflow and you can see the air bubbles stop. On my three zones, there was one that took a full five minutes before I saw no air bubbles. Step 7--Close the drain valve, close the physical valve on that zone or put the zone valve back in auto mode and open the valve on another zone. Repeat the whole process. Step 8--Close the drain valve, open the main return valve so that water can get back into the boiler. Use the lever on the pressure regulator to bring the water pressure back to where it was. Step 9--Pat yourself on the back for being a can do person!!!
@sptrsttradr4918 I have just one zone but my drain valve is below my main return valve. If I'm understanding this correctly, the only way I can drain my system would be to have the water run the opposite direction through the system than it normally does. Is this OK?? The city water water coming in through the pressure regulator would go first through my whole house radiator system then come back past the expansion tank, into the boiler, then out the boiler, through the recirculating pump and finally get to my drain valve attached to my hose. Will this mess up my boiler to purge this way?
@@ScaesarBtech The water can only run in the direction that the circulator is set up to pump it. Without seeing your setup, it's hard for me to give you advice. If it's not clear what you need to do, it's best to hire someone. Sorry to say that, but that's the best advice I can give.
I cannot thank you enough for your video. I couldn't sleep the noise was so bad and I didnt know exacrly what I was doing. You explained it so thoroughly and for that I thank you!
Thank you so so so much. I'm a new home owner, 26 who works in tech and doesn't have much experience with DIY fixes. I have an old home with an older boiler with an expansion tacked on just to make things more confusing for me. I did tons of research to try and figure out how to bleed my boiler and this was the one that finally helped me figure it out! The explanation of why you need to shut off the valves before it gets to the pump was extremely helpful! Started clearing the water out and damn thing looked like a hot tub it had so much bubbles in it.
You're welcome bud! Mine looks the same every now and then. The process should be done at least once a year to ensure your heating system is running efficiently. Real easy stuff - no need to call a pro!
Please help my rads are hammering bad every couple minutes they hammer. Sounds like a sledgehammer hitting them all day and night. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. seansteinmetz@msn.com
Concise, but thorough. Almost called a plumber because of gurgling even after using the little air bleeders, but this procedure took care of the noise! Showing us not to let the valves get stuck open as well as to cap off leaks gave me a peace of mind for some reason lol. Thanks much.
Great vid. My crazy ass old house looks nothing like your nice neat system so I don't think I have the same situation. Regardless, nice work man. Thank you
Hello ZIM.... I saw your video on how to stop your furnace from continually running. Remember you replaced a Relay inside your furnace? Remember how that fixed your furnace and it stopped running when the thermostat told it to? I replaced my Relay, like you did, and it did NOT stop the furnace from running. For sure that relay was BAD and needed to be replaced. You were Spot On. But I had to shut the main power off. I've been doing that since winter of 2019. But guess what? I found two metal boxes outside the furnace, mounted on the wall. I finally took the covers off of them and found that each one had a RELAY in them!! So I replaced those on Thursday, November 5th, 2021. Now my Furnace DOES work again!!! So, having replaced that first RELAY inside the furnace and then the other two.. well It does shut off and stay off when it should!! The reason I'm posting this message on THIS video is because I see you have TWO metal Boxes just below your Main Power Switch. Have you looked inside those? Do they each have a Relay in them? Your videos have been VERY HELPFUL!! Thank you so much!!
Thank you for the comment. Yes, I actually replaced one of the switching relays a year or two back. One of those “ I should have grabbed the camera and made a video” but didn’t. Anyways, glad you got your system fixed!
Thank-you Zimsjeep! I have watched many videos on this subject. Your video has the most clear explanation that I have watched & listen to. Arthur Smith, I completely agree with you!!!
Hey Zim, you may have saved me countless dollars by posting this video! I tried everything after our upstairs hydroponic baseboard heaters stopped working. While I tried bleeding the air from both the radiators and the spigot, it was using a garden hose and a bucket as shown that actually worked! It's been 24 hours and the upstairs is still nice and toasty. Hopefully the repair will stand up to time.
Great video, thank you! It helped me purge air from a closed loop marine hydronic heating system with a manifold. Same exact principals and it worked like a charm. Really appreciate your clarity and breaking down what’s going on.
I watched a lot of videos on this subject, this is the only one I liked. Explanation is on point! It covered everything I’m experiencing with my hydronic system. I’m currently having a very stubborn air lock where it’ll work for a few hours then stop working. The hose in the bucket technique is genius! The details on leaky valves and proper positioning is also extremely helpful. My home is over 60 years old so almost all my gate valves have that issue. Thanks so much for taking the time and posting!
Good info. I wouldn't however recommend turning the fast fill lever to max pressure. Good chance the inexperienced home owner will cause the pressure to rise too high inside the boiler, causing the pressure relief valve to open. Most importantly though the procedure of turning the max fill lever to it's maximum can be very dangerous if you don't know what you are doing, or you forget to return it to it's normal position once done bleeding. Why? There have been cases of pressure relief valves failing to open and boilers exploding due to high internal pressures.
that was AMAZING!!... thank you... I have the identical Furnace/Boiler as in your video... I look forward to checking out my system which is a 2 zone system... I think my Pressure gauge shows 15 psi... the furnace has worked fine so I guess 15 psi isn't too high.... THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO !!! :::
Best clear tutorial I have seen so far thanks for the vid buddy I have watched about 3 videos before you and they they weren’t thorough. Thanks again for the clear well put explanation
Thanks a lot! As an aside we have the same brand boiler and have had for many years. A large plumbing company said we should replace it at the low, low cost of only $12,000! A local person came in and said that the boiler will probably outlast me and should just have ignition cleaned.
100% best video I’ve seen on the subject. It’s an extremely easy system to bleed once you know what you’re doing. You made it as straight forward as possible. Now, I don’t hear water rushing through my pipes. My puppies are creaking when turning on, but so much quieter.
thank you so much for simplifying this procedure i recently had to drain the water from my house in Maine during January due to a furnace malfunction, after repairing the furnace I immediately started to hear air in the pipes and the expansion tank after turning on the boiler, reopening the zone valves. thanks to you I have the knowledge to purge the air from the system without calling a furnace repair man
Just wanted to add a heartfelt note of thanks for demystifying this process. Took one try, one zone, and voila - heat in our room! Thank you for explaining it so clearly.
Never seen this down south. I moved to PA and have this in my house. Top floor won't heat and had some pipe hammer going on. Great info in this video. Extremely well done, descriptive and not overbearing. Definitely a sub!! Keep it up.
New home owner in the NW, first time working with hydronic baseboard. Thanks for the vid, best instructional one on yt & most similar layout to my system
Oh Man! Thank you! We purchased an 1840 home with forced water radiator heating, but always noisy with gurgling water in the pipes. We have three zones in the 2700sf home. My wife thought we should be bleeding the radiators, but this looks more direct and efficient.
This is the most clear video I have seen on UA-cam. Thank you for sharing this with me. Our local HVAC charging $75 just to show up. You video is great!
By far the best video I've seen on the topic, especially with those extra handy tips! I'd also mention that all the new water added also has some air trapped in it and that it's the job of the air vent (which is beside my expansion tank) to slowly bleed that off. After I purged my system it gave off a couple hisses soon afterwards that was reassuring to hear. Also, it's a good idea to permanently keep a 5 gal bucket below both the pressure relief outlet pipe and backflow preventer outlet pipe.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I have 2 radiators in storage areas that would be a pain to bleed. If I had to move all that stuff, it would take several hours to move, and then replace. Bleeding the entire system at once is a life saver. I had a couple of leaks underneath concrete. It's bad enough to dig it out.
OK, I am totally jealous. I see what you are doing. You are the same type of DYIer as I am. You however videotaped your projects. Real cool. You got me thinking if I made different clips of my projects as well as documented existing things, it would go a long way towards having anyone else understand my systems and such. I have a couple of three ring binders with written documentation of my electrical, plumbing, boilers (gas and coal) and different things I have implemented. Now I need to start taping. Thanks for the inspiration.
You’re welcome. I’m not going to lie, filming the work makes the job 10 times longer but I’m the end, it’s all good and gives me a sense of satisfaction. Good luck, It’s a fun process!
Fantastic Video. It worked perfectly for me following the instructions. The only thing i would add is that for people like me who have “Zone Valves” that open each zone when the thermostat calls for heat, there isnone more step that needs to be done, that is to manually open the zone valve in the zone you are purging the air from so water can flow thru that zone. There is a lever on my zone valves that I move to do this. Then after that zone is purged, I move the lever on my zone valves (Taco) back to the normal (closed) position. Again fabulous video my system so quiet now such a great feeling not to hear that water 💦 gurgling lol 😂.
Wow! You, sir, are a superb speaker. I don't think I heard an "uh" or "um" once, and you were just free-thinking while you worked! Oh, yeah-and super helpful, too! My house is 45º right now, but I hadda take the time to write that. Many thanks, and brilliantly done.
Excellent explanation of purging the air from a closed system. Newer hvac techs should watch this before servicing residential customers. Nothing against newer techs but they mostly seem to be forced air systems more than boiler systems. Good job! 👍
Thank you so much for this! Others that I’ve seen did not point out the opening of the fill valve and I think that missing piece is why air remained in the system. Once again, I appreciate you bro!
Your bucket trick is some blue collar genius, I was about to give up on purging my HydroTherm radiant boiler, I could not figure out how much water I needed to run through the system. tyvm!
Thanks for the informative video. I have an exact same heater system with 2 zones. All I could see before this video was a spaghetti of pipes, but now after watching this video, it all makes sense.
This fixed my system and I learned about my fill valve. It saved me some coin and warmed my house a day faster than the service people could get here. Thanks!
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Hi Zim,
My my water city valve located up of the valve that you turn off in the video. If I turn it off the valve, then the city water is not going to the system as picture.
Should I turn off the valve or not? Thanks
@@nhatlinhvo no, don’t ever turn off the water feed to the system. That always needs to stay on! Many residential systems don’t have a low water cutoff. You can create a dangerous situation with the makeup water turned off
this is truly the way UA-cam was originally intended (to share useful info we all could benefit from)...thanks a million Zim.
Thank you, appreciate that! 👍🏻
I had three different hvac companies try and get the air out of my system, no luck. Watched this video and did it myself, worked perfectly. Can't thank you enough.
Awesome stuff!! Glad you got it fixed!
How much did the 3 companies charge you for no results
Well your first mistake was calling and hvac company. They deal with air not water.
@@MsChunky666 🤣 yes they do.
@@mackenziegray2090 not on my state.
I love the fact that you had 3 zones, it gave us the chance to watch you demonstrate the process 3x.... my second floor has no heat and all the kids rooms are up there. I will be doing this tomorrow. 🤞🏽. Thanks
Hands down the best explanation of “how to” video. I am super impressed by you taking the time to explain everything including the expansion tank. I am still new to hydronic boilers so this is a blessing to see first hand.
Thanks, glad the video helped you!
Yes thank you for this very well explained purging process
This is a great purging video for sure...only discrepancy I have is regarding inlet of expansion tank. The orientation of the label means nothing. How the info is printed on the tank is only that way because of manufacturer. The correct way to tie in an expansion tank on horizontal piping is not hanging below directly it, particularly in a system with iron components. Eventually particulate matter from these components, or copper shavings, etc will settle in that port and on top of the diaphragm causing he tank to fail. Upright is best, if the tanks Schrader valve is not too high and accessible. Many if not all horizontally plumbed air eliminators have a 1/2" port on the bottom for expansion tank hookup and this is fine as long as it's offset with a few elbows. Expansion tanks lose about 1# of air per year thru osmosis...so they need to be checked yearly included in the annual inspection. They should be plumbed in as near to the boiler as possible and as near to the Autofill/prv as possible. This is your point of no pressure change and if possible...ALWAYS pump away from this. You will have virtually zero air issues if it's done this way. Expansion tanks should be plumbed in to the system with a valve and then boiler drain before they tie in because the pressure must be drained off the tank before checking with gauge. Hope this helps!!!
@@bnice12 that all makes sense, that the inlet should be on the bottom and the air bladder above.
If the expansion tank has no air pressure in it and then filled with water to the nominal 12 or so psi, would that damage the bladder in the tank or does it have enough flexibility to push all the way to the walls of the tank?
the best explanation without boring people out, direct to the point and clear
Thank you, appreciate that!!
Video is 5 years old and still saving folks like me some MONEY!! Thank you Zim!
This was absolutely fantastic. Your ability to narrate, demonstrate, and at the same time anticipate and preemptively answer your viewers' questions is uncanny and something which every UA-camr should strive to emulate. I'm now going to spend the next several hours watching every video you've made 😂
This is a great instructional video for many with baseboard heating systems that need to be purged to get the air out. Great job.
There is one of your statements that I disagree with… and I feel that it is very important to make a note of herein.. At about 10 minutes and 25 seconds you state that "you do not want to have a relief valve discharge because once it opens up it will never close again." THIS IS A DANGEROUS STATEMENT to be telling the DIY community. If you read the instructions that come with that particular relief valve, it clearly states that you "MUST OPERATE THE RELIEF VALVE ANNUALLY" to be sure the passageways are not blocked.
There are three things that can happen when you operate a relief valve.
1. The valve will not discharge any water at all because it is stuck closed. That is not a safe condition and can cause a boiler explosion. You MUST NOT OPERATE that boiler until there is a working relief valve installed.
2. The valve will open and release water as it should, then the valve will attempt to close and may leak. You can try to clear the debris that is keeping the valve from closing 100% by operating it again and again until it seals completely. If it does not seal completely then you need to replace it.
3. You operate the relief valve and when you release the valve handle the valve closes and the water stops flowing. I find this happens about 75 to 80% of the time when you operate the valves annually.
In all three outcomes, you end up with the knowledge that you are operating a safe boiler in your home.
NEVER TELL PEOPLE NOT TO FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURER'S INSTRUCTIONS WHEN IT COMES TO RELIEF VALVES.
This was the best video on the subject that I have seen. You just saved me $150/hr to have someone come out. Yes, I was actually just quoted that today by a heating/cooling company.
Awesome! Glad to help!!
Hi! My aunts home as inherited, was built in 1942. I went from Florida to Maryland for Thanksgiving. There was only heat in the living room and dining room. Needless to say, my Florida butt was freezing in the house. (30 degrees inside) So all back story aside, I wanted to thank you. My son and I watched your video, and then went into the basement and fixed the baseboard heating for the whole house! Thanks so very much for sharing this information.
Thank you a million times! I've been searching for hours for information and this is the best thing I found. Fixed the heat to my sons room.
You’re welcome, glad you got it fixed!
I have been cleaning, maintaining, and repairing my Buderus/Riello burner with indirect 40 gallon water tank since installed in my house 15 years ago. I empty the horizontal hot water tank which sits directly below the boiler every two years to vaccum out salts and sand that fall out of the water. I was surprised how much the sacrificial rod had eroded in two years after replacement.
The fill valve information was super important as I had problem of air entering into the system automatically under normal 12 psi because of too much air in the system. I had not left the faucet open on second floor so too much psi in system. When I open the metal tab on fill valve all the way to allow water at city pressure I good to go from there.
Best hydronic instructions for hot water boiler on UA-cam bar none, Zim.
Thank you! Appreciate the comment and happy to help. Always a good feeling working on your own equipment and saving on the costly repairs from others.
I did this a few times myself without knowing exactly what I was doing. I just made sure the pressure in the system was alright. You video makes sense and now I understand better how it works. Thank you so much.
Thank you a 1000 times! From a working guy trying to the right thing like updating baseboards , old drain valves and circulator pump, was working just over 20 years old. Tried to bleed at each baseboard, spent 1 day doing and still two furthest baseboards barely warm. Did exactly what you instructed! Awesome!
Best, well explained video I've ever watched on this subject. Thanks!
Thank you!
By far the best
Figures the italian guy tells you how it is and gives you better info than any other guy on here
Awesome!! Thank you!!!
Straight and to the point with pro-tips. What more could you ask for in a "how-to" video! Thank you
Thank you, appreciate that!!
Thanks, good video! Whoever did your boiler install did a good job by putting in valves and drains on each zone. My installer wasn't so nice...
Love when the "why" is explained along with the "how". Great video - learned alot more than I set out to...always a good thing. Thanks!
Thank you for the kind words and glad you liked the video!
@@fixitwithzim help!!!!? My rads wake me at night !! I recorded the sound I've had multiple people look at my system .....it sounds like a sledgehammer hitting the rads... It's doing it in 3 of the 6 we have .... Any ideas. Our last resort is pulling them and trying to clean them out.... I've drained the system. Bled the rads multiple times. I dunno what to do it's driving me nuts
Great video I also have a 3 Zone and I have no problems but I am going to do it your way summer time. I learn a lot.Thanks so much
This guy is ah master professional in his trade. I totally got your message, my wife got your message, delivery was on point. I appreciate your video and now I am fully heated. Thank you very much. Happy holidays
Wow, thank you so much for that. Truly appreciate the kind words and happy holidays to you as well!!
Best 16.50 minutes I’ve seen on this subject. Thank You. I heard noise in my system now I know exactly what to do.
16.24
I completely agree with you Arthur Smith.
The most clear explanation I have ever heard.
Thank you so much for this video. I am so appreciative of your being willing to help homeowners learn and understand their heating system as well as being able to do certain maintenance tasks as the homeowner. It is so frustrating to have people come in and always try to tell you something is bad and then you find out it was all a scam to get thousands of dollars out of the homeowner that were not required - even to the point of saying you need a new system when you don't. So, thank you very much for education us.
Thank you so much for this video! My husband and I are first time homeowners and had never lived somewhere with baseboard heating until we bought our home. We were getting worried when we started to hear all that noise coming from the heaters but your video popped up when I was searching on what could be causing it. Took us all of 15 minutes to fix after watching your video, no noise since.
Wow, that’s awesome!! Nice work! So happy you got it fixed and learned a new skill! Enjoy your new home!!
This is the best video I've seen. I've watched about a dozen, the detail and simple instructions made this so easy to understand. I have a 2 zone system and I have loud gargling noise. I'm now about to purge my system thanks to you. Thank you sir for the great video 🙏🏾
Besides being an excellent explanation for how to bleed the system, it's just an overall great video. Very informative, no time wasted, no nonsense yacking. I just bought a house with this kind of system and I wasn't familiar with how it worked. Thank you for posting this!!!
Thanks a lot…appreciate the kind words!!
This is the best video I have seen on purging air from a baseboard heating system.
Thank you!! Appreciate it!
Hi. I am not sure if I got an air problem. After flushing my toilet, the reservoir immediately stops filling. And next one..I turn on the main bathtube valve. Water flows normally. When I switch to shower positions, water stops in seconds, like a magic. In both cases in 20-50 minutes everything comes back to normal.What you can say?-Miroslaw@@fixitwithzim
This absoloutely warmed and saved my CHRISTMAS in my NEW house today! Appreciate this video!
Finally!!! I've watched dozens of videos that could have helped me learn this process, but none of them had the level of explanation that this video had. I'm so thankful for you're ability to share all this information 🙏 I'm so glad I can stop watching hours and hours of boiler videos now lol.
Followed your tutorial yesterday after replacing the expansion tank, automatic filler valve and pressure relief valve - worked like a charm!
Excellent, glad to hear the video helped you with your repairs!
Assuming you had to drain the entire system in order to make those replacements. I also need to replace teh expansion tank on mine, but there are no shut off valves for my system anywhere. It literally connects to the water main. There are no shut off valves to the entire hydronic system. I need to shut my entire house off and then drain all of my plumbing and the entire hydronic system so i can make the repairs.
Great video you mentioned everything I learned over 35 years in my home. My system still has the ancient expansion tank. I added a 3rd zone 10 years ago. Turning the gates valves on and returning 1/2 turn to keep the gate loose. Priceless info. Nobody tells you this. Info is handed down and hardly learned. Thank you.
BLESS YOU SIR. This video saved me having to deal with the heater service guy again. Mine was a little different in that the valve handles were shaped different and I had to make sure to set the relays into the manual "open" position to let the water flow but it was all the same concepts as you described. Thank you!
Nice work!!
I have two zones do you have to open the both of the zone valves while purging the system?
@@jaybee1930 do one at a time
Thank you! For anyone struggling--read this. Basic premise is you need to know the direction of the water flow. You want city or well water to come into the boiler through the pressure regulator, go through the boiler, and out into ONE zone at a time but before it gets back to the boiler you want to close a valve to stop it from going back into the boiler. Hopefully, right above that valve, you have a drain valve that you can hook a hose up to and let the water circulate until no bubbles come out. I have one circulator and three zone valves. The zone valves are usually on the return side and they have arrows on the brass to show the direction of water flow. To help others, in the Read More down below, I've listed Nine steps that worked for me.
Step 1--shut off power to boiler. Step 2--note what the pressure is, there should be a dual gage that shows temperature and pressure. Mine was 18lbs but I think most are lower. Step 3--figure out direction of water flow, usually up out of boiler, past expansion tank and splitting off into multiple zones. Step 4--wherever the zones come back, shut the valves on all but one of them. If there are no physical valves, you can leave the zone valves in the auto position and just put one of them in the manual position, which is open, and you can bleed that zone first. Step 5--close the main return valve to prevent water from going back into the boiler. Step--6 hook up the hose to the drain valve which should be right above the return valve you just closed, and put the hose in a 5 gallon bucket where it can overflow and you can see the air bubbles stop. On my three zones, there was one that took a full five minutes before I saw no air bubbles. Step 7--Close the drain valve, close the physical valve on that zone or put the zone valve back in auto mode and open the valve on another zone. Repeat the whole process. Step 8--Close the drain valve, open the main return valve so that water can get back into the boiler. Use the lever on the pressure regulator to bring the water pressure back to where it was. Step 9--Pat yourself on the back for being a can do person!!!
@sptrsttradr4918 I have just one zone but my drain valve is below my main return valve. If I'm understanding this correctly, the only way I can drain my system would be to have the water run the opposite direction through the system than it normally does. Is this OK?? The city water water coming in through the pressure regulator would go first through my whole house radiator system then come back past the expansion tank, into the boiler, then out the boiler, through the recirculating pump and finally get to my drain valve attached to my hose. Will this mess up my boiler to purge this way?
@@ScaesarBtech The water can only run in the direction that the circulator is set up to pump it. Without seeing your setup, it's hard for me to give you advice. If it's not clear what you need to do, it's best to hire someone. Sorry to say that, but that's the best advice I can give.
I cannot thank you enough for your video. I couldn't sleep the noise was so bad and I didnt know exacrly what I was doing. You explained it so thoroughly and for that I thank you!
You're welcome, glad you found the video helpful.
I just want to tell you this is the best video I ever seen. Thank you for sharing!!
Thank you, appreciate that!!
Thank you for a Chrystal clear explanation of each of the steps for this task- great job
Thank you so so so much. I'm a new home owner, 26 who works in tech and doesn't have much experience with DIY fixes. I have an old home with an older boiler with an expansion tacked on just to make things more confusing for me. I did tons of research to try and figure out how to bleed my boiler and this was the one that finally helped me figure it out! The explanation of why you need to shut off the valves before it gets to the pump was extremely helpful! Started clearing the water out and damn thing looked like a hot tub it had so much bubbles in it.
You're welcome bud! Mine looks the same every now and then. The process should be done at least once a year to ensure your heating system is running efficiently. Real easy stuff - no need to call a pro!
Thanks for posting this. My system is overdue to the point where it sounds like water rushing through the pipes instead of the usual pings and knocks.
Please help my rads are hammering bad every couple minutes they hammer. Sounds like a sledgehammer hitting them all day and night. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
seansteinmetz@msn.com
probably the most helpful, to the point, enjoyable video on youtube.
Concise, but thorough. Almost called a plumber because of gurgling even after using the little air bleeders, but this procedure took care of the noise! Showing us not to let the valves get stuck open as well as to cap off leaks gave me a peace of mind for some reason lol. Thanks much.
Wow !This man knows his stuff should have his own hvac school. Hands down the best detailed explanation on the net . thank you!
Thank you!! Appreciate the kind words!!
Great vid. My crazy ass old house looks nothing like your nice neat system so I don't think I have the same situation. Regardless, nice work man. Thank you
Hello ZIM.... I saw your video on how to stop your furnace from continually running. Remember you replaced a Relay inside your furnace? Remember how that fixed your furnace and it stopped running when the thermostat told it to? I replaced my Relay, like you did, and it did NOT stop the furnace from running. For sure that relay was BAD and needed to be replaced. You were Spot On. But I had to shut the main power off. I've been doing that since winter of 2019. But guess what? I found two metal boxes outside the furnace, mounted on the wall. I finally took the covers off of them and found that each one had a RELAY in them!! So I replaced those on Thursday, November 5th, 2021. Now my Furnace DOES work again!!! So, having replaced that first RELAY inside the furnace and then the other two.. well It does shut off and stay off when it should!! The reason I'm posting this message on THIS video is because I see you have TWO metal Boxes just below your Main Power Switch. Have you looked inside those? Do they each have a Relay in them? Your videos have been VERY HELPFUL!! Thank you so much!!
Thank you for the comment. Yes, I actually replaced one of the switching relays a year or two back. One of those “ I should have grabbed the camera and made a video” but didn’t. Anyways, glad you got your system fixed!
Thank-you Zimsjeep!
I have watched many videos on this subject. Your video has the most clear explanation that I have watched & listen to.
Arthur Smith, I completely agree with you!!!
Hey Zim, you may have saved me countless dollars by posting this video! I tried everything after our upstairs hydroponic baseboard heaters stopped working. While I tried bleeding the air from both the radiators and the spigot, it was using a garden hose and a bucket as shown that actually worked! It's been 24 hours and the upstairs is still nice and toasty. Hopefully the repair will stand up to time.
Great video, thank you! It helped me purge air from a closed loop marine hydronic heating system with a manifold. Same exact principals and it worked like a charm. Really appreciate your clarity and breaking down what’s going on.
I am extremely indebted to you! You helped me understand this so well and you’re a natural and talented teacher! Thank you immensely!!!!!!!
Glad I could help, really easy stuff once you get the hang of it
Agree! This is a superb explanation! Presents all essential information about the system and the purging process in the most understandable order.
Thank you!!
I watched a lot of videos on this subject, this is the only one I liked. Explanation is on point! It covered everything I’m experiencing with my hydronic system. I’m currently having a very stubborn air lock where it’ll work for a few hours then stop working. The hose in the bucket technique is genius! The details on leaky valves and proper positioning is also extremely helpful. My home is over 60 years old so almost all my gate valves have that issue. Thanks so much for taking the time and posting!
Thank you so much! You make this look easier than it is!! Really appreciate the time and info you put in this video! Ps. Keep them coming!!
Thank you, appreciate that! Easy stuff, doesn’t take a lot of knowledge.
best explanation on you tube I have seen on this problem, thank you!!!
Thank you…appreciate it!!
Good info. I wouldn't however recommend turning the fast fill lever to max pressure. Good chance the inexperienced home owner will cause the pressure to rise too high inside the boiler, causing the pressure relief valve to open. Most importantly though the procedure of turning the max fill lever to it's maximum can be very dangerous if you don't know what you are doing, or you forget to return it to it's normal position once done bleeding. Why?
There have been cases of pressure relief valves failing to open and boilers exploding due to high internal pressures.
If you watched the video he explains that and makes sure to mention the importance of shutting it off and the pressure being too high 🙄 😉
I like that you explained the "why" versus just the "how". Very important on these videos! Thanks for the help!
Thanks brother, you're doing a great service.
This is the only video on this topic to watch. Perfect! Thanks.
Thank you!
that was AMAZING!!... thank you... I have the identical Furnace/Boiler as in your video... I look forward to checking out my system which is a 2 zone system... I think my Pressure gauge shows 15 psi... the furnace has worked fine so I guess 15 psi isn't too high.... THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO !!! :::
Best clear tutorial I have seen so far thanks for the vid buddy I have watched about 3 videos before you and they they weren’t thorough. Thanks again for the clear well put explanation
I appreciate that! Thank you!!!
Thank you so much! You explained theory of operation fantastically! It really helped me out a lot today!!!!
Excellent, happy to hear that!
Total explanation of every concept behind what you are doing. Love it.
Awesome video man! Simple to follow and right to the point! 👏👏👏
Thanks a lot! As an aside we have the same brand boiler and have had for many years. A large plumbing company said we should replace it at the low, low cost of only $12,000! A local person came in and said that the boiler will probably outlast me and should just have ignition cleaned.
Yes, some real scam artists out there. Glad you got it fixed and not replaced!!
Great advice! Great video! Thanks for taking the time to share your wisdom.
Thank you!! Appreciate that!!
The best explanation and directions on YOUTube , absolutely great 😊 thank you for your detailed help !!!
Remove air from you heating system,
save $$$ - do it yourself!
This video has the clearest instructions,
Thank you!!
100% best video I’ve seen on the subject. It’s an extremely easy system to bleed once you know what you’re doing. You made it as straight forward as possible. Now, I don’t hear water rushing through my pipes. My puppies are creaking when turning on, but so much quieter.
That saved me $145 and 3 weeks of waiting which is what it took to sort out last year. Was also quite fun to do to be honest. Thank you so much!
Awesome!! Glad you got it fixed yourself...and for free!!
thank you so much for simplifying this procedure i recently had to drain the water from my house in Maine during January due to a furnace malfunction, after repairing the furnace I immediately started to hear air in the pipes and the expansion tank after turning on the boiler, reopening the zone valves. thanks to you I have the knowledge to purge the air from the system without calling a furnace repair man
Just wanted to add a heartfelt note of thanks for demystifying this process. Took one try, one zone, and voila - heat in our room! Thank you for explaining it so clearly.
2232
Experts know their craft. Masters can teach it. Clearest video on this topic on UA-cam. Thank you!
You didn’t miss a trick. Well done.
Thank you!!
Never seen this down south. I moved to PA and have this in my house. Top floor won't heat and had some pipe hammer going on. Great info in this video. Extremely well done, descriptive and not overbearing. Definitely a sub!! Keep it up.
Thank you so much...appreciate that!!
New home owner in the NW, first time working with hydronic baseboard. Thanks for the vid, best instructional one on yt & most similar layout to my system
You’re welcome! Glad the video helped you out!
Phenomenal Video! Extremely well explained for the novice! Easy to follow!
Thank you, appreciate it!!
I've looked at a few videos and I could not understand any of it. But you my friend made it so simple. Thank you so so much my entire house is warm
Oh Man! Thank you! We purchased an 1840 home with forced water radiator heating, but always noisy with gurgling water in the pipes. We have three zones in the 2700sf home. My wife thought we should be bleeding the radiators, but this looks more direct and efficient.
This is the most clear video I have seen on UA-cam. Thank you for sharing this with me. Our local HVAC charging $75 just to show up. You video is great!
Thank you...Glad to help!
Thats a good price too
By far the best video I've seen on the topic, especially with those extra handy tips! I'd also mention that all the new water added also has some air trapped in it and that it's the job of the air vent (which is beside my expansion tank) to slowly bleed that off. After I purged my system it gave off a couple hisses soon afterwards that was reassuring to hear. Also, it's a good idea to permanently keep a 5 gal bucket below both the pressure relief outlet pipe and backflow preventer outlet pipe.
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the suggestions and feedback!
I cannot tell you how much I love this video! Now we need to figure out how to drain since we do not have a shower only a slop sink.
You can run it outside through a window or up the stairs of you have to. It’ll take a little longer but will still work the same 👍🏻
Such a clear and detailed explanation. None of the other videos I’ve watched explained it in such easy to understand terms.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
I have 2 radiators in storage areas that would be a pain to bleed. If I had to move all that stuff, it would take several hours to move, and then replace. Bleeding the entire system at once is a life saver. I had a couple of leaks underneath concrete. It's bad enough to dig it out.
OK, I am totally jealous. I see what you are doing. You are the same type of DYIer as I am. You however videotaped your projects. Real cool. You got me thinking if I made different clips of my projects as well as documented existing things, it would go a long way towards having anyone else understand my systems and such. I have a couple of three ring binders with written documentation of my electrical, plumbing, boilers (gas and coal) and different things I have implemented. Now I need to start taping. Thanks for the inspiration.
You’re welcome. I’m not going to lie, filming the work makes the job 10 times longer but I’m the end, it’s all good and gives me a sense of satisfaction. Good luck, It’s a fun process!
Fantastic Video. It worked perfectly for me following the instructions. The only thing i would add is that for people like me who have “Zone Valves” that open each zone when the thermostat calls for heat, there isnone more step that needs to be done, that is to manually open the zone valve in the zone you are purging the air from so water can flow thru that zone. There is a lever on my zone valves that I move to do this. Then after that zone is purged, I move the lever on my zone valves (Taco) back to the normal (closed) position. Again fabulous video my system so quiet now such a great feeling not to hear that water 💦 gurgling lol 😂.
Yes, great point! Appreciate that!!
Excellent, easy-to-understand, and helpful video. Thanks!
Wow! You, sir, are a superb speaker. I don't think I heard an "uh" or "um" once, and you were just free-thinking while you worked! Oh, yeah-and super helpful, too! My house is 45º right now, but I hadda take the time to write that. Many thanks, and brilliantly done.
Excellent explanation of purging the air from a closed system. Newer hvac techs should watch this before servicing residential customers. Nothing against newer techs but they mostly seem to be forced air systems more than boiler systems. Good job! 👍
Thank you so much! My house was completely cold and now is good. 🎉❤
Great explanation, a long winter without the sloshing and whooshing, much appreciated!
Excellent video made everything very simple and logical
Thank you so much for this! Others that I’ve seen did not point out the opening of the fill valve and I think that missing piece is why air remained in the system. Once again, I appreciate you bro!
You're welcome, glad to help
Great job on this video Zim. Very helpful!
Thank you!!
Ty. Nice, easy, tutorial. You boiler water is actually pretty clean. Especially now.
You did a great job explaining how to bleed the air out of the system. Surprising a lot of people do not know how to do that
Agreed, Thank you!
Your bucket trick is some blue collar genius, I was about to give up on purging my HydroTherm radiant boiler, I could not figure out how much water I needed to run through the system.
tyvm!
The best breakdown of boiler system and easy details.. he knows his stuff !!
Thanks for the informative video. I have an exact same heater system with 2 zones. All I could see before this video was a spaghetti of pipes, but now after watching this video, it all makes sense.
That’s great!! Thank you!
This fixed my system and I learned about my fill valve. It saved me some coin and warmed my house a day faster than the service people could get here. Thanks!
Great!! Thank you!!
First guy to clearly explain the procedure.
Very well explained! I wish I had found this video earlier.
Thank you!
Best video on this. Wish it was the first to pop up in my search. I hit like so hopefully it pops up for someone else. Thanks
Thank you!!