pb105 Question

[Chris04626]

Ok is very cold here 30 below windchill. My pellet boiler is running and reaching 180 guage on oil boiler is a little lower, i have baseboard heating and it doesnt seem like a whole lot of heat is coming out, thermostat is set for 70 and its only 60 in here.

Thoughts on what could be happenings.

 

[heat seeker]

If you have a circulating pump, is it actually running? Mine quit few years ago, and the only way I found out is that the motor was humming. Thermal circulation worked well enough for moderate temps at the time, but wouldn't have been enough for cold weather.

 

[velvetfoot]

Could a zone be frozen? Like along the rim joist? Are any zone pipes hot?

 

[Chris04626]

pipes seem to be hot, how do you go about seeing if the circulating pump is working?

 

[velvetfoot]

ear on screwdriver that's up against pump?

 

[Chris04626]

The pump seems to be working

 

[velvetfoot]

The pipes are hot going into the baseboard?

Could it be the system is undersized for this cold weather?

 

[Chris04626]

yes pipes are hot, System has heated above 60 before at this cold.

 

[heat seeker]

Can you check the actual temperature of the water leaving the furnace? I once had a similar situation in that it took forever to warm the house up. Turned out the aquastat was way off - the water temperature was about 110º leaving the furnace. I taped a thermometer to the exit pipe, and that's what it read. After recalibrating the aquastat, the heat was great. My hot water came from a separate heater, so was not affected. That was set at almost 200º, but that's another story. The previous owner thought he know more than he did. His electrical work was scary.

BTW, the inside of the furnace, because it never got hot enough, was coated with sulphury slime that eventually burned off.

An afterthought - check the radiators for dust buildup. Dust on the fins will reduce airflow through the radiators. This place is dusty, so every year I have to vacuum them.

 

[velvetfoot]

Someway to objectively measure temp would be nice. I mean, it comes into the loop at 180 or so and leaves at 20 degrees less or so. I'm not sure how one's hand is calibrated once it gets above 130 or so.

 

[Former Farmer]

Check water psi in system. May need to add water to system.