Hoping to get some advice from others. We had a Water Furnace installed in November 2008- love it and have had no problems. Recently I noticed that I could hear noise coming from the pipes. Our system is installed in the laundry room so we can hear it turn on and off, but this noise seemed new. I called the installer who indicated that we must have air in the lines (closed loop system) and it would have to be flushed and refilled, and adding something to seal the leak. I have since listened more attentively and realized (after reading several GBT threads) that I was hearing water running through the pipes. And I noticed that I have NO pressure at all. I called my installer back and he said same thing- need to flush the system, replace fluid etc. There have been zero problems with the performance- it still works very well. I read several posts about bleeding the air out. I live in rural West Virginia and there are not many installers nearby to get different opinions. Any thoughts? Much appreciated....

If you hear water in the loop pipes it MUST be re-flushed. It may be a simple as a fitting dripping a bit or it could be in the loop field.
Has there been ANY digging around the loop field? Has there been ANY interior remodeling? Those are what we find to be the problem in a majority of loops with air in them.

Bergy

Thanks for the reply. I'm glad to hear a second opinion. We have had no digging and no remodeling.

Yes probably should be reflushed, but if it is running okay, you could just push the pressure back up (just be careful not to let more air in).

How do you do that? I seem to remember the installer mentioning something about that years ago. Is it something that can be done, and if that eliminates the sound of water then all ok? How does air get in there if something is not ruptured and is it possible the air was in there from the get go and I just didn't know it?

How do you do that? I seem to remember the installer mentioning something about that years ago."

Either through a PT port or 3 way valves on flow center

" Is it something that can be done, and if that eliminates the sound of water then all ok?"

If you haven't seen a loss in performance, then not enough air is introduced to interfere. Yes it can be done.

"How does air get in there if something is not ruptured and is it possible the air was in there from the get go and I just didn't know it?"

Water has dissolved air in it that can bubble out.

Much appreciated. I will (hopefully) try that route with the installer and see if it solves the problem. Thanks so much. Worst case scenario I'm back to square one with a flush.

Exactly.

It is typical for pressurized systems to have air participation out of the water, especially at the beginning of the cooling season when heat is rejected into the cold loop. The increase of heat in the loop causes the pipes to expand, the pressure drops in the loop filed, and gases which are in solution under pressure participate out. That is why non-pressurized systems gain popularity.

Is there any devise that can be added to automatically purge the air? What different non pressurized system is there besides pump and dump?

There is a non-pressurized flow center. Air purgers can be used, but then you would still need to make up water and if antifreeze is involved you want to be careful.

My system uses air purgers and make up water.  For a pipe diagram please see http://www.welserver.com/WEL0043/ .

Bill

Posted By Bill Neukranz on 03 Jul 2014 03:59 PM
My system uses air purgers and make up water.  For a pipe diagram please see http://www.welserver.com/WEL0043/ .

Bill

Again, if there is antifreeze involved I am not a fan of auto-fill.

Posted By joe.ami on 04 Jul 2014 11:13 AM

Posted By Bill Neukranz on 03 Jul 2014 03:59 PM
My system uses air purgers and make up water.  For a pipe diagram please see http://www.welserver.com/WEL0043/ .

Bill

Again, if there is antifreeze involved I am not a fan of auto-fill.

Agreed.  My implementation is for warm weather climates (I'm in Dallas), where no antifreeze is used.  Heck, I don't even have electric heating coils.

Best regards,

Bill