increasing Pressure Boiler Heat

Support your community
Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Plumbing Forums

Help Support Plumbing Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
M

macher

Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2018
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Location
Philadelphia
Hi we have radiator heat and a boiler. I’ve read that the pressure should be between 12-15 PSI for a 2 story house. The pressure is kind of low.

I know where the walter fill valve is and I know by giving the unit some water can increase the pressure.

Can you fill the unit when it’s hot? Thanks!
 
be very careful.....adding cold water to a hot boiler could cause it to crack.....add it very slowly.....why do you want to add pressure ?????if your not heating try bleeding your radiators if you have a combination of baseboard and radiators your heat wont work properly unless you are talking about convectors(they look like a radiator with a cover on it but its not a radiator …..
 
Geofd said:
be very careful.....adding cold water to a hot boiler could cause it to crack.....add it very slowly.....why do you want to add pressure ?????if your not heating try bleeding your radiators if you have a combination of baseboard and radiators your heat wont work properly unless you are talking about convectors(they look like a radiator with a cover on it but its not a radiator …..
Click to expand...

When I had a plumber here last year for something not related to the heater I asked him about our heater. He said baseboards rads shouldn’t need to be bled. Then he said there wasn’t enough pressure and used the water fill valve to add some pressure. Worked great. Now in the same situation.
 
macher said:
Hi we have radiator heat and a boiler. I’ve read that the pressure should be between 12-15 PSI for a 2 story house. The pressure is kind of low.

I know where the walter fill valve is and I know by giving the unit some water can increase the pressure.

Can you fill the unit when it’s hot? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Are you experiencing any symptoms with your heating system that made you question the pressure?

You should determined whether your shut off valve on your fill line is open or closed. If your PRV(Pressure reducing valve) is working correctly it is typically left open so as to automatically maintain the pressure set on the PRV. The range is typically 12-15 PSI.
There are many cases where the PRV no longer maintains the set pressure and people control the filling process manually by opening the valve occasionally to bring the pressure up. Then close it so as not to over pressurize the system. If this is the case, you should replace the PRV with a new one or alternately have it replaced.
If your valve is currently left in the open position, you can try raising the pressure by manually adjusting the PRV. Typically it requires that you turn the adjust screw on the top of the unit clockwise to raise and CCW to lower the pressure.
You can google this subject and find videos showing this procedure.
I suggest you also get familiar with other areas of the system like what happens if air gets in the piping or if your expansion tank needs draining. What the symptoms are and how to remedy them. Many videos are available on the subject.
If you have any questions, just ask.
 
Last edited:
Diehard said:
Are you experiencing any symptoms with your heating system that made you question the pressure?

You should determined whether your shut off valve on your fill line is open or closed. If your PRV(Pressure reducing valve) is working correctly it is typically left open so as to automatically maintain the pressure set on the PRV. The range is typically 12-15 PSI.
There are many cases where the PRV no longer maintains the set pressure and people control the filling process manually by opening the valve occasionally to bring the pressure up. Then close it so as not to over pressurize the system. If this is the case, you should replace the PRV with a new one or alternately have it replaced.
If your valve is currently left in the open position, you can try raising the pressure by manually adjusting the PRV. Typically it requires that you turn the adjust screw on the top of the unit clockwise to raise and CCW to lower the pressure.
You can google this subject and find videos showing this procedure.
I suggest you also get familiar with other areas of the system like what happens if air gets in the piping or if your expansion tank needs draining. What the symptoms are and how to remedy them. Many videos are available on the subject.
If you have any questions, just ask.
Click to expand...

Thanks when I had the plumber in our house last year the plumber let some water in and the pressure went up to 12-15. I understand there’s something that needs to be replaced but I’m looking for a solution now to get the pressure up. Know where the valve is to fill it with water. I remember the plumber adding quick shots. My question is can you do this when the system is hot?
 
I don't see any reason to worry about cool down. If you think about how the system works, it is designed to handle an inrush of cold water from time to time. If you have multiple zones, you can set them to different temperatures. The zone with the higher setpoint will have the boiler fully heated. Then, the cooler zone will call for heat which will dump several gallons of cold water into the already warmed up boiler.
When you open the manual fill valve you are only going to add a half gallon at a time as you watch the pressure gage.
 
Pretty much agree but I would still suggest you do not add while the boiler is running or immediately after it shut off.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top