Commissioning of the BAXI Eco Four 24F boiler

Washing methods

To date, it is customary to distinguish four technological methods for cleaning the heating system.

Chemical flush. This cleaning method allows you to remove 100% of system contaminants, with a minimum of effort. However, this cleaning method is only suitable for metal heating pipelines.

To perform chemical cleaning yourself, you must have the following tools and materials on hand:

washing solution, which may include mineral or organic acids, as well as all kinds of solvents and alkalis;
container for draining liquid;
pump;
hoses.

The procedure is carried out as follows:

water is drained from the heating system;
acid solution is poured;
a special pump is connected to the system, which pumps the cleaning liquid throughout the heating circuit for several hours;
the waste liquid is drained and clean water is pumped.

An important point: the used acid solution is strictly forbidden to drain into the sewer. If it is not possible to dispose of it yourself, then you can purchase special means of neutralization.

Hydrodynamic washing. This method of cleaning the heating system is carried out using special equipment, which includes thin hoses and special nozzles.

The principle of cleaning in this way is that water is supplied under pressure to a nozzle that generates thin jets of water. With the help of these jets, all grease, rust and scale are removed from the working area.

It should be noted that although this method of flushing pipes is quite effective, due to its high cost, it is used too little.

Pneumohydropulse flushing of the heating system. In order to perform this type of cleaning with your own hands, you will need:

compressor;
outlet pipe;
hose;
collar;
ball valve;
drain container.

The order of work consists of the following steps:

water is drained from the system;
a branch pipe is connected to the "return";
the compressor is connected to the outlet, and we pump up the pressure to approximately 5 atmospheres. Strong pressure in the pipes leads to the fact that all kinds of pollution break off from the walls.
we block the outlet pipe and disconnect the compressor, and connect the hose;
we open the valve, and as a result, all contaminants come out under pressure.

It should be noted that for better cleaning, the pneumohydropulse procedure can be repeated several times.

And in conclusion, I would like to note that having studied our recommendations, you can more confidently flush the heating system with your own hands.

Watch a video that popularly explains the need to flush the heating system and the features of the relevant work:

How to bleed air from the heating system

Surely many people have encountered such a problem when, touching the heating radiator, they realized that its upper part is hot, and the lower part is absolutely cold. This is the first sign that there is air in the heating radiators, which prevents the coolant from entering the lower part of the radiator, thereby heating it.

Therefore, answering the question of what affects the airing of the heating system, we can safely say that airing affects, first of all, the efficiency of the entire heating system. With one heated half, the heating radiator will not be able to give as much heat to the premises as during its normal functioning.

Airing the heating system also affects the performance of the heating boiler. It is much easier for the heating boiler pump to pump the coolant without the presence of air in it.Often the reasons for stopping the circulation pump in the heating boiler are also an excess of air in the heating system.

These are not all the problems associated with airing the heating system, since there are many more. Therefore, it is obvious that as soon as you hear that something is gurgling in the heating radiators, and this is nothing but air, you should immediately proceed to vent the heating system.

In fact, airing the heating system is not difficult. Depending on which heating radiators are in the house, there are several ways to ventilate the heating system.

How to expel air from old cast iron batteries

If old cast-iron radiators are installed in the house, then in order to bleed air from the heating system, there should be a small ball valve on the top of the battery. Having opened the tap, you need to wait until all the air has come off the heater and only water has come out. If there is no tap, then with the help of plumbing “crabs” you can unscrew the nut or air blower, thereby bleeding air from the cast-iron battery.

How to expel air from aluminum radiators

The situation is much easier if you need to bleed air from the heating system if new aluminum or steel panel radiators are installed in the house or apartment. In such heaters, on top of one of the sides there must be a Mayevsky tap.

In order to vent the radiator with a Mayevsky tap, a special Mayevsky key is used, which is inserted into the tap, and then rotated counterclockwise for several turns. After the air is completely out of the heating radiator, you can turn the Mayevsky tap back clockwise.

It happens that there is no way to find a May key, then you can use it to bleed air from the radiator with an ordinary flat screwdriver. But only a prerequisite for this is that the screwdriver must have a thin and durable sting.

Otherwise, the screwdriver can simply be broken. The fact is that in the process of heating the radiator, the Mayevsky tap can simply “boil” and stick. Therefore, unscrewing it with a screwdriver is often problematic.

As you can see, airing the heating system is not such a big problem as it seems at first glance. Well, in order to bleed air from the heating system, it will take no more than half an hour, well, or an hour maximum.

Mayevsky crane how to bleed air

Maevsky's crane should be given special attention. This is a needle type radiator unit which includes air valve, screw and cone shaped body

All these parts are hermetically sealed to each other, which completely eliminates the flow of water. As for the air that may be in the radiator, it exits through a small hole located on the side of the tap. Such an installation can be opened using a special key, which is always included in the kit, if there is none, then you can use a regular screwdriver, and some models provide the ability to manually open.

If we take into account the modern bimetallic installation, then they already have holes for mounting cranes. The Mayevsky crane itself must be installed in such a way that the air outlet tube is located on the opposite side, and is parallel to the floor

If your batteries are made of cast iron, then automatic air vents are best suited here. They correspond to the features of the design and composition of the material.

In order to use the Mayevsky crane to remove air, you must follow a sequence of certain actions.

Commissioning of the BAXI Eco Four 24F boiler In order to bleed the air in the Mayevsky tap, you must first prepare a screwdriver and a container

Prepare keys or a screwdriver, a container for liquid and a rag;
If your system includes a pump, then it must be temporarily disabled;
Place the container under the tap and gently turn it counterclockwise;
Air will begin to descend from the faucet, possibly including dirt or rust;
You need to wait until water flows from the tap, and turn it off.

If the water quality is not the best, then you need to install a few additional shut-off valves. They should be located before the Mayevsky tap and protect it from possible blockages.

Why pollution occurs

The problem of clogging metal pipelines is rust. Accumulating inside the system, it prevents the free circulation of the coolant, and as a result, malfunctions appear in the heating operation.

As for plastic pipes, they, of course, are not subject to rust, but, nevertheless, scale appears on their walls, which also contributes to malfunctions in the heating system.

One of the causes of pollution is also the quality of the water, which can contain various impurities that cause clogged pipes.

Thus, there are the following types of blockages:

scale;
rust;
silty sand;
garbage.

Where does the air in the system come from

Practice shows that it is impossible to ideally isolate the water heating network from the external environment. Air penetrates into the coolant in various ways and gradually accumulates in certain places - the upper corners of the batteries, the turns of the highways and the highest points. By the way, the latter should be equipped with automatic drain valves shown in the photo (air vents).

Varieties of automatic air vents

Air enters the heating system in the following ways:

Along with water. It's no secret that most homeowners replenish the lack of coolant directly from the water supply. And from there comes water saturated with dissolved oxygen.
As a result of chemical reactions. Again, not properly demineralized water reacts with the metal and aluminum alloy of the radiators, releasing oxygen.
The pipeline network of a private house was originally designed or installed with errors - there are no slopes and loops are made, facing upwards and not equipped with automatic valves. It is difficult to expel air accumulations from such places even at the stage of refueling with coolant.
A small fraction of oxygen penetrates through the walls of plastic pipes, despite the special layer (oxygen barrier).
As a result of repair with dismantling of pipeline fittings and partial or complete draining of water.
When microcracks appear in the rubber membrane of the expansion tank.

When cracks occur in the membrane, the gas mixes with water.

Note. Water taken from wells and shallow wells is prone to chemical reactions, since it is saturated with active salts of magnesium and calcium.

Also, a situation often arises when, after a long downtime in the off-season, the pressure in a closed heating system decreases due to air ingress. Lowering it is quite simple: you just need to add a couple of liters of water. A similar effect also happens in open-type systems, if you stop the boiler and the circulation pump, wait a couple of days and restart the heating. When cooled, the liquid contracts, allowing air to enter the lines.

As for the centralized heating systems of apartment buildings, air enters them exclusively together with the coolant or at the time the network is filled at the beginning of the season. How to deal with it - read below.

An example from practice. Air pockets had to be expelled from the open heating system every day due to a completely clogged sump. A working pump created a vacuum in front of it and thus drew oxygen into the pipelines through the slightest leaks.

The thermogram shows the area of the heater where the air bubble usually lingers

Heating system without air pockets

So that in an individual heating system the air does not accumulate in problem areas, but goes outside, it is necessary:

correctly design and install the pipeline, correctly install radiators;
use automatic and manual air vents.

Consider how to expel air from a heating system with natural circulation and top wiring

When arranging the pipeline, it is important to observe such an angle of inclination at which air bubbles move freely upwards, to the highest point of the contour, without accumulating on turns and gentle sections. At the highest point of such a system, an open-type expansion tank must be installed through which air bubbles enter the atmosphere

Bleeding air from the heating system using an automatic air vent

To bleed air from a system with a forced movement of a coolant or a gravity system with a bottom wiring, a different principle is used.. Return pipelines are mounted under a slope (this makes it easier to drain the liquid from the system), and automatic valves are installed at the top of all individual circuits, through which air is discharged as it accumulates.

In addition to automatic air vents, Mayevsky manual taps are also used in the system. Such air vents are mounted on heating radiators - on the upper branch pipe on the opposite side of the pipe supplying the heated coolant. To ensure that air enters the valve and does not accumulate in the upper radiator manifold, it is recommended to install the heating device at a slight angle. Bleeding is done manually as needed.

How to find an airlock?

Ideally, the system handles airing on its own thanks to automatic valves through which air is bled. Having found that a separate heating device or part of the circuit does not work properly, it is necessary to find the place where the air has accumulated.

Touch the radiator - if its upper part is colder than the lower, then the coolant does not enter there. To release the air, open the Mayevsky faucet mounted on a steel, aluminum or bimetallic radiator, or a valve valve that is mounted on cast iron batteries.

How to identify an airlock in a battery

You can also determine the place of airing by sound - under normal conditions, the coolant moves almost silently, extraneous gurgling and sounds of overflow occur due to an obstacle in the flow .

Metal pipes and heating appliances rattle with light blows - in places where air accumulates, the sound is noticeably louder.

Getting rid of the airlock

If there are manual air vents on the radiators, there are no problems with how to remove air from the batteries. With the help of a screwdriver or a standard key, the Mayevsky tap stem is slightly unscrewed, while a suitable container is placed under the drain hole (a half-liter glass jar is enough). The release of air from the heating system using a manual air vent is accompanied by hissing and whistling, then splashes appear, after which the coolant begins to flow in a thin stream. At this stage, the Mayevsky tap should be closed.

Note! If the battery continues to heat poorly after de-airing, the problem may lie in the blockage. In this case, the heating device is dismantled and washed

After reinstalling the radiator, check the system for air pockets.

To remove an airlock from the heating system, if it has accumulated away from the air vent (manual or automatic), proceed as follows :

Open the air cock or valve closest to the air bubble.
They begin to gradually feed the system with a coolant so that the liquid, due to an increase in volume, displaces the air bubble towards the open air vent.

Automatic vent valve with angle connection

What to do in difficult cases when the cork is not removed by adding the volume of coolant? In such a situation, in addition to increasing the amount of coolant, it is required to add pressure, heating the liquid to critical temperatures. Care must be taken to avoid scalding yourself with the splashes that accompany the release of air through the automatic valve.

Important! If a plug is systematically formed in the same section of the pipeline, cut a tee in this place and install an automatic valve

How often should the heating system be flushed?

Many people who take great care of their heating system are wondering how often to clean pipes.

There are two types of cleaning work:

The first flushing is carried out immediately after the installation of the heating system. This is due to the fact that during the heating equipment, various kinds of debris or oily contaminants could get inside the pipes. Therefore, the flushing procedure must be carried out until the water at the drain becomes absolutely clean.
Regular flushing in systems equipped with metal pipes is recommended to occur twice a year - before the start of the heating season and after it ends. For plastic pipelines, it is recommended to clean once a year - before the start of the heating season.

Knowing now the causes of pollution of heating systems, as well as the regularity of cleaning, the question involuntarily begs: is it possible to do the flushing yourself?

And we will give an affirmative answer to this: it is quite possible to do the cleaning of the heating system with your own hands. To do this, you just need to choose the best flushing option, which will be discussed later.

Causes and consequences

Air pockets are caused by the following factors:

Errors were made during installation, including incorrectly made kink points or incorrectly calculated slope and direction of pipes.
Too fast filling of the system with coolant.
Incorrect installation of air vent valves or their absence.
Insufficient amount of coolant in the network.
Loose connections of pipes with radiators and other parts, due to which air enters from the outside into the system.
The first start and excessive heating of the coolant, from which, under the influence of high temperature, oxygen is more actively removed.

Air can cause the greatest harm to systems with forced circulation. During normal operation, the bearings of the circulation pump are in the water at all times. When air passes through them, they lose lubrication, which leads to damage to the sliding rings due to friction and heat, or completely disables the shaft.

Water contains oxygen, carbon dioxide, magnesium and calcium in a dissolved state, which, when the temperature rises, begin to decompose and settle on the walls of pipes in the form of limescale. Places of pipes and radiators filled with air are most susceptible to corrosion.

Signs by which you can determine if there are air pockets in pipes and radiators

Due to the air in the heating system, the batteries heat up unevenly. When checked by touch, their upper part, in comparison with the lower one, has a noticeably lower temperature. The voids do not allow them to warm up properly, therefore the room is heated worse. Due to the presence of air in the heating system, when the water is very hot, noise appears in the pipes and radiators, similar to clicks and water flow.

You can determine the place where the air is located by ordinary tapping. Where there is no coolant, the sound will be more sonorous.

Especially carefully check the network for leaks. When heating is started, it is extremely difficult to identify loose connections, since water evaporates quickly on a hot surface.

Water heating with natural circulation

Open heating system

Heating water systems without a pump are usually classified according to certain characteristic criteria that reflect their functionality.

Depending on the type of expansion tank, heating with natural circulation is usually divided into the following types:

Open heating system. With this design, the expansion tank is located as high as possible in order to create excess pressure, as well as to carry out the removal of air. In this case, the tank also serves to add liquid to the system.
A closed heating system with natural circulation is distinguished by the fact that instead of an expansion tank, a membrane hydroaccumulating cylinder is installed, with the help of which an additional pressure of not more than 1.5 atm is created. To ensure safety, a block with a pressure gauge is built into the design of the system, which regulates the internal pressure.

You can read about the features of the Wilo circulation pump here.

Also, heating structures with natural circulation are divided depending on the method of connecting the heating elements. According to this classification, there are the following types of heating:

Single pipe heating system. The principle of operation of this type of heating is that all heating devices are connected to the system in series, in other words, the coolant circulates from one element to another. The undoubted advantage of this type of heating is that the installation is quite simple, while requiring a minimum of materials.
Two-pipe heating system with natural circulation. In such a heating design, the heating elements are connected to the main pipe in parallel. In other words, the coolant enters each device with the same temperature, and the cooled liquid returns to the boiler through a pipe, which is commonly called the "return".

Such a heating scheme is the most optimal for heating a dwelling. The only drawback is that the installation of such heating requires a large number of pipes and other plumbing fittings.

Builder's advice: when choosing a heating system for your home, be sure to calculate your options when buying all consumables for heating installation.

Causes of air entering the heating system

The formation of traffic jams can be caused by various reasons, we will consider them in more detail.

Lack of tightness of the joints of the field connections. Especially often this reason is the initial one in the operation of systems without pressure. A small water leak is not visible and borders on possible evaporation. In the place of a loose connection, air is sucked in and accumulates in the free cavity of the line, forming a plug.
An inaccuracy in the design or installation of pipelines, which entails the creation of unwanted "loops" that inhibit the movement of the coolant, entails the accumulation of air in such circuits.
The low-tech method of filling the system with coolant is also the cause of traffic jams. Very fast or top-down filling of the lines contributes to the formation of air gaps that prevent normal operation.
Faulty operation of automatic air vents located on the upper pipelines provokes the creation of traffic jams.
Poor installation of pipes with the formation of wavy lines (relative to the horizon) is a frequent and difficult to detect cause of air. The elimination of such a cause requires the periodic removal of traffic jams, and the complete elimination requires the repair of a separate section, with the possible installation of additional devices for air removal.
Overheating - this reason is typical for solid fuel units. When water boils, air bubbles form in the internal cavity and accumulate in the boiler heat exchanger.

Prevention

To avoid problems with air locks, it is necessary to install air vents for each group of heating elements. So, for example, to remove air from the boiler, an automatic valve for venting gases is mounted directly on it. All collectors are also equipped with them. Mayevsky cranes are installed on the radiators from the end.

If, after venting the air, the radiators still do not heat up well, the coolant should be completely drained. Since it is possible that there is too much dirt in the network, and it significantly reduces the circulation of fluid in the batteries.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=xUO58oC8yX8%3F

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Signs of air accumulation how to bleed air from the battery

Determining whether your batteries are airtight is not difficult.

This is evidenced by the following signs:

Heat transfer has noticeably decreased (radiators that were previously hot stopped heating up);
You began to notice the presence of noise, cod, murmur and a decrease in pressure in the pipes;
If you have autonomous heating, then an increase in fuel consumption will become apparent;
The liquid has stopped moving in the system, the circulation is disturbed.

The presence of air in the radiators threatens not only with a decrease in the temperature indicator, but also with more global problems. For example, batteries made of steel begin to oxidize, rust and fail. Bottlenecks silt up and need to be flushed or completely replaced. If your heating is individual, then the accumulated gas in the system can lead to the failure of the circulation pump, because in the normal state the bearings are constantly in the water. In the event of airing, the unit is subjected to dry friction, which causes excessive heating and shaft failure.

How to understand that there is an air lock in the battery

Before you release air from the heating system, you need to figure out why it is formed in the circuit and how to understand that there is an air lock in the radiator. Most often, excess air accumulates as a result of improper filling of the system with water. The reason may also be the result of errors made during installation. Low pressure in the circuit, low-quality coolant with the presence of dissolved oxygen can also lead to airing.

Air lock can also occur under such circumstances:

The constituent elements of the system are connected loosely. As a result, outside air is sucked in by the battery.
There is no air vent or it is available, but does not work correctly.
Repair work was carried out to replace locking mechanisms, risers, heating devices, during which air entered the system.

The following signs may indicate that excess air has accumulated in the system: hissing and gurgling sounds in the battery, the quality of heating decreases, heating becomes uneven, and the radiator may be cold in areas where air is present.

Such situations are not uncommon. Surely every owner of an apartment or a private house faced a similar problem.

Therefore, it is important to understand how to remove air from the heating system at home, especially since it is not at all difficult to do it yourself. It should be noted that most often an air lock is formed in batteries that are installed on the upper floors of the house.

Important! Sometimes the cause of plug formation is a low quality radiator. In this case, no matter how much you bleed excess air, it will form again.

And the reason lies in the fact that the material from which the battery is made contributes to the formation of gases. There is only one way out of the situation - to buy a new radiator.Therefore, it is better to immediately purchase heating devices from bona fide manufacturers.

In this case, no matter how much you bleed off excess air, it will form again. And the reason lies in the fact that the material from which the battery is made contributes to the formation of gases. There is only one way out of the situation - to buy a new radiator. Therefore, it is better to immediately purchase heating devices from bona fide manufacturers.