Heating time difference between floors

[vincenzo]

I have a two story colonial that is about 1600 sq. ft. I had a new EK system 2000 installed a couple of years ago and it is terrific. However, ever since I turned the heat on this season I noticed that it is taking longer to heat the upstairs than the down stairs. When the thermostat calls for heat on the first floor the boiler will run for about 6-8 minutes and then shut off like it always has, then the circulator will continue to run for about another 5 minutes like it always has, I believe this is the purge feature that the system has. The upstairs however will turn on and the boiler run usually between 16-20 minutes, which seems like a long time to me. The purge pump will then continue to run for another 15-20 minutes. I cannot recall the upstairs taking so long to heat up before. The only thing I can think of is we have lost the power a couple times in the past year or so, maybe something went out of adjustment. I am going to the annual tune-up done on the boiler next week. Does this seem normal?

 

[NY_Rob]

How's your system pressure?

It needs to be between 12-15 PSI for a two story system.

You may also have air in the system, it makes sense that it's settled in the upper parts of the heating loop.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jadnashua]

Open the bleed valves on the upstairs units and see if you get out any air. It's probably air in the system. If there are shutoff valves, make sure that they are fully open.

 

[vincenzo]

I don't know anything about boilers, but the system is hydronic heat with baseboards. I don't know if they have bleed valves or not, I will ask my boiler tech.