hydronic heating system antifreeze added to system

[@jaylife6018]

Thank you, Steve, for posting this video. We had 5 burst pipes / separated joints in the baseboard of the 200 year old house we recently bought, due to all the drafts in the poorly insulated walls in the recent really cold New England weather. When I removed the baseboard panels for the repairs, I found that the prior owners had already patched several sections of baseboard, so freeze ups are apparently an ongoing issue in this house. And we’re running a wood stove now, which is reducing the frequency of calls for heat. Working on insulating better, but with all this, plus having a zone that heats the garage that I’d like to set as cold as possible, antifreeze was clearly called for at this point. Using a drill pump on the boiler drain, I followed your 5 gallon bucket purge & mix method on our 7 zone pump system, and this worked perfectly. Very little air left in lines, and when I started it back up, the automatic bleed valves quickly eliminated what remained, and every zone worked perfectly! THANK YOU for sharing this terrific and relatively easy method for accomplishing this job.

[@Fireship1]

Interesting procedure Steve. I like that small water pump you use. It looks like a real workhorse with all the water it's able to move.

[@leanorlando]

Great video steven lavimoniere very interesting on how that type of system works and how you flush out or add new antifreeze. Great job.

[@stevenlavimoniere]

leanorlando just like purging air from the system for the most part

[@leanorlando]

steven lavimoniere True.

[@SteveSam66]

Good Video. I have an Apollo Hydroheat system in my home up North. It uses the water from my gas water heater and circulates through a coil in the inside air handler. Works very well.

[@stevenlavimoniere]

S Sam in my state you can not use domestic hot water for heating ,its in the plumbing code..it will work buy a water heater turned up all the way will only put out 160 degree water not 180 like it should be .. it will work but the coil is designed to use 180 temp.i have seen heating added in like a cieler zone of a water heater they always install more baseboard because of cooler water temps.. with a bronze cerculator .i have done it a few times my self .but i do not make a habbit out of it

[@SteveSam66]

Im no plumber. I can get by and do 90% of all the plumbing in my own home. Apollo Hydroheat systems was bought out by another company. I am going to have to come up with another alternative for heat when the system gives up.

[@robertfetterly2582]

Steve can you check the freeze levels of the antifreeze in a hot water boiler with a regular antifreeze tester you would use on a automobile radiator??? Thanks Bob F

[@DaveSender66]

Thanks for showing me the right way to do this. Thanks Steve.

[@stevenlavimoniere]

+DaveSender66 thanks for watching

[@jhhvacplumbing1944]

Great video Steve and neat setup I never seen that done before , always learning .

[@stevenlavimoniere]

justin henning welcome to the north east

[@johndeere1174]

Hi Steve, good video. I want to put plumbing anti-freeze in my heating system. Do you pump all the water out of the heating system before adding the anti-freeze.

[@nicholasceea4109]

Very interesting video Steve. That old mix was some ugly crap sitting in that bucket.

[@stevenlavimoniere]

Nicholas CeeA thats how we install glycol into system

[@Brad1237202]

Thanks for sharing Steven. What do you use for anti-freeze? Propylene or ethylene? One of the piping contractors who worked at the hospital in the past said to me, "You want to find leaks in a hot water hydronic system? Put glycol in it." Sure enough, not six months later, every shitty solder joint and every union on the control valves that was never tightened completely leaked onto the floor, or above the drop ceiling. Does the anti-freeze cause any type of foaming issues internally inside the boiler?

[@stevenlavimoniere]

Brad1237202 yes you can see in the video glycol make foam but it stops freezing from happening .remember we only use it when needed . thats the only time peroid you are better of with out it if it does not freeze up ...

[@dwight.bennett]

Brad1237202 I think that product is Propylene Glycol. I was curious about the same thing, which type of glycol. I figured it out after replaying the video a couple times on the bucket part and looking it up. The most common use of it that I am familiar with is thermal solar systems, for the circulation loop between the collector panels and the heat exchanger. I've only seen it used one one boiler system in a historic building for the purpose of reducing the frozen pipe risk and subsequent damage.

[@tre2472]

Good video, My system requires 40% Poly Glycol with Distilled water every 3-5 years. Iv noticed that were replacing rubber gaskets in our 3/4 HP pumps every 2 years. Im thinking its because of the Glycol in the system. Also our T&P valves on the boiler ware out and leak, Im replacing those again this year before we start up. Do you think Glycol will always be doing this to our system? do you think I should lower the % put into the system? or use a different antifreeze ?

[@hvacrcole]

Steven, We don't have a call for antifreeze here in Phoenix but as you know I teach them around the country what I want to know what is the price of five gallons of glycol? It's has been a long time sense I bought any.

[@stevenlavimoniere]

Larry Cole well up here i use it offen i do not teach but i do .. not sure what it going for now i had a few 5 gallon containers in my garage i used like 55 $ per 5 gallon my cost last year,,,,,i am sure it gone up a lot ..

[@johnc4876]

Steve , do you test and treat boiler water for things like Ph, hardness etc. and add chemicals as needed?

[@patrickngangyou6141]

How do you add antifreeze in the boiler. What you did was antifreeze in the system correct? How to add antifreeze in the boiler itself? thanks for your great video teaching

[@skiracer4679]

It's all connected system I am a service tech what happens is the antifreeze circulates through the whole system the coils pipes and boiler. Hope this helps

[@chadgdry3938]

Good voice over for what you were doing. So, it looks like you use ball valves for normally open valves and gate valves for normally closed valves (ex, boiler drain, purge valves) just piecing the logic of part usage together.

[@stevenlavimoniere]

+Paul Gdry thanks for watching

[@l.a.m7645]

Can you purge when boiler is cold or when its running?

[@l.a.m7645]

Make sure you have a backflow preventer

[@AmitroniX]

Just out of curiosity, could you have removed the boiler relief valve and poured the antifreeze in there? I ask because i recently used hercules boiler repair to seal a hairline crack and in the direction it recommended removing the pressure relief valve and pouring it in there. Btw the boiler repair product did not work. For some reason the product was not getting into the middle section. Its a burnham v73.

[@stevenlavimoniere]

+AmitroniX i have had good luck with boiler seal . i like the power kind and use 2 containers not one . depends how big the leak is also and were .on the glycol do it like i did here if you want it to work do not play with the relief valve your looking for trouble

[@jeepinreo]

we run propylene glycol with our geothermal units, never have to change it out and it works fine with the rubber hoses. although it is a lot more expensive

[@stevenlavimoniere]

jeepinreo when ever i see glycol in a system ,there is usally problems around the gasket like on zonehead,waterfeeders ect,i do believe it eats the rubber. i have seen a lot of evidense of it over the years .just my theory,and my opion

[@gidzey4783]

Every anti-freezed boiler i work on has black glue coming out of the gaskets on the flow-checks, circulators, you name it. It is horrible for Heating systems and i also only recommend it as a last resort

[@harrydickson4575]

That was very interesting Steve thanks for sharing...

[@stevenlavimoniere]

Harry Dickson drink the -100 antifreeze and you get quite a buzz .great for a friday night when the ladys shoot you down

[@harrydickson4575]

steven lavimoniere never had a problem with the ladies shooting me down lol

[@harrydickson4575]

Wat can i say !!!! Im the man lol

[@johndeere1174]

Great Job Stevie, keep up the good work.

[@itsokaytobestupid827]

I'm surprised a watts 9D with a reducing valve is considered appropriate protection in your area

[@Brad1237202]

One more note. I wonder how anti-freeze/glycol will affect those o-rings in 10-15 years in those copper ProPress fittings??

[@stevenlavimoniere]

Brad1237202 glycol eats rubber period ... you are best with out it but some times you need to to stop a freeze up and flood

[@gidzey4783]

We use special pro press fittings for anti-freezed systems. We learned the hard way. First pro press job we did, all the fittings turned green when we antifreezed the system afterwards. Had to cut it all out and re-pipe

[@HenryBLeeNYC]

Unfortunately, I learned the hard way what can happen if you need this, but don't do it. When we had that long, hard freeze a few winters ago, I was away, and my boiler shut down, and EVERY pipe, including the hydronic heat split. It was a NIGHTMARE!

[@jbtvt]

I travel for work also and this was a concern. For anyone else looking to prevent this, the Sensaphone Web600 has an optional thermostat that you can set an alarm for if the temp gets above or below your adjustable parameters. I use it as my burglar alarm system too via their infrared sensors. Another optional hookup is a water detection strip which can notify you if you get a pinhole leak from corrosion. Quality piece of equipment, and USA made.

[@manvstaco]

I'm using antifreeze in my system @ 25% to keep the bacteria down. I didn't hear this benefit mentioned. Cheers

[@danielshvacphiladelphiallc11]

hello steven love your work you truly great at what your doing sharing your story on HVAC. 1. question do the taco 220 universal flo check value do they go bad. in other words do you have to change them out.

[@gidzey4783]

Yes. I've changed several

[@jspinosa50]

Thank you, Steve great video. I see this is an old video but. How do you know how much antifreeze is needed in a system? Is there a test kit to see the temperature limit like in a car? Hope you see this.

[@scoradventure]

Why the coolant color is red? Is it triethylene glycol?

[@walterglowacki2185]

Never heard of this type of system !

[@eastcoastHVACtech]

Nice video, never was a big fan of the AF II.

[@stevenlavimoniere]

eastcoastHVACtech af II are terrible to say the lease

[@salmonhunter7414]

Thanks for your time

[@stevenlavimoniere]

+James Splint thanks for the comment

[@hvacrcole]

Thanks Steven, I know every time I bring it up the only answer is its to high.

[@stevenlavimoniere]

Larry Cole i only use it if i really need it to stop a freeze up the stuff eats ever rubber in system teach that to your students .. GLYCOL EATS RUBBER SO IT IS NOT SO GOOD FOR THE SYSTEM

[@wileecoyote5749]

*too

[@kevinrhug]

Ok I appreciate the fact that you took the time to produce this video. I have to drain my system to replace ALL of my zone valves because they have stiffened up so much that the motors have trouble moving them. I may not have put in in floor heat in my attached garage if I had know what I would be getting into. Anyway, do you test the concentration of the antifreeze? I understand that as antifreeze concentration goes up efficiency goes down but the manufacturer of mine recommends a concentration of no less than 50%. Is a lower concentration better for the rubbers on the valves, expansion tank, etc?

[@stevenlavimoniere]

+Kevin Hughes yes the glycol will eat the rubbers in system i only install it in last resort . buy 30% should be fine no more then 50% . well you seen what it did to your zone valves black glue every were nasty stuff

[@matjusz8985]

How do i add antifreeze if I only have a purge valve and don't have the drain valve? Is it possible?

[@stevemartyniuk5646]

what kind of pump is that???? thNks Upstate NY

[@ronyboom5923]

how much will a job like that will cost for 2 zones

[@kylelafromboise7902]

Zone valves were open the whole time? You said they were closed in the beginning then @17min you say you opened them! Confused!!

[@integrity5264]

Nice video thanks

[@driger888]

if the home is just a summer home, and the heating system is not used, why not just drain the system rather than adding antifreeze?

[@stevenlavimoniere]

CONNIE HAWKINS the heating coils in the air handler can not be drained

[@driger888]

ok, i don't have an air handler, just a boiler with baseboards.

[@stevenlavimoniere]

CONNIE HAWKINS it probley can be blown out with air

[@izzzzzz6]

If evacuating a system with antifreeze where should i dump the old antifreeze?

[@stevenlavimoniere]

+izzzzzz6 on the grass out side

[@bg147]

Is that legal or are you required to use Safety Kleen?

[@joshuapurdy2044]

Newer Propylene Glycol antifreeze is the same stuff they sweeten twinkies with, almost completely non-toxic and can be dumped anywhere. Ethylene glycol used in older systems and in cars is toxic and cannot be dumped just anywhere.

[@monsterford8009]

What if the system has no one way valve on the fresh water supply, wouldn't you possibly contaminate the drinking water

[@stevenlavimoniere]

bigg dogg its posable if the water main was shut off and the pressure in the boiler was more then the pressure in the water main ,thats why you need a backflow preventer ,to prevent cross condamination

[@monsterford8009]

Thanks

[@dwight.bennett]

I see you added a new tool to your left ear this week. Just warn us in advance if you are going to get a whole row of shiny teeth and look like the grille of a Cadillac, so that we can put on our sunglasses and not be blinded!

[@stevenlavimoniere]

Dwight Bennett i always had the ear ring just haven't had it in ..

[@carpspudpicker3031]

What does that container do? lol

[@MikeJones-rk1un]

Get to the point dude. Ya know?