question about my boiler and the current radiator setup.

[jlm]

I have a older house that has the boiler in the celler and baseboard radiators in every room. three years ago I purchased and installed myself a new boiler. the way the older system was installed was a large loop starting in bedroom then going complete around the house back into the boiler..the house is always heating unevenly. hot in the first room..and getting cooler as it loops. I'm thinking about redoing the hole system but I'm not sure I have it correct. my Idea is to start a 1 inch copper pipe down in the basement and at every room put a 'diverter valve' ?? with 3/4 copper up to the baseboard then back down to the main pipe. do this for every room with a baseboard. is this the way it should be done? do you think it would help with the uneven heating. any other ideas ?

thank you

[m Ransley]

Is the pump new, system bled.

[Paul Franklin]

By itself, what you propose probably won't help much. You'll still have a series system with hotter water at one end than the other and no way to regulate heat in the rooms.

What you are looking for is a zoned system. If you add a thermostatic control valve to each room so you can control the temp in each room you will have a better shot at evening temps out. The diverter Tees allow hot water to flow into the room loop when the thermostatic valve is calling for heat, but allow water to flow along to the next loop as well or when a given room isn't calling for heat.

There are other ways to get a zoned system, such as multiple circulators and electic or pneumatic zone valves with parallel loops. There are a lot of variables that go into properly designing such a system. Get a copy of "Modern Hydronic Heating" if you are committed to DIY, or call a pro to help design it at least.

HTH,

Paul Franklin

[RayV]

It might help but I would start with making sure there is no air in the system. Once the pump circulates the water one time all of the baseboards should be about the same temperature. It is amazing how much a tiny bit of air in the system will affect the performance. It you do want to install a 1" manifold with 3/4 take off pipes you need to install directional or monflow tees to make sure the water is flowing to each loop. If you don't install these tees the flow will take the easiest path and may make your problem worse. The type of tee I'm talking about can be seen here:

If you had even heat before it is almost certainly air in the system or a bad pump.

You could also add additional zones with thermostats and solenoids but that is not going to give you a great improvement in a one-story home.

[noname87]

There are many ways to address this:

1) Create separate multiple zones (looks) with each controlled by a zone valve and thermostat (or an independent look with a dedicate circulator).

2) Calculate the heat lose per room (check out

. Determine the actual length of baseboard needed for each room. Then add/delete baseboards as need. You could also close off the baseboard (close damper). Or remove fins as needed to reduce the heat. This assumes you have finned baseboards and not cast iron.

3) Change the direction of the flow so the hottest water goes to the coldest room first.

The real answer is #2. Figure out what heat the room needs and adjust the baseboard size accord> I have a older house that has the boiler in the celler and baseboard

[HeatMan]

Did you follow the directions that were supplied with the new boiler regarding the piping?

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Good point. If the circulator is not circulating the water fast enough, the heat will be given off too early in the run.