Please explain what the furnace service tech wouldnt

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While cleaning my crawlspace Sunday I notice water squirting out of my furnace. We are on a service plan so a technician was out to the house within a couple of hours. He replace a screw on valve that was on top of an "EXTROL" expansion tank. He said the purpose of this valve was to let the air out of the system. That's about all I could get out of him... Mr. personality!

What I was trying to find out from him was what the two thumbscrews on the top of this valve were for. one was black and one was red. Hot water had been squirting out of the red thumbscrew. When I tightened this thumbscrew the water stopped. I loosened it back up so water dribbled out of it as I didn't know it closing it would cause pressure to build up?

While I may never touch these again I would like to know the function of these two thumbscrews? should they be open or closed?

TIA

Pop

[JoeSpareBedroom]

I don't know, but even after you get some good answers from others here, you might want to call the manufacturer and get an owner's manual for the thing. Or, see if they've got a web site where you can download a manual.

[RicodJour]

I understand the frustration, and as the service tech does have contact with the public, it would be nice if his people skills were a little sharper. However, he is not an instructor. His job is to fix what's wrong. Being peppered by questions (you may have only asked a few, but a few questions many times a day sucks up serious time) slows him down.

You were right to put it back the way you found it. If you don't know exactly what something does, it's nuts to attempt to adjust it. You could easily cause a far bigger problem.

The Extrol tanks are pressurized and not meant to be fiddled with. The manufacturer suggests a yearly inspection to make sure the preset charge and tank operation are working properly.

R

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It depends on the person. I could tell right away this guy was not a talker. I would have liked a 5 minute explanation of what went wrong and what he was replacing. Its the same with the IT service when they come in to service our company network. Or my car mechanic. I feel part of the service is to explain what is going on. That said, I make it a point not to hover over anyones shoulder while they are working. I leave them alone to do their job, then I try and find out what was going on. Like I said I just think its their personality....

This is the part I would have liked explained...

Thanks for the link

Pop