QUESTION FROM Chad P.

We have hot water boiler (baseboard) heat. The boiler was replaced last summer and has only 1 season of Michigan heating on it. I have 2 issues to ask about:

1. When the upstairs-main zone comes on, the pipes seem to bang for a few seconds, first moderately loud then trailing off quietly. This was not an issue prior to the boiler replacement. Is it possible that supports for the zone pipes were loosened accidentally during replacement? (The zone and noises are directly above the boiler location.)
2. The other upstairs zone (bedroom) has one room that is generally 5 or more degrees colder than the others. House built in 1965, so windows and insulation is likely a major factor, but this room is in the middle of the zone. It is a corner room with only 1 baseboard, however the master BR is next to it (same amount of baseboard) and does not suffer the same way.

Thanks!
(sorry if this is a duplicate - I didn't register first - not sure if it sent it the first time)

ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD

Dear Chad:

Here are some potential causes of the knocking and banging noises that you are hearing when your boiler for your baseboard heating system turns on:

1) Air is trapped in the line, which needs to be bled out.

2) As you suspected , your pipes may not be supported properly, such that when the boiler turns on, the pipes bang into one another or into other things.

3) A pipe to or from your baseboard radiators are running through a hole in a wall, etc. that is too tight, which doesn't allow sufficient expansion for the pipe's thermal expansion.

4) A zone valve is installed backwards.

Regarding your second question, even though the bedroom has the same amount of baseboard as the other bedrooms, because it is on a corner of your house, it could have more heat loss than from the other bedrooms, which is why the room tends to run about 5 degrees colder than the other bedrooms. One way of balancing the heat between the bedrooms is to shut the covers or remove some sections of fins from the rooms that run warmer, so that there is less heat going into these rooms (leaving more heat to go into your colder corner bedroom).

Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com