You are not purging water. You are purging air. There has to be a means of bleeding your convectors. My advice to you is call an experienced heating tech or plumber.

Thanks Tom for catching my mistype! No, in this system there are no bleaders, and there are no convectors. In my HVAC book, these systems do exist. It is recommended to purge, the air, out of the system.

If there are no convectors how is is the system heating? What type of book are you reading? I understand you may be a student trying to learn, but you must be more specific. Are you referring to radiant heat? If you have the book , look in the chapter titled thermostats and read on about heat anticipators.

ANY hot water system MUST HAVE a way to provide a means of purging air. EVERY hot water system has bleeders. If they didn't they would never work correctly. Period.

Replacing water in an older system is never a good idea anyway. You are bringing in all kinds of contaminates and oxygen. Both of which are mortal enemies of a hot water system.

[This message has been edited by CIWS (edited February 12, 2004).]

[This message has been edited by CIWS (edited February 12, 2004).]

well, no, this system does not have bleeders. The manufactures instuctions refer to purging only. I completely agree about venting the air in the system. This is what I have been told about this system.

Purging or bleeding air has NOTHING to do with heating anticipaters.

Forced air, oil, and electric I understand, but this boiler issue has me troubled. Realize, this is not my home, I am not fixing it for anybody, this is mearly a story from a story I am investigating. IF I do not understand it, I will NOT try to fix it. I'm hearing this and hearing that, and I have little info to go on. I'm just popping off questions that have been asked to me. I answered them just about the same as you both have, however, I claim to know nothing about boiler systems, so I have to ask these questions in these general forms.
As far as draining, from my understanding this is neccesary to make certain repairs. What if a system has had build up from years of use? Possibly plugging up the system, or not allowing the water to move freely thoughout?
If you have a leak in one of the lines, how else would a repair person fix the line? Drain one zone? You'd still have to put water in the system afterwards, wouldn't you?
What if your pump goes out? Would a standard setup have shutoffs before and after the pump to allow replacement without draining?

Now you are contradicting yourself. You say in one post in your HVAC book these systems have no bleeders. Now you say this is what your'e being told. I certainly hope you don't try to fix somebody elses problem. Now one more last piece of advice so you can stop wasting my time. Tell your friends who have the problem to call a Heating Professional to troubleshoot their problem and stop asking you. The scope of the DIY does not go beyond monthly filter changes.

I quote:

"...well, no, this system does not have bleeders. The manufactures instuctions refer to purging only. I completely agree about venting the air in the system. This is what I have been told about this system."

Once again, ANY hot water system MUST have a way to remove air - bleeders. If you have not seen this system, then you cannot say for sure if it has them or not. We are here to help, but as Tom said, please don't waste our time. We state facts from many years of combined experience.

Thanks for all of your suggestions.
If anyone on this board feels that I have asked unreasonable or unclear questions, PLEASE- do not reply to my threads-, in turn your time will not be wasted.

I am looking to discuss or share information on a general basis, not personal.