Who to install new pump for radiant heating?

If you have not found anyone yet, I certainly can refer someone to come out within a day or so send me an email; I have many palces we can try.
I also have cell#'s of the persons that would be doing the work, so we can get through faster. I hope you are bundled up!

Sounds like your Boiler has run out of water.

Good thing it shut down, because it could have caused a Melt Down,
and burned the house to the ground.

You need to open the Supply Valve and let some water into the system
before trying to start your boiler again.

Not all Eichlers have a Automatic Valve althought it is a good idea and can save water, and you may need to manually open it.

Now would be a good time to open the boiler drain valve as well,
and flush out your system (with garden hose attached)
as the supply valve fills the system with water
flushing out any rust, sediment, and air bubbles.

keep the system on and and the recirculating pump going so you can flush out the lines.

If you don't know what you are doing,
it would be a good idea to call the city utilities department,
or someone in the phonebook under furnace boiler technician.

Our pump has stuck once in the last 20 years when the system is to fired up again after autumn. It sounds what you have - the boiler shuts down after some minutes as the water does not circulate.

Franz came by and he showed how to fix it should it happen a second time. He didn't didn't think getting a new pump was necessary - it (of "Grundfos" brand) is essentially maintenance free and could run for another 20 years. On our pump there is a screw in the center that you remove to access the inside to manually turn it . It can also be enough just to give the pump a hit with a hammer on the side to get it going.
These pumps are designed for 100% duty cycle and sometimes if they are idle for a longer time, and there is buildup, they might need a little help.

/Silvia

I disagree with the previous statement.

The pumps that come with the Radiant Heating Boiler are too small.

Try a High Capacity, High Flowing Pump that is a big brother to the smaller unit, used to re-circulate heating water to the far reaches of the concrete plumbing.

What you have here is a opportunity to upgrade your system to a higher efficiency.

The cheaper boilers come with small pumps, the more expensive one's come with better, high speed pumps.

The pump she is talking about, is a cheap, impeler driving unit, that should not have been put on the boiler in the first place.

It barely spins at 2600 RPM,
and the hole in it is used to free it when it gets stuck from a dirt particle.

If your system is more than 10 years old, it needs to be replaced anyways.

I just had the most wonderful experience with a repair service that I can remember. They fixed an underslab leak AND installed the automatic water valve that my boiler needed plus two other valves, were done by lunchtime and charged me $1200 LESS than quoted on the phone. These guys are experts with Eichlers. I found their name here on the network but if you need it, I'll give it to you.

Will

I ready the previous posts and was wondering if it was suggested that a higher flow rate of the circulation pump would alleviate "colder areas" toward the end of the loop? It would seem that if the ciculation rate were low, the heat would be absorbed well before the end of the loop.

I was wondering what peoples experiences have been before/after pump replacement; specifically with respect to heat coverage.

Regards

I had to adjust the manifold that controls the flow to fix the cold spots in my Eichler. A different pump speed didn't solve my problem. The hydronics people in your neighborhood probably have the best recommendations.