How to bleed air from a battery. How to bleed air from the battery - easy and simple! How long does it take to bleed air from the battery

Cold weather is coming on the street, the heating season is approaching, water is murmuring cheerfully in the pipelines, filling the system. Along with it come the annual problems in the form of barely warm radiators with air pockets. How to release air from the battery will be discussed in this article.

Consider three possible options for the production of works:

in the presence of an air vent;
if a conventional tap is installed on the radiator;
there is no fittings.

There is no difficulty in releasing air from a battery equipped with a manual air vent - a Mayevsky crane. To do this, you should arm yourself with a tool for unscrewing the tap, a small container and a rag.

Note. Different modifications of the Mayevsky crane can be equipped with screws for different tools. Most often they are made for an ordinary flat screwdriver, sometimes with a special wrench or with a plastic handle that does not require a tool.

After spreading a rag on the floor, you need to make sure that the side hole of the drain valve is not directed towards the wall. If so, then you need to cover it with something so that dirty water does not get on the finishing material of your room. Next, a container is placed under the hole, and with a screwdriver (or other tool), the screw is carefully and slowly unscrewed until a characteristic hiss appears. Here you need to stop and wait until the sound disappears.

The cessation of hissing does not at all indicate that the air in the battery has already ended and all has come out. Part of it remains mixed with the coolant, so you need to unscrew the screw a little more until water comes out of the hole. Here one must be especially careful, since in the first moments the coolant can come out unevenly and with splashes. After waiting for a small stable jet, you can tighten the valve. To make sure that everything is done correctly, after a few minutes you need to feel the previously cold part of the battery, it should warm up. If this does not happen, the operation should be repeated.

Often, on various Internet resources or forums, not entirely correct advice is given on eliminating air accumulations from heating equipment. For example, that before unscrewing the needle valve of the air vent, you need to go to the basement and block the entire riser. Or even worse - that you have to wait until the coolant in the system cools down.

Remember that the air will leave the battery only under the pressure of the water displacing it. Being on the last floor and turning off the riser, you reduce the pressure and success of your event to zero. On the lower floors, when turned off, the pressure of the water column above your apartment will remain, but its magnitude will not be enough.

The conclusion is simple: if you do not plan to disassemble the heater, then you do not need to block anything to perform air discharge work, you just need to take measures so that hot spray does not burn your hands.

Ventilation with a faucet

The essence of the method is that the air is “squeezed out” from the system if the speed of water movement is increased in this area. In this case, the turbulent flow “picks up” oxygen with it, gradually removing it from the heat supply network. For this purpose, instead of the lower or upper plug of the cast-iron battery, a conventional valve was installed.

In order to bleed air from the radiator in this way, it is best to have a long hose on the farm, which is enough to the toilet. Otherwise, you will have to run with buckets, sometimes for quite a long time. One end of the hose is attached to the valve, the other is lowered into the sewer, after which the valve gently opens. Moreover, it is desirable to open it to the maximum in order to create a good flow of coolant inside the battery.

Important. The degree of opening of the valve is determined locally. If the pressure in your system is too high, then this will be noticeable and you do not need to fully open the valve.

The operation may take a long time, it depends on the size of the air lock and the pressure in the heating network. The faster the flow of water, the faster it will remove all the air. The process should be controlled by the degree of heating of the cold sections of the heater.

Air release without tap

The hardest thing is to bleed air if there is no Mayevsky crane and other fittings. Good news for those who have modern sectional radiators: you can carefully unscrew the top plug in them. True, you will have to cover everything with rags and perform the operation very slowly and carefully. It is not necessary to completely unscrew the plug, it is necessary to make 1-2 turns so that air can pass through the thread.

Advice. Batteries are often supplied with ball valves and thermostats. It makes sense to try to release air through them.

It is much more risky for owners of cast-iron Soviet "accordions" of the MS-140 type to perform the operation. Not only is it not easy to move a large old nut, but there is also a danger that after tightening the gasket will stop holding and a leak will appear. Then the exhausting work of emptying the riser and installing the same Mayevsky valve into the plug awaits you. Although for such events it is supposed to attract a team from the local public utilities.

Who should bleed the air from the batteries in the apartment?

A little about the legal side of the issue. The answer depends on the legislation of a particular state. For example, in the Russian Federation there is a Decree of the Gosstroy of September 27, 2003, in accordance with which the situation when there is air in the radiators must be corrected by housing and communal services employees. Other CIS countries also have similar legislative acts.

In practice, the housing and communal services staff long ago placed this responsibility on the residents of the 5th, 9th, 16th and other upper floors. Although, according to homeowners, in some cities, plumbing teams, after the system is launched, conscientiously check the heating devices in each apartment and eliminate air locks.

Conclusion

The operation to remove air from the batteries is not the most difficult, especially if the appropriate fittings are installed. In the case when there is no fittings, you need to take care of this in the off-season and put air valves on all heating appliances. Moreover, the price of the issue is quite small.

With the onset of cold weather, it is necessary to take care of starting the heating system. If you live in an ordinary apartment building, the HOA plumbers will do everything for you, but if you live in a private house, then you will have to start the heat yourself.

Even if the launch is made by professionals, it can be accompanied by a number of problems. If you notice that the radiators are cold , This means there is probably an air pocket in the system. To eliminate such unpleasant consequences, you need to know how to bleed air from the battery.

What is dangerous gas accumulated in the heating system?

It is very easy to understand that air has accumulated in the system. If you hear strange gurgling and hissing sounds in your radiator, and its heat level is far from desired, then there is an air lock.

An air lock interferes with the proper functioning of the system, leading to corrosion of the radiator. If measures are not taken in time, there is a risk of damage to the entire heating system.

Where does the airlock come from? Most often this happens due to improper filling of the system with water, installation errors, low pressure in the system, poor quality of the water itself, in which dissolved oxygen is present.

Most often, air accumulates in radiators installed in apartments on the top floors of the house.

In order to release air from the radiator, it is enough to perform a few simple operations. Let's start with the fact that today all radiators are equipped with special air vents. They are of the following types:

Manual, the so-called "Mayevsky cranes". During the operation, a special radiator key or a conventional screwdriver is used, with which this valve is turned, and the gas leaves the system. The Mayevsky crane is located at the end of the radiator.
Automatic . They work without human assistance when necessary. When air appears in the system, the float located inside opens a special valve, which releases the accumulated gas. Such devices are installed where there is a high probability of its accumulation.

Removal of air from a radiator

We will tell you in more detail how to bleed air from the heating battery.

Find Mayevsky's faucet on the radiator. It is a small valve with a recess that can be turned.
Prepare a container for the liquid that will drain from the radiator, put a rag on the floor.
Turn the Mayevsky faucet with a key or a screwdriver (depending on the design of the faucet). First, drops mixed with air should come out of it. When a normal stream of water begins to drain from the hole, you can close the tap. Gas has been bled from the system.
Follow these instructions to bleed all the batteries in your home.

Most often, the problem of air formation in the system is familiar to the owners of aluminum radiators. In order to avoid problems in the future, it is necessary to immediately take care of the event from the start of the launch, otherwise the batteries will not last long.

Removing air from the system is a fairly simple procedure that is very easy to handle. If you follow the above tips, the problem will be solved.

Video

We invite you to see what we have discussed.

The problem of removing air from the heating system is solved at the design stage. To do this, the pipes are mounted with a slight slope, which ensures the free upward movement of air bubbles, to collect which air collectors are installed in closed heating systems, and open expansion tanks are used in systems with natural circulation.

In theory, air bubbles should not interfere with the operation of the heating. However, in practice, almost every owner of a house or apartment knows about air jams that can block the operation of not only individual radiators, but the entire heating system as a whole.

If the heating system is properly installed ...

In a correctly installed heating system, where slopes are observed to ensure the upward movement of air bubbles, plugs can form if the system is initially filled with coolant too quickly. The air simply does not have time to leave the radiators: the mass of water blocks its movement.

As a result, air accumulates in the upper part of the radiators and in the horizontal sections of the risers during the upper distribution of the coolant.

With a two-pipe heating system and with vertical single-pipe wiring, it is not difficult to avoid traffic jams. To do this, during the initial filling of the heating system, the coolant is supplied gradually, thereby ensuring uniform filling of pipes and radiators, which in turn creates the proper conditions for squeezing air into the air collector (for systems with forced circulation) or into the expansion tank (for gravity heating systems).

During the operation of the heating system, gas bubbles released from the coolant when it is heated rise up and are removed through the air collector or expansion tank.

With a single-pipe horizontal heating system in which the coolant is supplied from below, air locks are inevitable. They are inevitable when using aluminum in the heating system.

Problems of aluminum radiators

Aluminum of even the highest quality heating devices can react with the coolant, followed by the release of hydrogen. The intensity of this process depends on the quality of the coolant (its pH level), the heating temperature, and also on the presence in the heating system of individual parts and elements made of steel, which is the cause of the process of electrochemical corrosion of aluminum.

To protect against corrosion, the metal is covered from the inside with a layer of protective film, the effect of which weakens over time, and then completely stops. This means that when installing aluminum radiators, the process of hydrogen evolution, which can also form air pockets and block the movement of the coolant, is inevitable. It's all about time: the appearance of hydrogen can begin literally from the first days of operation of the heating device, or it can be "late" for several years, or even decades.

The danger of aluminum radiators is also that the process of hydrogen evolution can proceed at a high speed, at which the gas does not have time to rise up and forms high pressure zones that can completely disable the heating system. Pipes and radiators burst and cannot be restored.

To remove air pockets from single-pipe heating systems, as well as from heating systems with aluminum radiators, air vents of various designs are used, which are installed in places where air pockets are most likely to form.

How to bleed air from aluminum batteries - video

How to determine the presence of a plug in the heating system

An air lock in the heating system disrupts the circulation of the coolant, "locking" its movement. As a result, hot and cold areas appear in the system, by the location of which they find the airing of radiators and pipes. They do it by feel.

A simple example: the coolant supply pipe to the radiator is hot, the bypass and return are also hot, and the heating device itself is cold. All this suggests the presence of an air lock in the radiator.

It is more difficult to find plugs in pipelines. To do this, look through the course of the pipe and establish the places of its level differences. it is in them that air accumulation is most likely, to eliminate which a discharge is made sequentially through all connected heating devices, turning them off in turn from the common network (blocking the valves).

Types of air vents

The simplest and at the same time the most inconvenient way to bleed air from heating is to discharge it through the radiator plug, which is slightly loosened, creating conditions for the accumulated gas to escape. At the same time, there is a high risk of a violation of the tightness of the heating device, and it is almost impossible to unscrew the cork without special skills and tools.

To simplify the process of venting air in the past, an ordinary water tap was mounted in the cork, which really simplified the “fight” with traffic jams in heating, but spoiled the interior.

More convenient and at the same time aesthetically mature is the Mayevsky faucet, which is a manual air vent, controlled using a special key or a conventional screwdriver. For ease of use, Mayevsky taps are installed on all heating devices.

Using the tap is not difficult: if necessary, it is enough to loosen the valve, wait for the coolant to appear, and then close it again.

Mayevsky's crane allows you to eliminate traffic jams, but does not prevent their appearance. You can completely get rid of air jams only with the help of automatic air vents.

Automatic air vents in the heating system

An automatic air vent is a valve, the design of which uses a float, in the presence of a coolant, tightly closing the discharge hole. Install the air vent in the highest part of the heater in the place of the most likely accumulation of air volume.

The air lock displaces the coolant, which in turn leads to a weakening of the float and the opening of a vent through which air escapes into the atmosphere. At the same time, the coolant level rises, the liquid occupies the vacated volume and returns the float to its place, again blocking the discharge hole.

The process is repeated when a new air lock is formed.

The use of automatic air vents is by far the best way to prevent the formation of air pockets in the heating system.

User Questions:

hello, tell me please! we changed the old boiler to lemax 10, and also increased the thermal route, respectively filled it with water, bled the air, there was no result of warming up the batteries, the boiler heats water only at the outlet of the water from the boiler, what should I do?
Excuse me, the gasman came to us when they called for an air lock, he broke the boiler for us with too high a temperature, now if there are traffic jams and you increase the temperature in the boiler, the boiler starts to "boil" the sound is as if it is boiling inside
Hello, please help me, the pore heating of the boiler fills up water and cold pipes in a circle The pump is working, a new one has been installed
Good morning. We have such a problem, we live in a private house around the perimeter of the house, pipes with a diameter of 70 mm are installed. boiler "Baksi 240", tubas periodically knock and click, it is impossible to sleep. Tell me what to do?

When starting a new heating system, when replacing the coolant, and in some other cases, air accumulates in pipes and radiators. These air pockets interfere with the movement of the coolant, cause noise and other unpleasant phenomena. How to bleed air from the heating system and we will discuss below.

What threatens the airing of the heating system

The greatest danger that air creates in the heating system is plugs that interfere with the movement of the coolant. For example, in a situation where the batteries are warm in one room and cold in another, the air lock is most likely to blame. The gas in the coolant accumulates in some place, blocks or impairs circulation.

This creates air pockets and blocks the flow of coolant. This is just the place to install

The second trouble that the airing of the heating system brings is noise. Radiators, pipes, the pump begin to make noise, gurgle, whistle. During the day, such noise may not be noticeable, but at night, it often interferes with sleep.

It also threatens to activate oxidative reactions and other chemical processes. As a result of these reactions, rust is formed, the walls are overgrown with salts and other deposits. All this impairs circulation. Sometimes so much so that the heating becomes inefficient.

How does air enter the heating system?

Air enters the heating system in various ways. Nobody will tell you everything possible, but there are the most common options:

These are only the most common sources of air in the heating system. If we talk about an open system, then in it this is generally a common occurrence. Water in an open tank is in contact with air, of course, some of it can enter the system. And there may be other unusual reasons. For example, the filter installed in front of the circulation pump is clogged. Due to the fact that the pump does not have enough fluid, it “sucks” through cracks or not quite tight connections somewhere along the line.

How to delete - technical points

The problem of deaeration of the heating system should be solved at the planning and installation stage. You won’t be able to pass by, so you need to immediately provide opportunities for bleeding air and properly mount the components. Here's what you can do:

During installation, hang radiators with a slope of about 1 ° - one side will turn out higher and it is on it that you need to install. It can be a Mayevsky crane or an automatic valve. The disadvantage of the first option is that you have to bypass the radiators and manually bleed the air. Automatic air vents are better in this regard, as they remove gases as they accumulate. Their minus is that they usually have a considerable size, so it’s quite difficult with aesthetic issues (there are also small ones, but they are imported, so they are more expensive).
Install an automatic air vent at the high points of the system (at the supply) and at bends. In addition to radiators, air accumulates at high points. If you do not put a valve here to remove it, an air lock may occur.
If the system is large, with a comb, leave an air vent (preferably automatic) on the supply and return manifold.
Another way to automatically remove air from a comb system is to install a flow or non-flow air collector in front of it. This is for houses with two floors or more. For smaller systems, there is a more elegant solution - in-line degassers. They work on the same principle as an automatic air vent (this is one of the options), only they are installed in a pipe break.
Correctly calculate the volume of the expansion tank (this is especially critical for closed systems), monitor its serviceability (membrane integrity) and pressure in it.

And do not forget this moment: if your heated towel rail is connected to heating, it is also the top point. It is also desirable to install a device for removing air from the heating system on it.

How to bleed air from the heating system

Bleeding air from the heating system is not so simple. You need to know in what order to act, where to open, where to close. And the procedure depends on the composition of the system.

When filling

When filling the system (first start-up, repair or change of coolant), air pockets will be required. Therefore, before starting the boiler, they must be removed. They do this on a cold boiler, that is, the coolant must be cold. They operate in this order:

If at the same time the pressure in the system is normal, you can start the boiler. If the pressure is lower than necessary, the coolant is added and everything is repeated again. Please note that it is forbidden to bleed air on the diaphragm expansion tank. This is not air from the system, but a specially inflated reservoir to maintain a stable pressure in the system.

If there are high points in the system (for example, bypassing the door from above), there should be a bleed valve at any such point to bleed air. If you can still put a mechanical tap on the radiators, then automatic models are definitely better at these points. But keep in mind that for stable operation it is better to take more expensive models. They break less often, so as a result, spend less money.

To make it easier to bleed air from the heating system, air vents are installed at all possible points of air lock formation - manual or automatic

Also, devices for removing air should also be placed at the bends of the pipeline. These are also points of accumulation of bubbles and the presence of automatic valves for venting air here will make life much easier - you will rarely have to worry about air jams, since big part will be taken away automatically.

In systems with a water-heated floor

With a combined heating system - underfloor heating + radiators - you can try to expel the air through the radiators. The process is described above. If the air was bled 5-6 times, and some circuits are still cold, you will have to "drive" each of them in turn. The process of removing air from a water-heated floor is as follows:

With the boiler stopped (standby mode), close all valves on the supply manifold.
We open the supply of the primary circuit, turn on the boiler and leave it to work for several minutes. Let the air out with the help of a valve. At the same time, it leaves on the boiler, through the built-in automatic air vent.
Once again we drive, we lower. So until the coolant flows without bubbles.
We stop the boiler, close the supply of the first circuit, open the supply of the second.
We turn on the boiler.
We release air.

We run each circuit in this way, not forgetting to stop the boiler. If the boiler is not turned off, there may be two situations. The first is that all circuits will be closed, which can lead to a break in the “weak” place. The second - two circuits will be open and air from the "unpumped" can get into the "pumped", so that all the work done earlier will go down the drain. Therefore, we try not to stray from the algorithm and stop the boiler before closing / opening the next circuits.

Now you know how to bleed air from an underfloor heating system.

Branched radiator system

Usually in the heating systems of cottages on two or more floors, air locks appear in the radiators of the upper floors. However, simply blowing air on them a couple of times does not always help. It accumulates over and over again. Let's analyze the correct sequence of actions.

If the heating system has several "branches", it is necessary to act approximately according to the same scheme as described with the underfloor heating collector: alternately squeeze out the air in each of the branches. It is necessary to close all the "branches" except for one, pumping the coolant through it to bleed air (through air vents on radiators and other devices). In the same way, stop the boiler, close the tap on the “worked out” part of the system, open another. In theory, in houses on several levels, it is better to move from the bottom up, first bleeding air from the radiators of the base floor (if any), then the first, second, etc.

Features of multi-storey buildings

In most high-rise buildings, the distribution of the heating system is vertical. If you have a vertical pipe (or two) in every (or almost every) room, to which one or two radiators are connected, you have just such an option.

Farther. The feed can go from below, or maybe from above. In the first option, the batteries of the lower floors will be warmer, in the second - the upper ones. This is about the design of the system to represent how to act in case of airing.

If, after turning on the heating, your radiator does not heat up, start by venting yourself. If there is a Mayevsky crane, you will have to do it manually. Be prepared for a rather strong jet of water to come out of the radiator. The higher your house, the higher the pressure in the system and the stronger the pressure. Bring some kind of container (bucket or basin), a rag and you can get to work.

Using a special wrench or a regular flat screwdriver, turn the tap stem counterclockwise. A hiss should be heard, the coolant may begin to come out in a “torn” jet. This is the air that has accumulated in the radiator. When an even stream goes without jerks, the air was removed. Turn on the tap and watch the radiator heat up. If it helps, you're in luck. No - it is necessary to bleed air from the neighbors from below / above, remove it from the entire riser.

Residents of private houses and residents of city apartments regularly face the problem of air batteries. Especially often this phenomenon occurs at the beginning of the heating season or during repair work. Of course, you can call a plumber from the management company, but it may take a long time to wait for him. How to bleed air from the battery yourself and restore the heating system to working capacity?

Signs of an air lock

You can understand that air has accumulated in the battery by several signs:

Uneven heating of radiators. This may apply to a separate battery or the entire apartment heating system. In the first case, the airy part of the radiator will not heat up. In the second, the plug will interfere with the normal circulation of the coolant through the system, which is why some batteries will be hot, while others will be much colder.
Hissing or gurgling in the radiators is a clear sign of the presence of excess air in them.

Why is air in a battery dangerous?

Before you figure out how to bleed air from a battery, you should understand how it got there and why it is dangerous.

In addition to reducing heating efficiency, the presence of air in the batteries can lead to the following problems:

The metal from which the radiators are made is more susceptible to corrosion when exposed to air. Therefore, the service life of the elements of the heating system is significantly reduced.
The difference in temperature between the various elements of the pipeline can lead to its destruction.
The service life of the circulating sediment is significantly reduced. Under normal conditions, its bearings are in water; when air enters, it significantly increases friction, leading to damage to the device.

Causes of Airy Batteries

There can be several reasons for air to enter the system:

In an apartment building, this most often happens when the system is filled with coolant. According to the rules, the process should be carried out rather slowly, with constant bleeding of air, but in reality this is not always the case.
Incomplete tightness of the heating system. In this case, you will have to bleed the air constantly until the deficiencies are eliminated.
Carrying out various repairs. If at least a partial analysis of the pipes was carried out, some air will inevitably get inside. Therefore, after such events, it is imperative to bleed the air from the heating battery.
Poor quality of the coolant: an increased content of air dissolved in water can lead to the formation of an air lock over time.

Air lock removal

A special valve, usually located at its end, will help to bleed air from the battery. Older models will need a radiator key. In modern models, a Mayevsky crane is installed, for which a simple screwdriver or a special small metal or plastic key that can be bought at a hardware or hardware store is enough to work with.

The sequence of actions is as follows:

To the radiator you need to substitute a sufficiently capacious container. When air is bled from the battery, some water will be released. Better not to let it hit the floor.
In films and in real life, you can see plumbers bleeding water, wet from head to toe. Indeed, this operation may be accompanied by a spray of water under pressure in the system. This is not only unpleasant, but can also harm the decoration of walls or furniture. Solving the problem is quite simple: you need to hang a cloth on the valve, which will delay all the splashes, and the water will calmly drain into a bucket or basin.
With a wrench or screwdriver, carefully unscrew the valve until a clear hiss of escaping air is heard.

As it drains, water will begin to drip. We must wait until it pours in a thin stream. The faucet can be closed as soon as air stops bubbling in this jet. This operation usually takes 5-7 minutes.

Advice. If you do not want to repeat the procedure of bleeding air too often, then follow the advice of professionals and drain at least 2-3 buckets of water. This will ensure that the air is completely removed from the radiator.

A very convenient device is an automatic air vent. Here, the procedure takes place without any human intervention: when air accumulates, a float descends, closing the drain hole. After airing, the float returns to its place. A significant drawback of such devices is the increased requirements for the quality of the coolant. Therefore, they are rarely installed in apartment buildings with central heating, as they fail rather quickly.

What if there is no relief valve?

Sometimes there is no bleed valve on the radiator. This usually applies to old cast-iron batteries, where the plug plays its role. In this case, the work becomes more complicated, but not so much that it was impossible to do it yourself.

It is necessary to stock up on a gas or adjustable wrench, with which you can unscrew the plug.

Important! Be sure to block the access of the coolant to the radiator from the riser. This is done in case the plug comes out completely. The pressure of the water then simply will not allow it to be inserted into place, and this will result in flooding of the neighbors.

The main problem is that usually the plug is prevented from unscrewing by a thick layer of paint and hardened tow. You can solve it with kerosene or thread lubricant. We apply it to the connection and wait 15-20 minutes.
We carefully turn the plug and bleed the air in the same way as in the case of the Mayevsky faucet. Do not forget about the water tank and a cloth that prevents splashing.
When screwing the plug back, do not forget to apply a sealant to the thread, for example, FUM tape, to prevent battery leakage in the future.

To facilitate this difficult task, many owners in the past put a conventional faucet in place of the plugs. He did not add aesthetics, but made the procedure much easier.

In private homes, an expansion tank is used to eliminate air plugs. After the water is drained, a tap opens on it, and in most cases the plug disappears. If this does not happen, it is recommended to raise the temperature in the house so that the coolant boils. Then the problem of airing will definitely disappear.

For a guarantee, it is enough to carry out the procedure for bleeding excess air for all batteries twice. After that, the heating system will function normally.

Bleed air from the battery through the valve (video)

How to bleed air from the battery: step by step instructions. Signs of an airlock. How to bleed air if a Mayevsky valve or a plug is installed.

Understanding how to bleed air from the heating system will help you not to be left without heat in the winter.

It is not uncommon for radiators to suddenly stop heating during the heating season. One of the reasons for the failure of the system is an air lock, and then the residents face the problem of how to bleed the air from the radiator in order to restore circulation. There are several effective ways to normalize heating and how to bleed air from the system. In this case, the procedure should be determined depending on the type of heating system and the specific place where air accumulates.

The appearance of an air pocket

It is quite easy to detect that an air lock has formed in the heating system. Signs of airing the system:

gurgling sounds are sometimes heard in pipes and radiators;
batteries either do not heat at all, or only heat up to half;
Some rooms are hot, while others are not warm.

This means that the accumulated air is to blame, and how to release it from the heating system must be decided in accordance with exactly where it has accumulated. Air bubbles always accumulate in the upper part of the heating system, therefore, radiators in rooms on the top floor most often cool down. To find the location of the air lock, you need to consistently feel the supply pipeline and all batteries, checking the degree of their heating. It is also advised to tap the pipes with a hammer and determine by the sound where the void has arisen, but this must be done carefully so as not to damage the paint layer on the pipes.

As a result, having found a problematic place, it is already possible to choose a method of how to bleed air from a heating radiator or, if necessary, from a pipeline.

The air lock not only interferes with the circulation of the coolant, but provokes corrosion of metal pipes. The presence of air in the system also negatively affects the operation of the circulation pump.

Where does air come from in the system?

The reasons for the formation of an air lock can be both natural and related to improper system design and poor-quality installation.

Naturally occurring causes:

when the coolant is heated, the air dissolved in the liquid is released, it rises up and forms a plug;
gas bubbles appear during the interaction of a hot coolant with certain types of metals (in particular, aluminum);
due to evaporation, the liquid level in the open expansion tank drops below a critical value;
the air does not have time to completely exit the pipes and batteries if the system is too quickly filled with water with a complex configuration.

It is important to know how to drain the heating system if necessary and then refill it so that no air remains in the pipes and radiators.

In addition to natural causes, the appearance of air congestion also leads to:

incorrect layout of horizontal pipes and installation of radiators;
pressure drops in the feed water supply;
poorly sealed connections;
deterioration of old pipelines;
expansion tank failure.

When during the operation of the heating system it turns out that it was originally designed incorrectly, it will have to be redone. But in order to urgently restore the heat supply, you need to decide how to bleed air from the heating system.

Air lock removal

If the heating is properly designed, then how to bleed the air out of it will not be difficult. It can be arranged so that the bleeding of accumulated air will occur automatically, as it accumulates. For this, special devices are used - air vents installed at critical points. In other cases, it is necessary to acquire skills on how to bleed air from the heating system in manual mode.

It matters:

open or closed type of system;
natural or forced circulation of the coolant;
top or bottom piping option;
whether the horizontal slopes of the pipes are observed.

Drain cock on the radiator

In apartment buildings, residents do not have a question about how to bleed the air from the heating, specialists of the management company should worry about this. Although in the old five-story buildings the heating is arranged in such a way that it is possible to bleed air from it only through the radiator in the apartment on the top floor, and the residents themselves periodically have to do this. The problem of airing looks more acute for owners of private houses with autonomous heating - it is sometimes necessary to bleed the air. To bleed air from a water heating radiator, a needle air valve is used, the so-called. Mayevsky crane. Such a device is installed at the upper end of the radiator battery, instead of a plug. Sometimes it is also used to bleed air from a heated towel rail pipe. Different models of Mayevsky cranes are somewhat different, so before you bleed air in heating radiators, you need to read the instructions. Open the faucet valve either with an open-end wrench, or with an ordinary screwdriver, or simply with your hand.

Let's consider how to release an air lock from a heating battery using the Mayevsky crane installed on it:

prepare tools (wrench or screwdriver) and a container for collecting water;
open the thermostat completely, then unscrew the Mayevsky tap half a turn;
air will begin to exit through the valve with a slight hiss;
substitute the container and keep the valve open, since it is necessary to bleed air from the heating radiator until water flows;
when a dense stream of water appears, you can turn on the tap.

If, after you have bled air from the radiator, it still does not heat up well, drain another 200 grams of coolant through the same tap to completely remove the air lock.

Air bleed through expansion tank

In private houses, the arrangement of heating systems is different, it depends on the features of the layout of buildings. For different types of systems, appropriate expansion tanks are used - open or closed. Therefore, individual homeowners often have to think about how it is more expedient - to bleed air from a heating radiator or through an expansion tank .

In an open system, air bubbles have a free exit through an expansion tank installed in the attic. If the heating is working normally, there is no need to bleed air from the system, since it comes out on its own. But the liquid gradually evaporates, and the water level in the open expansion tank can drop so low that an air lock appears in the upper part of the supply pipe. In this case, the circulation of the coolant will slow down or stop altogether, and in this situation we should already be talking about how to bleed air from the heating system.

To drive out the air lock, you can add water to the expansion tank from above, but it is better to replenish the volume of liquid in the system through the bottom tap connected to the water supply. The water coming from below will fill the void in the pipe and squeeze the air out through the opening of the expansion tank.

During the heating season, it is necessary to ensure that the expansion tank is constantly filled with water to about 2/3 of the volume, and top up with water when the level drops.

In closed systems, diaphragm expansion tanks are used. Sometimes the membrane ruptures in them, and then air enters the system. If it is possible to establish that the cause of airing is a faulty expansion tank, it will have to be replaced. But before starting repairs, before draining water from the heating system, you need to prepare everything you need so as not to leave the house without heat for a long time.

What should be the correct structure of the system

When designing, it should be foreseen that air can accumulate in horizontal pipes, and how to drain it from the heating system will be a difficult task. Therefore, it is important that the top supply pipe has a slight slope, starting from the riser and further in the direction of the coolant. At the highest point, a device is installed that allows you to bleed air from the heating. It can be a regular faucet or Mayevsky faucet, but it is better to use an automatic air vent. In a more complex heating system, air vents are installed in all places where an airing problem may occur. Then there will be no question of how to bleed the air in one or more heating radiators, since the accumulating bubbles will be gradually bled from each group of elements that make up the system.

The return pipe must be laid with a slope towards the boiler. This is done to combat air congestion, and also so that you do not have to guess how to drain water from the heating system if repairs are needed.

If the heating system is equipped with a circulation pump, then there is no need to observe the slope of the pipes with great accuracy. And yet, for the effectiveness of the system, it is desirable to lay pipelines with the correct slope.

Finally, we can recommend that you always contact a specialist about problems with heating. They know how to design a workable system and advise on how to bleed air that has accumulated in radiators. But the homeowners themselves must, on the eve of the heating season, carry out a preventive inspection and check of their heating system.

How to bleed air from the heating system: tap, battery, radiator

We bleed air from the heating system: air congestion, troubleshooting, radiator drain valve, expansion tank, proper system design.

Removing an air lock from the heating system: how to properly bleed air from radiators?

The air in the heating system is an obstacle to its normal functioning. Residents of apartments and houses face this problem, as a rule, at the beginning of the heating season. Noise in pipes, cold batteries, corrosion of metal elements - this is the result of the formation of air pockets. And this happens even with a perfectly designed and properly installed heating system. Why this happens and why it is necessary to remove air from the heating system in a timely manner - this will be discussed in this article.

Why does air appear in the heating system?

Many of our compatriots are familiar with the concept of "air congestion". This phenomenon is remembered at the beginning of the heating season, when heat is let into the houses, and in the apartments of the upper floors often the batteries do not heat up or heat up only in the lower part, and in the upper part they are absolutely cold. Where does air come from in pipes? There can be several reasons for airing:

carrying out repair work (assembly, disassembly of the pipeline), during which the appearance of air is inevitable;
non-observance during installation of the magnitude and direction of the slope of pipelines;
reduced pressure in the water supply: the water level drops, and the voids formed as a result are filled with air;
when water is heated, the air bubbles contained in it are released and rise to the upper part of the pipeline, creating air pockets there;
the heating system is filled incorrectly: after a summer downtime, the pipes should not be filled with water quickly, but slowly, while simultaneously bleeding air from the heating system;
unsatisfactorily sealed joints of pipelines through which the coolant leaks. The leak in these places is hardly noticeable, since hot water immediately evaporates. It is through loose seams that air is sucked into the system;
malfunction of air intake devices;
connection of a water "warm floor" to the heating system, the pipes of which are located at different heights during installation.

Air lock removal methods

Since one or more of these factors may be present in many homes, the question of air removal in the heating system necessarily arises. This operation can be performed in various ways. It all depends on what circulation of the coolant we are dealing with - natural or forced.

In a heating system with natural circulation (meaning the upper piping), the resulting air lock can be removed through the expansion tank - it is located at the highest point in relation to the entire system. The supply pipeline should be laid with a rise to the expansion tank. With the lower piping, air is removed in the same way as in heating systems equipped with a circulation pump.

You can bleed air from a heating system with natural circulation using an expansion tank

In heating systems with a forced coolant circulation mode, an air collector is installed at the highest point, specially designed for air release. In this case, the supply pipeline is laid with a rise along the course of the coolant, and air bubbles rising up the riser are removed through air valves (they are installed at the highest points). In all cases, the return pipe must be laid with a slope in the direction of the water outlet for faster emptying if repairs are necessary.

Types of air vents and their installation locations

Air vents are manual and automatic. Manual air vents or Mayevsky taps are small. They are usually installed on the end of the heating radiator. Mayevsky's crane is adjusted with a wrench, screwdriver or even manually. Since the tap is small, its performance is also small, so it is used only for local elimination of air locks in the heating system.

There are two types of air vents for the heating system: manual (Mayevsky tap) and automatic (work without human intervention).

The second type of air vents - automatic - work without human intervention. They are installed both vertically and horizontally. They have high performance, but they are quite sensitive to contaminants in the water, so they are mounted together with filters on both supply and return pipelines.

Automatic air vents are installed in closed-type heating systems along the pipeline line at different points. Then air is discharged from each group of devices separately. A multi-stage deaeration system is considered the most effective. With proper laying and proper installation of pipes (under the desired slope), it will be easy and hassle-free to remove air through the air vents. The removal of air from heating pipes is associated with an increase in the flow rate of the coolant, as well as with an increase in pressure in them. A drop in water pressure indicates a violation of the tightness of the system, and temperature drops indicate the presence of air in the heating radiators.

Determination of the place of formation of the cork and its removal

How can you tell if there is air in the radiator? Usually, extraneous sounds, such as gurgling, water flow, indicate the presence of air. To ensure proper circulation of the coolant, it is imperative to remove this air. When the system is completely aired, you must first determine the places where traffic jams form by tapping the heaters with a hammer. Where there is an airlock, the sound will be louder and stronger. Air is collected, as a rule, in radiators installed on the upper floors.

Having understood that there is air in the heater, you should take a screwdriver or wrench and prepare a container for water. Having opened the thermostat to the maximum level, you need to open the valve of the Mayevsky tap and substitute the container. The appearance of a slight hiss will indicate that air is escaping. The valve is kept open until water flows and only then closed.

Elimination of the air lock in the heating battery using the Mayevsky crane installed on it: the valve is opened with a special key or manually and kept open until water appears

It happens that after carrying out this procedure, the battery heats up for a short time or not well enough. Then it needs to be blown and rinsed, since the accumulation of debris and rust in it can also cause air to appear.

If after bleeding the battery still does not heat up well, try draining about 200g of coolant to make sure that the airlock is completely removed. If it doesn’t help, but it is necessary to blow and flush the radiator from possible accumulated dirt

If after that there is no improvement, you need to check the filling level of the heating system. Air pockets can also form at bends in pipelines. Therefore, it is important during the installation process to observe the direction and magnitude of the slopes of the distributing pipelines. In places where the slope for any reason differs from the project, air vent valves are additionally installed.

In aluminum radiators, air pockets form more intensively due to the poor quality of the material. As a result of the reaction of aluminum with the coolant, gases are formed, so they must be regularly removed from the system. In such situations, it is recommended to replace aluminum radiators with appliances made of better materials with anti-corrosion coating and install air vents. In order for the heating of rooms to be normal, before filling the heating system with water, it is necessary to take care in a timely manner of removing air from it that prevents the normal movement of the coolant, and then in winter your house will be warm and comfortable.

Removing air from the heating system: all about the descent of the air lock

Causes of air in the heating system, ways to remove it. Types of air vents and their installation locations. How to find and remove an airlock

How to bleed air from the battery if there is no Mayevsky crane

Most often, there are no problems with the heating system in the house. But sometimes suddenly the house becomes cold or there are strange sounds in the heating radiator. What could it be? Unfortunately, in this case, there is air in the heating system, which means that it is necessary to bleed air from there. Today you will learn how to do it without a Mayevsky crane.

Airiness in the battery: what is it and how to determine

What is airiness in a heating battery? This concept refers to the accumulation of air, most often in the upper part of the heating radiator. This situation becomes a problem and quite common for those who live in high-rise buildings on one of the last floors. There can be several reasons for such a problem:

Carrying out repair work on the site / on neighboring floors. In the event that work was carried out with heating pipes in a residential square, there is a high probability of a small air flow entering the system.
There was a coolant leak in one of the sections (which means that an immediate check of the system is required to eliminate the leak).
Feature of the underfloor heating system. The problem of system airiness is indeed a frequent picture in the presence of a warm floor system, especially if it has a complex circuit and many branches.

High-temperature water contains air, and the more often the coolant is updated in the system, the higher the likelihood of a malfunction.
If the appearance of an air “plug” coincides in time with the start-up of a common heating main, it is more likely that it was the start-up of the system that caused the airiness.

Advice. If you live in a private house, then, in principle, you should not worry too much about the airiness of the system (if it is small). The fact is that in private heating systems, most often the coolant changes very rarely, which means that the air must be bled off on its own within a few days.

Determining the presence of an air "plug" is quite simple. For example, if the temperature of the water in the battery dropped sharply or the battery became only partially cold, it may even begin to gurgle - all this is a sign of airiness.

Air release without Mayevsky crane

Most home heating batteries have a special device that helps to simplify the task of bleeding air as much as possible - a Mayevsky tap or an automatic valve.

But the question is: what to do if there is simply no such device on the battery? If you have just such a picture before your eyes, most likely, cast-iron batteries are installed in your house. On such batteries, quite often a simple plug is installed, which was twisted on a tow covered with paint. In addition, it was also covered with a layer of paint during the painting of heating batteries.

It is difficult to remove it in order to gain access to the coolant located in the system. For this reason, the simplest way out of the situation can be considered an appeal to the neighbors from the last floor of the house (they will probably have a Mayevsky crane on the battery). But if the neighbors, for example, have left or you yourself are a tenant of the top floor and there is no tap? In this case, you will have to resort to the "grandfather" method of bleeding air from the heating system.

So, you need to stock up on a basin, a bucket and a lot of rags. In addition (you can’t take this “barrier” with your bare hands), you will need an adjustable wrench to unscrew the cork and some kind of paint thinner. Otherwise, you simply will not be able to move the plug from the "dead" point.

So, first apply a solvent to the place where the plug is installed and wait 15 minutes. After that, gently start moving the adjustable wrench along the thread until the plug starts to feed. You will hear air begin to bleed. When the sound subsides (a sign of lack of air), be sure to wrap a layer of “fumka” around the plug and insert it into place. If desired, you can slightly paint over the junction of the plug with the battery.

You have learned about how quickly and quite simply you can cope with the task of venting air from a heating radiator in the absence of a Mayevsky crane. Good luck!

How to bleed air from the battery in the heating system if there is no Mayevsky tap

Sometimes strange sounds occur in the heating radiator. There is air in the heating system. We will tell you how to bleed air without a Mayevsky crane.