What determines the normal functioning of the heating system? There are several objective factors that directly affect the efficiency, reliability and maintenance of its performance. Therefore, first of all, you need to know how to properly start the heating system in the house. It is best to consider this procedure using the example of an autonomous country cottage system.
Preparing the heating system for start-up
In the vast majority of cases, heating is inactive during the summer. Therefore, you should check the safety and reliability of its main components, as well as carry out a number of preparatory work. Before starting a closed heating system, you need to find out the degree of deviation of its actual parameters from the calculated ones.
First, a visual inspection of the line and heating radiators is carried out. For the owner, the priority question should not be how to start the heating battery. It is necessary to check its body for possible mechanical damage, and also check the reliability of the connection to the pipeline.
Along with this, control and preventive work of the following plan is carried out:
- Checking the chimney system. How to start a heating boiler if the draft in the chimney is not enough to maintain the combustion process? Therefore, the internal cavity is cleaned from soot, and the integrity of the pipe is also checked. Brick structures can be "refurbished" by replacing destroyed bricks. Rust can appear on galvanized pipes and must be removed;
- Visual inspection of pipes. Since it will be simply dangerous to start heating without this - you need to find out if all the pipes have retained their tightness, if there are any cracks or obvious defects in the system;
- Monitoring the condition of radiators. You need to know that before starting the heating in an apartment building, the management company must warn the tenants. They, in turn, check the condition of the batteries. It is not allowed to disconnect individual radiators from the network. While filling the pipes with coolant, the absence of leaks is checked.
These are general rules, without which the first start-up of heating is not recommended. But how to start heating in a private house correctly? To do this, it is recommended to follow a series of procedures.
Test run heating in an apartment building is carried out 1.2-2 months before the start of the heating season. During its implementation, it is recommended to stay at home to check that there are no leaks.
Filling the heating system with coolant
It should be reminded once again that before starting the heating system of the house, a visual inspection of all elements is performed. If necessary, replacement of individual units and components is made. Only after that you can proceed to the procedure for filling with a coolant.
In the absence of water on the inner walls of the radiators and heat exchanger, a small amount of rust will inevitably form. Therefore, before filling the heating medium, it is recommended to clean the system.
Flushing the heating system
If there is still a coolant in the pipes, you need to remove it. This can be done through a special pipe located at the lowest point of the system.There should also be a make-up unit. Only after that can the question continue to be resolved - how to properly start the heating system.
For closed heating circuits with forced circulation, it is recommended to do hydrodynamic flushing. To do this, you should purchase (or better, rent) a special pump with filtration and a chamber for the cleaning liquid.
Flushing procedure:
- Connecting the pump nozzles to the system;
- Start-up and visual control of the degree of water pollution that has gone through a full cycle through the pipeline;
- If necessary, replace the fluid with a new one;
- Perform several flushing cycles until the water is completely clear.
After that, a pressure test is performed. Before starting the heating radiator, you need to check the state of its connection to the pipeline. It is recommended to replace the gaskets and check the integrity of the couplings.
To start a closed heating system, an increased amount of coolant (or air) is injected into the pipeline. This is necessary to check the reliability of the connecting elements of the system. The pressure value should exceed the nominal 1.2 times.
After flushing, the liquid must not be discharged into the sewer. It contains harmful components that will negatively affect the operation of an autonomous sewage system.
Adding coolant to heating systems
As a heat carrier, you can use ordinary distilled water or antifreeze. Filling is performed through the sub-sub-node located at the lowest point.
This is important, because if you try to add water through other nozzles located higher, the likelihood of air pockets will increase. In order to make the correct start of the heating battery, it is recommended to check the presence of Mayevsky taps and their performance. To do this, open each of them. Then you need to adhere to the following order of actions:
- The air and drain valves located at the highest point in the system are opened;
- The tap of the filing unit opens smoothly. The water pressure should be small so that air locks do not form;
- After the coolant flows from the nozzles of the air and drain valves, they should be closed;
- Mayevsky's taps remain open until a coolant begins to flow from each instead of air. This is important, since starting the heating boiler in the presence of air pockets can damage the entire system.
If pressure testing has not been done before, it can be done while filling with water. Pressure control when starting heating at the stage of filling with water is carried out using pressure gauges installed on the boiler, safety group and collectors.
If you plan to fill the system with antifreeze, you need to use propylene glycol. Unlike ethylene glycol, it is completely safe for humans.
First start-up of the heating boiler
The procedure for the first start-up of the boiler before the start of the heating season depends on its model and type. But despite this, a visual check of its condition is carried out. This is one of the most important stages preceding the final start of heating in a private house.
The heat exchanger is one of the most vulnerable elements of the boiler. Its verification is mandatory, because during the operation of the device, it is constantly exposed to high temperatures. Along with the task of starting a heating radiator, preparing the boiler is one of the most important during the process.
Solid fuel boiler
Before the start of the heating system has not yet taken place, a comprehensive monitoring of the state of the solid fuel boiler is carried out. Its surface is cleaned of rust, the performance of the manometer and thermometer is checked.
This is followed by the following steps to properly start the heating system:
- Cleaning the furnace and ash pan from soot.This can be done with a metal brush;
- Checking the condition of the chimney. Its pipe must be securely connected to the boiler nozzle.
For pyrolysis and pellet models, the operation of the electronic control unit, fans and nozzles is tested. If the heating system starts up correctly, the malfunctioning of these elements can lead to sharp temperature jumps, which directly affects the state of other components.
Flammable substances must not be stored in the room where the solid fuel boiler is located. For storage of fuel, you also need to allocate a separate room or annex.
A gas boiler
Before starting the gas heating boiler, you should read its instructions. For different models, the order of the steps may vary slightly. This is due to the different types of construction. This applies in particular to condensation models, in which the correct formation of condensation must be monitored during operation. Without it, heating the secondary heat exchanger will be impossible.
How to correctly start heating with a gas boiler? After filling the system with water, you need to do the following:
- There is a valve at the bottom of the boiler that blocks the flow of water into the circuits. After the end of the heating season, it can be closed. Therefore, you need to open it - in this case, the pressure gauge readings will change. The pressure value should not exceed 3 atm;
- After heating the coolant, open the make-up tap again. If there are air locks in the system, you can remove them using Mayevsky taps. The system pressure may drop slightly during this phase;
- In fact, it will be necessary to launch the sinking radiator 2 times. The first one - during filling with a coolant, and the second - when the boiler is turned on;
- The correct functioning of the boiler is controlled by the values on the dashboard.
The result of starting heating in a private house should be a stable temperature regime of the entire system, as well as the absence of pressure surges in the pipes.
Often, the service for the first start-up of a gas boiler is provided by specialized service centers from manufacturers. Their rates are much lower than those of other companies.
Checking heating system elements
You need to remember about other elements of the system. Indeed, without their correct operation, it is impossible to correctly start the heating system. First of all, you should check the normal functioning of measuring instruments - thermometer manometers.
The operation of the protective components must also be monitored. The correct start-up of the heating system can be interrupted if the seats of the air vent or drain valve are prevented from moving due to rust or limescale. To do this, you need to manually open each of them.
The air chamber pressure is monitored in the expansion tank. It should be 5-7% higher than the nominal in the system. If the design of the tank provides for the possibility of replacing the membrane, you need to disassemble it and check its condition.
Currently, the service of starting a heating system is very rare. It is impossible to indicate at least approximate prices - in most cases, the price is formed on an individual basis. Its size directly depends on the current state of the system and its complexity.
In the video, you can familiarize yourself with the technology of filling the heating system with a coolant.
