Hi All, Moved into a new house in May and have no experience with GeoThermal. I have 3 units. 2 of them I've had to bleed air from this summer (by the suggestion of an AC contractor) to get the unit to begin pumping again (there must be a low pressure shutoff). 1 unit has been having issues for the past 2 weeks and I continually have to bleed air every few days. I'm also getting dirt particles in the water that is coming out. The units are hooked up to house water so doing this isn't difficult. I just open the bleed valve, then another valve that is connected to a faucet which also has a valve to the house water. Is this a MAJOR leak in my loop? If so how can I fix it? I'm not sure where the loop is, since these two units are in my attic and the hoses dissapear into the wall. Hopefully they didn't run it through the slab of the house.
A vacuum leak is very tough to find, and that is what I suspect. Water has to go some place for the air to enter. If the loop system is indeed sucking air then you should be able to find a corresponding water leak. start looking for that leak. It is possible that the air has been there from the beginning. The dirt and debris could be cause by your bleeding an improperly commissioned system... Mark
The house is 25 years old (1991) so I assume the air is new(ish). Am I doing something wrong by bleeding the air off that's causing the dirt? Is there a better way to do this, and would a product like this work for me? http://www.fixaleak.com/geodirections.html I would have to remove the inline float pressure gauge if I used it.
You don't know if the system is leaking, or if it was never commissioned (and purged) properly (the dirt indicates the latter). Get someone out there to purge it correctly and ensure that you don't have dirt in it. It is also unusual that the loop is hooked up to the house water, since you should have antifreeze in the loop, which you diluted now by your purging attempt. Something is really screwy. Are you on well water?
Interesting. Like I said I know nothing about this system. I have an AC guy coming out that the previous owner used to help service things. I don't think he's an expert on geothermal, just the mechanical pieces so I may need to find an actual installer near me to come do what you are saying as I don't think this guy will be able to. When I mentioned anti freeze to him on the phone the other day he said "the previoous owner never had freezing problems" so not sure we know what the use is. Also after the "dirt" dried I noticed that it may not actually be DIRT. Looks like rusty metal shavings!!! Assuming this is a worse sign than dirt. :*(
So another thought has occurred to me. What if this isn't a closed system! How would I be able to determine this? It might explain why it's hooked up to house (rural) water.
Do you see a circulation pump inside anywhere between the incoming pipe=>heatpump=>outgoing pipe? Likely a closed loop. If not, likely an open loop.
Yes I have a pump. Turns out the freon was low and the low pressure switch was kicking off the pump. Still think there may be a leak in the loop so the AC contractor is looking at putting in a air bleed valve and an auto fill valve to the house water.
"More data, makes better answers. Thanks." I'm telling you everything I know. Doc, I'm sure the antifreeze that might have been in there is gone by now. The AC guy said he will look into adding Glycol to the system.
If your system is going to need some ongoing maintanence moving forward. This would be a great point in time to start looking at the option of switching to a non pressurized flow center. It will be a cost up front, but save money down the road. Eric
