# How to shut off baseboard water supply?



## zjohnq (Mar 1, 2012)

Hi,

I'm new here but it feels good to join DIY Chatroom.

One of the hot water pipes (copper) was broken and the water was shooting out like a water gun, after the ice inside the pipe melted as it's getting warmer. Right now, I just use a long piece of rubber strip to wrap it up to prevent the water from coming out.

I am planning to sweat it but I have to shut off the water first. My problem is that I cannot find the right valve to turn off. I am pretty sure one of valves is the right one. So after turning it off, there is still water coming out of the pipe . Maybe the washer of the valve is bad.

I was advised of turning all the valves off and turning them back on after done with the leaking. I tried it but there was still water coming out of the damaged pipe.

Any idea of what I should do?

Thanks in advance.

John


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## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

Ayuh,... Donno how yer hydronic system is plumbed,...
But,...
Generally speakin', ya gotta drain the whole system down to get the water outa that pipe...
Then refill, 'n purge the air back out of the system....


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## how (Feb 26, 2011)

You'll at least have to drain the boiler system down below the level of the baseboard you want to solder on. Turn off the power and water supply to the boiler and drain. A full drain will be easier to get out all of the water and have the system open enough to solder the connection properly. Those long horizontal baseboards and supply lines can be a ***** to really empty.


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## zjohnq (Mar 1, 2012)

Yes. I agree with you guys 100%. But my problem is I cannot shut it off. I turned off the valve on the pipe that I believed had the crack. But I think there is still plenty of water in the pipe. So like what you said, turn it all off. But I cannot find the master valve that controls all the valves and zones. 

Please see the pics.

Thanks again.


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## Evstarr (Nov 15, 2011)

First pic seems like blue or green should cut the supply to the boiler. Can't see drain valve in your pics.


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## Bob999 (Mar 4, 2010)

On the left side in the first picture, above the expansion tank, there is a pipe coming down with an elbow and then a valve that appears to me to be the supply/fill valve for the hydronic system.


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## AllanJ (Nov 24, 2007)

Although the various heat zones may have adjusting valves that stop the water flow, usually only one end of each zone (a loop) gets closed off. So you need to just drain the system as a whole until the baseboard in question stops dripping.

Be sure that an automatic refill valve does not let more water in as fast as you drain it out. There should be a manual shutoff next to it if the refill valve is automatic.

There will be a drain valve on the boiler itself or on a pipe emerging from near the bottom of the boiler.


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## zjohnq (Mar 1, 2012)

Thanks guys.

If I cut off the water supply, is that possible to get the boiler burned out because the furnace might not be smart enough to shut itself off since there is no water coming in? To be safe, what about shutting down the furnace, when it's getting warmer?

Thanks again.


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## Bob999 (Mar 4, 2010)

zjohnq said:


> Thanks guys.
> 
> If I cut off the water supply, is that possible to get the boiler burned out because the furnace might not be smart enough to shut itself off since there is no water coming in? To be safe, what about shutting down the furnace, when it's getting warmer?
> 
> Thanks again.


Any time you are working on the boiler the master switch should be OFF.


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## zjohnq (Mar 1, 2012)

Hi folks,

I guess I found the drain pipe and valves. There are 2 of them: one is behind the boiler like Allan said, the other is the elbow like Bob said. Both pipes have open end. The one behind the boiler is bigger. Please see the pics: forgive me about the boiler pic which is not quite clear: in the boiler pic, there is a brown strip on the boiler. It's the pipe with an open end; beside that, you can see the drain valve at the bottom.

Please tell me what I should do.

Thanks again.


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## danpik (Sep 11, 2011)

The tank with the brown stripe on it is not the boiler, it is the domestic water heater. It uses a separate zone off of the boiler to make hot water for your showers and sinks. There should be a warning label on that particular tank explaining how to shut it down and drain it if need be. That particular type of tank can be damaged easily if it is drained wrong. 
Looking at the first picture you posted there is a pipe coming straight down above the expansion tank. There appears to be a valve there. Follow that pipe back and see where it comes from to be sure. I am betting that is the feed for the boiler.

You appear to have separate zones for different areas of the house (zone valves are visible in one of the pictures) Each zone "should" be able to be shut off and isolated. In most cases the zone valve, when the power is shut down, will shut off one side and the return side should have both a shut of valve and a drain spigot. It may seem confusing at first, but if you trace out each pipe you should be able figure out each circuit.


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## danpik (Sep 11, 2011)

Looking at the pictures again, follow the large pipe in the front of the boiler (first pic) up towards the cieling and note where it goes. There should be some pipes teeing into it up towards the cieling somewhere. These are your return lines from the different zones. There should be shutoff valves on these. I won't guaarntee it but if it was done correctly there should be


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## zjohnq (Mar 1, 2012)

Thanks for clearing this up. 

I'll follow what you said to trace the return pipes and the shutoff valves. 

Here is the general picture: the house has at least 4 zones, one for basement, one for 2nd floor, one for 1st floor, there is sort recreation room on top of garage with about 500 square ft, the fourth zone is for that room where part of the baseboard pipe has a crack.

On the first pic, you can see a green valve handle facing outward (face the camera). I'm sure that's the valve linked to the problem baseboard pipe. I have shut it off but the water is still coming out of the pipe. So it means that I shut off the wrong valve.

Thanks again.


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## danpik (Sep 11, 2011)

follow the pipe back up from the circulator pump. The first valve you come to is the return loop shutoff valve. This valve allong with the yellow handled valve directly below the pump are shut off if you need tochange out the pump. This will allow you to do that and not drain down the entire system.
The next valve, a couple inches above the green handled valve, looks like it is a drain valve (hose bib). This will drain down the system when opened provided the main system fill valve is turned off. Up stream of those two valves there should be some "T"'s that bring water back in from all of the zones. There may also be some shutoff valves and drain bibs on them as well. I doubt it though as there seems to be only one system drain on this system. 

The main system water feed (keeps water in the system at all times) is the blue handle valve that can be seen hiding behind a pipe directly above the expansion bladder tank in the first picture. This valve keeps adding water to the system in the event of a water leak or when ever any makeup water is needed. This is the valve you need to shut off in order to be able to drain the system down to make your repairs. Keep in mind, that when you turn this off there is still preasure in the system and it may take a few min to bleed off when you open the drain valve to let water out. If the leak is high enough up in the system you may not have to drain the entire system down to make repairs. When you do this work it is important to shut off the main power to the boiler (red switch) to ensure the boiler does not come on. This is especcialy important if the system is completly drained down.

I do not have the ability where I am right now to add labels to the pictures to identify the valves for you. Later tonight when I get home I will attempt to do that. 
Also, The brown stripe on the dometic water tank indicates that there may have been or still is a leak somewhere near the top of the tank. Most likely a fitting. Having installesd several of that model tank I know they do not like steel/iron fittings attached to them. The corrosion attacks the material on the fittings on the tanks and can ruin them.

If you can, post a picture of the return lines from the zones so we can see if there are any shutoff valve / drains there as well


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

Son--There are times to calll in a pro --and I believe you are in one of those times---

Your knowledge of plumbing and heating are not up to this task--that is not ment to hurt,so please take no offense.

once you get this thing shut down and drained ----and the pipe repaired---you will end up having to call in a heating guy to purge the system for you-

You haven't figured out which valve shuts off the feed by your self---do you think you will be able to shut down each zone and purge the air without calling in the troops?

Best to call in the help now--it will be cheaper than paying a tec to figure out what vavles you turned off by accident.---Mike---


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

If you folks think I was to rough on this member---Please say so---You all know I am a firm believer in DIY and seldom suggest call in a pro---Mike---


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## DexterII (Jul 14, 2010)

oh'mike said:


> If you folks think I was to rough on this member---Please say so---You all know I am a firm believer in DIY and seldom suggest call in a pro---Mike---


Nope, not at all, Sir, and in fact I was close to making a similar suggestion on this post two days ago. I too am a big believer in DIY, but there are two key ingedients; knowing what you know, and knowing what you don't know. And it's the latter that can lead to the largest of problems. OP, hire a qualified, licensed, local professional for this task.


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## danpik (Sep 11, 2011)

Mike
I am inclined to agree with you on your assesment. However even if he does call in a pro to do this work at least the help he asked for here will further his knowledge of how his system works. a person *should* know how to at least shut off the power and water feed to a boiler in the event of an emergency and where those controls are. Also simple things like being able to locate and know how to use the purge/bleed valves on his system are, in my opinion, important. Not knowing this person personaly I can not assess his ability to work on this problem. This is something he will have to evaluate on his own and hopefully the advice here will help him with that assesment. 

I remember the first time I saw a boiler and it's associated plumbing...I thought wow, how does someone make sense of all of that. I now work part time for a local heating company here in town doing installs when they are overbooked. I only do about 10-15 installs per year.


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