I'd like to preface this post with the fact that I'm a complete diy amateur. I may say stupid things, or things that make no sense. Please feel free to correct me as I'm always open to learn.
So, it's winter in my area and it seems like pretty much every morning at 5am, I have some pretty loud sounds in my house. They're pretty much like pinging and popping sounds.
I suspect that it's my furnace, since I've never heard these sounds in the summer (I turn the boiler off in the summer, pilot light and all), and I did experience this last winter but to a smaller degree. At that point I suspected that it was just the house settling.
I have a central boiler with connected rads in each room. What is strange though, is that I've changed the time when my house heats up (I've heated up the house at 4:00am, and at 6:00am) and I still get the sounds at 5:00. Is it possible that there's some sort of a self-test going on? I really don't know much about boilers.
From what I've read, a lot of people suggest bleeding the system, but I'm not 100% sure how to do that. There's a sort of barrel in the ceiling of the room where my boiler is, with a typical valve and threading where I could hook up a hose. I want to say that this is the expansion tank, but I'm not sure.
I'm not sure if I should just attach a hose there and open that up until water flows steadily or what? Since my boiler is a "closed system" and just uses this tank when overflowing (by magic?) I'm guessing that I should not do this. How can I be assured that my boiler will self-fill itself if I overdrain?
Other suggestions have said that I should go to the highest point in my house and open up the rads individually until water flows (while the water inside is hot? cold?), then shut it off, and systematically hit each radiator moving down the floors until I've done them all. Although I've never been able to find a legitimate article that says whether this applies only to standalone radiators, or also to closed-circuit boiler systems. I did take a quick look at one of my rads and found something that seemed like it may be used to bleed the system, but it looks like if water came out of it that it would be very messy and hard to control.
If anybody could provide me with some reading materials about how these systems typically work as far as how they self-fill and self-regulate, etc. (I have done some Googling and reading, but didn't find a single good resource) that would help a lot as well.
Best Answer
Bleeding radiators is quite simple, and can usually be done by homeowners. All that's required is a radiator key, a towel and/or bowl, and a bit of time.
Why Bleed Radiators
Even with closed systems, air can still find its way into the system. When it does, it will collect at the highest points available (the top of radiators). Trapped air can cause radiators to heat less effectively, so removing it will help reduce your heating costs.
How to Bleed Radiators
To bleed the radiator, you'll need a special tool called a "radiator key". A radiator key is a small key like object that will fit on the bleed valve of the radiators, and is used to open/closed the valve.
The first step in bleeding the radiators, is to turn off the system. Next, you'll have to locate the bleed valve on each radiator. This valve should be near the top of the radiator, and will look something like this.
Insert the key into the valve, and hold the towel and/or bowl below the valve. Slowly turn the key anticlockwise, until you hear a hissing noise or water starts to drip from the valve. Once water starts to drip, close the valve by turning the key clockwise.
WARNING: Never open the bleed valve too fast, too far, or completely remove the valve stem.
CAUTION: Water dripping from bleed valve may be hot. Contact with aforementioned water could lead to injury.
Repeat this procedure for each radiator in the system.
Repressurize the System
After bleeding the radiators (or even before bleeding the radiators), you may notice the pressure in the system is too low. The typical rule of thumb is that for a 2 story home, the pressure should be between 12-15 lbs. or 25 - 30 ft. If you notice the pressure is a bit low, you'll want to top the system off.
There should be a supply pipe connected to the boiler, with a valve that is fully closed. This pipe should come from the cold water supply system of the house. Once you've located the supply and valve. Open the valve slowly, keeping an eye on the gauges, close the valve again when the gauge reaches the optimal level.