Baseboard heating not working

I was wondering if someone can help me. My basement baseboard heating is not working. It used to work just fine prior to me renovating my basement and even after that it worked for about a year and this winter it worked a few times and it would stop working. I called the heating people and they told me it was because my circulator was broken and it wasn't circulating the water but I changed that and it worked again for a few days but stopped again. Then they tried to let all the water out to get the air out. They did that and the heat worked again, but after a few days it stopped again. They let the water out about 3-4 times and every time it work but only for a few days and it would stop working again. Now they are suggesting to change all the pipes because maybe there is a leak in the pipe and thats why air keeps getting in and that's why the heat is not working. Can anyone help me diagnose what the problem is?

Re: Baseboard heating not working

You should have a valve at some or all of the baseboard heaters. This is to let the air out of the line. You don't need to take the water out, just the air, so just opening the valves until water comes out should fix the air issue. If you do that on a regular basis, that means that there is a leak somewhere, and you have water dripping in the walls, as well as not having heat.

Re: Baseboard heating not working

Thanks for your quick reply. If there is a leak, how do I check for it? I don't see any water gathering on the floor anywhere. Is there something that can be done to check that? Or would you also recommend changing all the pipes? I'm also going to look for the valves in the baseboard to let the air out. I didn't see the valve last time I looked but I will check again.

Thx.

Re: Baseboard heating not working

If there's a tiny leak in the wall, it may take years to find it. It could be anywhere along the pipes, and any puddle you find may not be near the source of the leak. A slow leak could drip slowly down the pipe, and puddle on a different floor and area of the house from where the leak actually is.
Replacing all the pipes seems excessive. I would want to try several other things before going that route.

If you don't see a valve, check other baseboards. If there's only one valve, it will be at the farthest point of the system, since air is lighter than water, it will seek a high point in the pipes.