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February 25, 2009
Steam Boiler Question
My plumber serviced my boiler about four months ago, but the heating has been spotty, sometimes great other times it does not go on. He just came out again and told me that I have to replace the water in our steam boiler every week in order to keep sediment from messing up the works. This seems excessive. Is this a sign that there is a bigger problem or are all steam boilers this high maintenance?
Comments
My plumbers recommended draining my steam boiler once a week -- the boiler was new, but the rest of the system was old and had a lot of crud in it so that sounds like good advice to me.
Posted by: herkimermaid at February 25, 2009 12:36 PM
I think the plumber meant drain till the water turns clear, seconds.
Posted by: DeLepp at February 25, 2009 1:14 PM
some things to think about here:
http://www.heatinghelp.com/steam_problems.cfm
I guess the easiest first step for you to do would be to check the pH of the water going into the boiler. And out I guess.
Another thing to look at would be the vents.
Posted by: Karka at February 25, 2009 2:07 PM
yes, I should clarify... to drain until the water runs clear, not totally drain the system. sorry for any confusion.
Posted by: herkimermaid at February 25, 2009 2:47 PM
it is called blowing down the boiler...and should be done weekly...however spottiness of the indicates other prooblems entirely...what are the conditions when it does not come on...and how is it controlled, thermostat or heatimer?
Posted by: eman1234 at February 25, 2009 4:34 PM
You need to flush a steam boiler weekly if it is fitted with a float-type mechanical low water cut off.
Much less frequently if the boiler uses an electronic probe-type low water cut off.
Posted by: Master Plvmber at February 25, 2009 6:35 PM
i still cant get a handle on what you mean by "sometimes it does not come on"...that indicates a control or limit problem
Posted by: eman1234 at February 25, 2009 7:19 PM
Thanks for the comments. I guess the weekly thing is not so unusal. The heat is regulated by a digital thermostat. I did ask about why the heat does not consistently come on even though the temp is reading below the turn on point. He thinks it might be the thermostat, so he is checking that out.
So many things with this first house business. Wish I could still call on my super :)
Posted by: bedstuy11216 at February 25, 2009 7:37 PM
Thanks for the comments. I guess the weekly thing is not so unusual. The heat is regulated by a digital thermostat. I did ask about why the heat does not consistently come on even though the temp is reading below the turn on point. He thinks it might be the thermostat, so he is checking that out.
So many things with this first house business. Wish I could still call on my super :)
Posted by: bedstuy11216 at February 25, 2009 7:37 PM
Every new steam boiler installed should have a pipe installed above the water line of the boiler to allow the excess sediment to be "skimmed"off the top of the boiler water line,by running the boiler,when hot and simultaneously flooding the boiler to cause the sediment normally laying at the bottom of the boiler to be in suspends and leave the boiler through the pipe installed.After this,the plumber should pour in a rust inhibitor with a ph balance neutraliser to create the right ph balance needed for proper boiler operation.This process of skimming and chemically trating the boiler should be done at least,once a year.Also have the plumber check the air valves in the system.
Posted by: birchwoodc at February 25, 2009 9:23 PM
birchwoods is bang on, but sadly enough too many houses in brooklyn date back to when this was a poor neighborhood with absolutely crappy maintenance and installations..a lot of the installs were done by the absolutely cheapest guys who did not have a clue as to what they were doing..way too often you are dealing with a bad 20 year old installation where everything was done wrong...always a joy when you can actually make it work
Posted by: eman1234 at February 25, 2009 9:43 PM
eman1234.You are right,most of the installs were done incorrectly and sometimes you have to change the near boiler piping to make the system work properly.Sadly most installers do not take the time to skimm the boiler after the job is done.
Posted by: birchwoodc at February 25, 2009 10:20 PM
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