Steam heat, water in lines

Papa

Thanks for the help. I am contacting a professional to get the problem corrected.

Papa

Water in steam heat lines

I've been reading "We Got Steam Heat" and I went to check the main vents on our one-pipe steam heat system. We recently moved into this house. I took one main vent off and found it was not working. So planned to replace it.
I took another off (there are multiple lines) and water started pouring out of the hole where the main vent was. The two radiators on this line had stopped working over the past month or so. This line had been uninsulated and was hammering, then stopped working altogether. I am wondering if it is possible that the entire line filled with condensate? Should I just let all the water drain out?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

-bp

Steamhead (in transit)

Sounds like a plugged return

have it replaced. It's best to replace all the returns if only one is plugged, then you won't have that problem again.

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Papa

RE: Sounds like a plugged return

Thanks for the response.
Just to be clear, as this is new to me, I am guessing the wet return is clogged and the water is not making it back into the boiler?
If that is correct, is it possible to clean the return, or it better just to have it replaced?

Jamie_6

Just have it replaced! If you try to clean it out you will just end up creating more problems then its worth!

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bob young

return

run system & feel piping to see where it gets cold .it could be plugged at the intersecting piping near boiler.

Papa

water level too high?

Is it possible that this problem is related to the water level being too high (in the boiler). I drained some water out of the boiler this evening, as I do once a week, to remove some of the sludge/dirty water. The radiators seemed to heat up much better after that.
The water level is all the way to the top (or beyond) of the glass gauge on the front of the boiler. Would it be a good idea to lower the water level by more by draining more water?
The system has an autofeed water filler, that usually fills it all the way to the top of the gauge once it is triggered.

Steamhead (in transit)

Plugged returns can cause that

if the returning water is held up, as from plugged returns, the feeder will maintain a safe water level in the boiler. When all that water finally returns, it will overfill the boiler.

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Papa

water level

OK, I'm trying to find someone to come out and check/replace the returns.
I also noticed the problematic pipe is sagging quite a bit, so I suspect water had collected in it. I'll need to correct that too.
Until a pro can come out, one question: if there is too much water in the system, how can I drain it out? When I start draining the water the automatic water feeder always comes on before the water level in the glass gauge has gone down. I guess I am asking how to adjust the water level that activates the auto water feeder to a lower level?

Guest_5

shut off

The automatic feeder. I have one, and there should be a switch nearby for safety. I turn mines off because it helps me to remind myself to flush/drain the boiler and I think manual leveling of the water level is better than letting a piece of machine that might go bonkers do that for you.

Papa

problems fixed

It turns out the automatic water feeder was not shutting off early enough and the entire system had way too much water in it because of that and some sagging pipes. After this was fixed and the excess water was drained out everything is working much better. All the radiators are now quietly heating up. Before, some radiators would heat up with a lot of hissing and others would remain cold.
Thanks for the suggestions and help.