Recurring Steam Water Hammer

Joe Ortiz

I have a new Peerless steam boiler installed that has given me water hammer on different occasions. The worse it ever got was fixed by emptying the water in the boiler and refilling, so I assume I had oils, etc. in the water. This I'm very sure of because I could smell the gray pipe thread compound used in the installation coming through the radiator vents...I don't detect that smell much at all anymore.

Now, around 2 months later, it is starting again. I notice the water looking a bit more rusty than before in the water tube. I plan to empty the boiler again this weekend and refilling. I recently changed the setting on the pressure valve to extend the off cycle of the boiler after it reaches the pressure cut-off. I did this because it seemed the boiler was 'quick starting' where it would only stay off 1 - 1 1/2 minutes before firing up again. Will extending this time cause more rust from my pipes to back into the boiler, somehow due to more condensate running back while the boiler is cycled off? Any of this make sense or will old pipes just cause this issue from time to time?

Thanks,

JoeO