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How much water should a steam system lose daily

Rikardakis
Rikardakis Member Posts: 10
The funny thing is that the water seems to be "leaking out" when the boiler is off. The level in the sight glass continues to drop for about another 4 hours after the last firing. My system is pretty efficient and fires first thing am and then after the sun goes down. THe system fully pressurizes in 45 minutes and all the Gorton valves hold pressure without hissing or spitting. A month ago I replaced one side of the returns which was under concrete. I now suspect that the other side (just as old and probably under concrete since the 70's) is eaten through as well.
Thanks for the comments and advice. Rik

Comments

  • Rikardakis
    Rikardakis Member Posts: 10
    Water in Sight Glass

    How much water should be lost in a normal running steam boiler on a daily basis? Ie if my sight glass is 6 inches long is a 1/2 to 3/4 inch per day normal? I've read all the comments on buried return lines and suspect this may be my problem, however would appreciate answer on water usage. thanks
  • Big Ed
    Big Ed Member Posts: 1,117
    None

    A tight system would not loose any water......
  • Dave DeFord_3
    Dave DeFord_3 Member Posts: 57
    Not exactly true...

    A STEAM system is not a closed system it has vents that open to the atmosphere and allow some steam (water) to escape. Hydrolevel has a chart in the VXT instructions located here: http://www.hydrolevel.com/pages/pdf_files/vxt24_opt.pdfet that gives the allowable usage for different sizes of boilers. Mine for instance can use up to 10 gallons per month. This is actually an advantage of steam over other types of heat in that you don't need to run a humidifier. Just my .02
  • Kevinj_3
    Kevinj_3 Member Posts: 27
    Blowdowns

    I figure the loss should equal to blowdown amounts.
  • Rikardakis
    Rikardakis Member Posts: 10
    Water Loss

    The funny thing is that the water seems to be "leaking out" when the boiler is off. The level in the sight glass continues to drop for about another 4 hours after the last firing. My system is pretty efficient and fires first thing am and then after the sun goes down. THe system fully pressurizes in 45 minutte and all the Gorton valves hold pressure without hissing or spitting. A month ago I replaced one side of the returns which was under concrete. I now suspect that the other side (just as old and probably under concrete since the 70's) is eaten through as well.
    Thanks for the comments and advice. Rik
  • Rikardakis
    Rikardakis Member Posts: 10
    Water Loss

    The funny thing is that the water seems to be "leaking out" when the boiler is off. The level in the sight glass continues to drop for about another 4 hours after the last firing. My system is pretty efficient and fires first thing am and then after the sun goes down. THe system fully pressurizes in 45 minutes and all the Gorton valves hold pressure without hissing or spitting. A month ago I replaced one side of the returns which was under concrete. I now suspect that the other side (just as old and probably under concrete since the 70's) is eaten through as well.
    Thanks for the comments and advice. Rik
  • Rikardakis
    Rikardakis Member Posts: 10
    Water Loss

    The funny thing is that the water seems to be "leaking out" when the boiler is off. The level in the sight glass continues to drop for about another 4 hours after the last firing. My system is pretty efficient and fires first thing am and then after the sun goes down. THe system fully pressurizes in 45 minutes and all the Gorton valves hold pressure without hissing or spitting. A month ago I replaced one side of the returns which was under concrete. I now suspect that the other side (just as old and probably under concrete since the 70's) is eaten through as well.
    Thanks for the comments and advice. Rik
  • Rikardakis
    Rikardakis Member Posts: 10
    Water Loss

    The funny thing is that the water seems to be "leaking out" when the boiler is off. The level in the sight glass continues to drop for about another 4 hours after the last firing. My system is pretty efficient and fires first thing am and then after the sun goes down. THe system fully pressurizes in 45 minutes and all the Gorton valves hold pressure without hissing or spitting. A month ago I replaced one side of the returns which was under concrete. I now suspect that the other side (just as old and probably under concrete since the 70's) is eaten through as well.
    Thanks for the comments and advice. Rik
  • Rikardakis
    Rikardakis Member Posts: 10
    Water Loss

    The funny thing is that the water seems to be "leaking out" when the boiler is off. The level in the sight glass continues to drop for about another 4 hours after the last firing. My system is pretty efficient and fires first thing am and then after the sun goes down. THe system fully pressurizes in 45 minutes and all the Gorton valves hold pressure without hissing or spitting. A month ago I replaced one side of the returns which was under concrete. I now suspect that the other side (just as old and probably under concrete since the 70's) is eaten through as well.
    Thanks for the comments and advice. Rik
  • Rikardakis
    Rikardakis Member Posts: 10
    Water Loss

    The funny thing is that the water seems to be "leaking out" when the boiler is off. The level in the sight glass continues to drop for about another 4 hours after the last firing. My system is pretty efficient and fires first thing am and then after the sun goes down. THe system fully pressurizes in 45 minutes and all the Gorton valves hold pressure without hissing or spitting. A month ago I replaced one side of the returns which was under concrete. I now suspect that the other side (just as old and probably under concrete since the 70's) is eaten through as well.
    Thanks for the comments and advice. Rik
  • Rikardakis
    Rikardakis Member Posts: 10
    Water Loss

    The funny thing is that the water seems to be "leaking out" when the boiler is off. The level in the sight glass continues to drop for about another 4 hours after the last firing. My system is pretty efficient and fires first thing am and then after the sun goes down. THe system fully pressurizes in 45 minutes and all the Gorton valves hold pressure without hissing or spitting. A month ago I replaced one side of the returns which was under concrete. I now suspect that the other side (just as old and probably under concrete since the 70's) is eaten through as well.
    Thanks for the comments and advice. Rik
  • Rikardakis
    Rikardakis Member Posts: 10
    Water Loss

    The funny thing is that the water seems to be "leaking out" when the boiler is off. The level in the sight glass continues to drop for about another 4 hours after the last firing. My system is pretty efficient and fires first thing am and then after the sun goes down. THe system fully pressurizes in 45 minutes and all the Gorton valves hold pressure without hissing or spitting. A month ago I replaced one side of the returns which was under concrete. I now suspect that the other side (just as old and probably under concrete since the 70's) is eaten through as well.
    Thanks for the comments and advice. Rik
  • Wow!

    9 times! I think we got the message.
  • will smith_4
    will smith_4 Member Posts: 259
    Sometimes-

    The edit button doesn't...
  • Jack P.
    Jack P. Member Posts: 38
    ah....

    What????
  • Big Ed
    Big Ed Member Posts: 1,117
    yep

    Condensate seems to be leaking out. Return under floor would be my first check. Leaking boiler my second..... Check the chimney for steam venting
This discussion has been closed.