Maintenance Log for Residential Steam Boiler

Paul Swan

Do any of you have a template for a maintenance log for residential steam boilers? We just replaced a boiler that cracked because the homeowners go to Florida for the winter, and one of the return lines froze and split. The boiler LWCO didn't refill the boiler, and it cracked about half the sections. The customer wants a local maintenance person to do the weekly checks on the system next winter. We want to supply them with a comprehensive Steam Boiler Maintenance Log. We will include a disclaimer that if the boiler is not adequately maintained, and the log is not kept up, then we will not warrant the boiler or installation. Our ulterior motive is to impress upon them not only the importance of maintenance, but also that it should be done by a qualified person! Any assistance will be appreciated.

Dave_4

freeze up

Apparently the boiler was not in operation if it got cold enough for a line to freeze.

What would you inspect if the unit is offline???

If the unit shutdown for some reason, and that caused the cold temps, then the only inspection is to see if it is holding the desired temp. in the building and that the gauge glass shows a safe level of water in the system.

Anyone but a blind person can do that. Qualified??

Edward A. (Ed) Carey_3

Frozen return lines

Paul,

If the boiler was operating and the home was set to a reasonable temperature to maintain heat, it would not be possible to freeze the return lines for the boiler. The colder it got outside, the more the boiler would run inside, preventing the pipes from freezing.

I contend that the boiler shut down, and thereafter the pipes froze. If there is a signature on the boiler of internal overheating, you probably had a LWCO failure, and cracked the boiler sections.

Since the Automatic Water Feed (AWF) works subordinate to the LWCO, if the LWCO corrodes and fails, it will also disable the AWF. The boiler will operate devoid of water, internally overheat & crack.

The return pipes will still contain some water which will thereafter also freeze, and break the return pipes.

I think this scenario is likely.

Ed Carey

Unknown

Bingo!