Help!!!My boiler dumps 5gals of water every 12 hours

Darren_5

Should I drain the expansion tank and pump up the air to the required pressure? I this tank big enough for this system?

Darren_5

water from the boiler preesure relief valve

I need help bad!!! I am emptying 5 gals of water every day from the boiler blow off valve/pipe. I have a split level house on LI with mostly convectors a couple of baseboards and two cast iron recessed radiators. The boiler is a oil fired slant fin liberty 2 151k btu/hr wit a watts et-30 expansion tank and I also have a 45gal superstore for hot water. I am not sure if the water started coming after the rads were added or after the superstore.
My question is does this excess water mean that I am getting too much water into the system or is my boiler temps set too high and it is creating excess pressure or do I need a bigger expancion tank or "D" all of the above??

Dave_4

One of two things...

Either your expansion tank is "flooded" - meaning filled with water and failing to do what is intended; namely, allow air trapped inside to "receive" the naturally expanding/heated system water having no place to go (except on the floor via the pressure relief valve); or, the pressure reducing valve/feeder is "bad." Meaning it allows drinking water pressure to leak past, overfilling the lesser-pressure heating system.

Far less likely, the piping is so "wrong" the system has fundamental design problems that would have been seen shortly after the new work was done - unless of course this is the first time the altered system has been asked to heat.

JK_3

Is your pressure guage workiing ? what is the system pressure? you can tap on the expansion tank and the half of the tank connected to yhe system should sound full as the other half should sound hollow. with the system not running drain enough water from the system to get aproxx 15 pounds of pressure and then see if the pressure goes up by it self with the system turned off. Do you have a mannual fill valve? mabye it is not closed fully . check some of these things and get back to us. good luck.

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Andrew Hagen_2

Possibilities

There is a pressure gauge on the boiler. What is the pressure when the boiler is cool? What is the pressure when it is hot? Generally, the pressure is below 20psi at all times.

If you have a boiler autofeed valve and it has been left on, there should be a shutoff valve to positively shut off the autofeed. This would be a 1/2" line feeding from your potable water system into the heating system.

If the relief valve is leaking continuously at pressures below 30psi it could be bad.

There is also the possibility that the expansion tank is bad or undersized. If the pressure is 20psi or lower when the boiler is cool and it increases above 30psi when hot and blows the relief valve, the expansion tank is probably the culprit. It could have failed or now be undersized with the added system volume.

These are three of the most common failures in hydronic systems, and all will cause the system to lose water.

-Andrew

Darren_5

The pressure gauge is working- right now with the system not running my pressure is about 12psi and the temp is 135F. I took the cover off the Honeywell controller and the boiler temp is set for 180F, is this too high?
The fastfill lever is in the auto position and the expansion tank sound full no hollow sound at all. I want to thank you guys for your help, I do need to solve this problem ASAP.

JK_3

if there is no hollow sound at all then most likly your expansion tank is bad . change it and your problem should be solved. let us know. good luck.

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JK_3

do your self a favor while you have the system drained an change the pressure releif valve .many times when they have opened on high pressure the spring gets weak or they do not seat properly. i always change it when i do an expansion tank to avoid having to drain and repurge again.

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Darren_5

The expansion tank is about 3 years old could it have gone bad that fast? Can I drain it and pump the air back to get the right pressure or should I get a new bigger tank?
The manual valve to feed the autofill from the 1/2 in pipe is open, should it be closed or would that prevent the system from getting water when needed? I can hear the water dripping as I type and the system has not called for heat or hot water in the last 45 minutes

mark smith

what you need ..

IS A SERVICE CALL

lee_7

if it is a "bladder style" tank and has failed, you need to replace it. How is it install, vertically or horizontally? We install them so they hang vertically so entire bladder stays wet and doesn't dry rot as fast. Just something to think about.

Darren_5

The company that delivers my oil and services the boiler didn't offer much help, other than to lower the temp on the boiler. I will try the suggestions given today and if all else fails then I will bring in the pro's. Any suggestions?

Darren_5

It hangs vertically.

Rich L.

bladder expansion tank

Your expansion tank is hanging vertically you said. Where is the air pressure fill, top or bottom? If its on the bottom you can take off the cap, momentarily depress the schrader valve and if you get water, the air bladder is bad. If you do replace the tank, check the air pressure before you refill the system with water. These are often times low when recieved. The air pressure needs to match your static water pressure.

Good luck, Rich L

Weezbo

as a first plan of action,

lowering the temp might be a pretty good call.

D all of the above ...no, i am just being trite...

something you may have happening is the DHW make up ,(even if it is "off' the boiler vs. "in" the boiler is) something like Overshoot.....it seeks a specific temp buh its reaction time allows more temp to it than it really needs ,if it is not checked with a zone it too will create problems Back at the boiler rather than at the indirect...just to pitch another 'variable" into the equation...

wiring and plumbing sometimes need to be working "with" each other *~/:)