Test Results

NShak

BACKGROUND PROBLEM:
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1-pipe steam system w/ baseboards in 1st floor kitchen, 2nd floor bathrooms x 2, and 1 small bedroom. Other rooms have radiators.

Utica Peg-C 150k boiler that was always overfilled after every heating cycle (glass gauge overfilled, despite starting the heating cycle ~2/3rd full). Glass gauge starts clear, but turns into a thick, opaque rust-colored fluid during the heating cycle. Also, time to heat all radiators (2 story, single family home, 1500 square feet) was 60-90 minutes (longer if starting at a lower temp). 2nd floor is a sauna, first floor is considerably colder (wife & child are usually forced to spend their days upstairs). Baseboard in kitchen spits a lot of water. The family room radiator which is very close to boiler heats last. This radiator comes off the line feeding our upstairs master bedroom (not it's own line off a basement main).

INTERVENTIONS:
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Replaced the pigtail (prior one absolutely clogged up). Confirmed the pressuretrol is set to cut-in 0.5 with 1 psi differential. Burner tubes were cleaned and appear to be functioning well. Drained the boiler & flushed it out the rear spigot about 3 times using the hot water from the electric water feeder bypass track. A lot of rusty residue from the returns... came out, but the water never came close to clearing up. Tested to see if the bypass around the auto-water feeder was leaking (No). Made sure all radiators & baseboards (including kitchen one) are pitched. They all have new rad-vents. Put a Gorton-D on the family room rad that shares the line w/ our upstairs bedroom. Then I refilled the boiler and disconnected the electric auto-water feeder.

RESULTS:
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With the glass-gauge 2/3rds full w/ clear water and the electric auto-water feeder turned off, I started the boiler with the thermostat reading 61, with a goal temp of 65. Once the water started heating up, the fluid in the glass gauge became a very thick rust color due to signif residue being tossed up & around. So thick that it's opaque. The fluid didn't seem to surge terribly, but seemed to jump up/down an inch or more. After 90 minutes, the low-water cut-off activated (burner properly turned off) despite the glass gauge being 1/5 to 1/4 full of thick rusty water. (Electric water feeder was previously disconnected, so I manually refilled with the warm water bypass track). At the time the burner turned off, the thermostat (90 minutes of burner time), still only read 64 degrees. The kitchen baseboard spit out 2.5 cups (I measured it) of water from the vent at the end. And finally, the family room radiator barely got warm.

HELP:
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Any thoughts on what is happening? Recommendations on what to try/do next. Cold NJ days & nights are already here... And my wife thinks I'm chatting/cheating w/ a mistress on the internet, when actually I'm here trying to learn from you all on The Wall. I've read Dan's book "We Got Steam Heat" multiple times and love it. But I'm still no where near a pro... just a homeowner wanting to learn more, do more, and stay warm.
Please help. Thanks.

David Nadle

Steps

So we've established that the autofill was being triggered by low water after a long cycle. No more flooding. Now we just have to get the radiators filled faster and figure out the kitchen. I think shutting off on low water after 90 minutes is not unexpected.

An inch movement in the gauge glass isn't too bad. And some rust is to be expected. You can fight that by draining a few cups of water every week or two when the boiler is off and the glass is clear. Open the tap and let the water run until it comes out mostly clear, then refill manually.

Since you seem to catching the steam bug and will be getting intimate with your boiler--try explaining that to your wife--I would recommend you stop using the autofill until you get things working better. You should be able to check the waterline once a week and add some if needed.

Posting some pictures of the troubled family room rad and the kitchen baseboard might help. Also keep your reports in one thread so information previously given is not lost.

I would try the following steps:

1. Close the valve on the kitchen baseboard and see if operation improves.

2. Test the system performance at maintaining a single temperature, not recovering 4 degrees. Measure the time from steam established (riser hot) to end of mains hot.

3. Guessing here...the family room is on the first floor and somehow taps into a riser to the second floor master bed instead of its own connection to the mains. If this is true, we know steam is available to the family room radiator, it's just not going in. How long from steam established until that riser is hot on the first floor, above the family room radiator? Then, how long until the first column of the family room radiator is warm?

Check the valve on the family room radiator, make sure it opens and closes properly and make sure it's open. Close the valve on the master bed and see if the family room improves. You may have a balancing/piping problem there.