System operation with new boiler

nicholas bonham-carter

you must be lucky enough to have a meter on your auto-feeder. i would find out how much water can be drained in volume, before the lwco cuts off the burner and compare that volume with the volume you are using in a month.how many days of use does this 1 quart loss equate to roughly.

if you are losing enough to shut down the lwco in a month's heating, i would say that is too much water use, but only as far as nuisance value, the oxygen content is not that great.--nbc

Ted Robinson

Are these good numbers?

New (IN-6) one pipe steam boiler install over the summer.
Detached house has 2100 sq ft on two floors. Upgraded insulation (including 9 inches on attic floor) with original windows.
Boiler is 144,000 BTU input. NY City has recorded 2350 degree days so far this season.

So far this season the boiler gas valve has been ON for 308 hours - - 7.6 dd per hour.

The water feeder is averaging 1 qt of water for 28 hr of operation. Does this sound OK?
Note that before the system valve leaks were repaired, we added water every 3 days, or so.

nicholas bonham-carter

adding water

before the work, you added water every 3rd day. now it seems you are adding every day+1/6. does that seem better?
i suspect a leak somewhere, and i would look at your vents. check your pressure. if it's over 2 pounds then possibly your vents have died from over-pressure, and should be replaced [and enlarged], in conjunction with lowering the pressure to 12 ounces max.

let's see some pix of the near boiler piping, which may also contribute to this problem. why not order one of the steam books available here, so as to have a greater understanding of how these old systems work [and how well they CAN work, if properly maintained!]--nbc

Ted Robinson

CLARIFICATION

That was 1 quart of added water for each 28 hours of the actual gas firing ON time, not calendar time.

Ted Robinson

water loss vs degree days

(The water meter is on my auto feeder, because I paid extra to have it there!) The hour meter is a small device I bought from Allied Electronics. The auto feeder is adding about 3/4 gallon in one low-level detect followed by a high level shutoff cycle. That corresponds to about 1/4 - to - 1/2 of the full sight glass level. That was observed to take 76 operating hours, or 577 degree days.