steam radiator spitting water

alex Fedele

We have a customer that has 2 radiators at 20 – 25 feet away from the boiler. Those 2 radiators constantly will spit water out of the vents. The vents were replaced,. Also some 30years ago the asbestos was removed and those radiators did not work well and the lines were reinsulated with round fiberglass insulation. At one point the boiler nozzle was drop which seems to have remedy the problem, however a new boiler was just installed and the problem is reoccurring. This is a single pipe steam boiler, with a pitch of 1 bubble per the level. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Big Ed_4

Skimming boiler

Has the boiler been skimmed and flushed since it was installed ?

nicholas bonham-carter

spitting vents

ed is right--cleanliness is next to godliness, especially with steam boilers! don't waste time with sqick or other additives; use only plain water.

is the pressure on the new boiler as low as these systems like best: 8-12 oz? if not, get a 0-16 oz. vaporstat, and crank it down.

is the new boiler piped exactly according to the mfg's instructions [especially pipe sizes, height of steam main above the waterline]?

some pictures of the boiler piping would help pinpoint problem areas to look at.--nbc

alex Fedele

Guys, that I do not know the answer to the questions. However I will try to get some pictures for you and also the answers to most of your questions.

thank you for your quick response.

Alex.

Big Ed_4

Skim Test

First off bouncing water and black dirty gauge glass if your first sign the boiler needs to be skimmed. Another way it bring it up on temp as to break steam . Close the bottom gauge glass cock and open the bottom drain cock on the gauge glass assembly. If water and wet steam comes out the boiler needs to be skimmed. If it's just dry steam your good ...

alex Fedele

Ok.The customer doesn't think the boiler was skimmed. He will try to get someone to do that for him. We agree that this will help the situation. here are 2 pictures of the boiler installation.

Paul Fredricks_9

That looks interesting. An extra drip, I think. The riser out of the boiler looks short, but then there is an extra riser, sort of.

Not the way I would have done it. Let us know how the skimming works out.

Steamhead (in transit)

It's a double-header

but the newer part coming out of that SGO is reduced from 2-1/2" to 2". Even if W-M allowed this, I still would have piped it in 2-1/2". The larger diameter would slow down the steam velocity and help in separating water from steam.

The actual connection to the main is interesting. Is this a counterflow main- that is, does the main slope up from the boiler, or down to a return connection?

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alex Fedele

folks this is a single pipe boiler. The 2 main pipes have a bubble of pitch each. the boiler is located in the center of the house. Both main pipes extend roughly 20-30 feet away from the boiler. The main pipe that is causing the problem is the one that connected to the copper vertical pipe. The radiator that is experiencing the problem is located at the extreme length of that same amin pipe. All other radiators located on the othe main pipe are working fine.

Paul Fredricks_9

I see what you mean about the counterflow piping. Alex, is the one bubble of pitch an upward bubble as we head away from the boiler?

How many radiators are on this system? It seems that this may be a counteflow system, meaning that the condensate runs back through the mains in the opposite direction of the steam. Are there any returns along the floor, or is it just the pping we see in the pics?

alex Fedele

Paul the pitch is 1 bubble of pitch up away from the boiler. There are no return pipes other then the main pipe. I'll need to call the customer to findout the number of radiators on this systems. Thanks for your imput.

Alex.