weil mclain steam furnace

shifty69

i have a steam furnace and the sight glass was full of water so i drained some of the water that it was half way and it was like that for most of the day but i went back in to check it and the sight glass was full again.  My question is does this sight glass have to be full or is there some way to regulate how much water goes into the furnace without it filling all the way??

Gordo

It May Be

That your boiler re-fill system is slowly passing water.  That's one of a few possibilities.



Your  boiler water line in the gauge glass should be about half way up.

M Downey_2

water level rising

If you definitely have a steam boiler [not furnace ], which I assume you do,as evidenced by the gauge glass, the answer is no.  A steam boiler generally runs about 1/2 full on the gauge glass, but it can vary.  I would  check to make sure your fresh water feed, or auto feeder isn't overfilling the boiler.  You could possibly have a problem with a leak on a domestic hot water coil if your boiler also supplies your domestic hot water needs.

Brian_74

I had the same problem

I do not have an automatic feeder, but was having the same problem. It turned out to be the fresh water valve needed to be replaced. Once I replaced it, the water level has stayed put.



By the way, if you can find the manual to your boiler, it should tell you where the water line should be.

Athomco

Tech Notes

Tech Notes

Athomco

Steam Water Lines

Water lines are very critical to all steam boilers.  If you can find your installation manual it will show you where the correct water level should be on the boiler.  The water measurement should be taken from the bottom of the cast iron up. Make a mark on the boiler jacket and then match the line with the site glass.  This is where your water line should be. If your waterline increases from this mark you have over filled the boiler and should look at the auto feeder location or look into maybe installing a condensate tank with a pump. Most steam boilers operate on the steam cooling in the system and turn back to liquid call condensate.  This condensate will run back to the boiler to refill the boiler.  By adding more water to the steam boiler from the auto feeder can damage the boiler by introducing more oxygen in the water and cause the boiler to fail by eating the cast iron in long term conditions. If your loosing water, your system is venting steam or water which is not a good thing.