Drip question

Johnny13

The pipe coming down from the valve where I do my weekly gunk removal has started to drip. Not terribly, maybe 5 times an hour. Over the course of a week this  adds up to about two inches of water in a 5 gallon bucket that I keep under the pipe. When I moved in, there used to be a metal cap on the end of that pipe, and I would take it off when I did the cleaning. Water would come out, but not very much. After I had the boiler serviced this year, the cap disappeared. Was it bad to have it on there? Is it a bad sign that I am losing that much water?



Also, the water level in the glass tube is consistently lower than it was before. It is always about 3" about the marked minimum water level, but about an inch and a half below the old regular level. I turned down the pressure this year, which I only mention in case that could be relevant.



Thank you for your time.

nicholas bonham-carter

leaking valve

are you referring to the blow-down valve of the LWCO on a steam system [go to the head of the class for blowing it down weekly!]?  if so, that valve is a replaceable item, from mcdonell-miller; however a partial  boiler drain down would be required, so it would be best to have the part in hand, before starting the work. this would be best done by a pro, but you could save him time by having  the part there for him. i think the model number is #67, but double check on the M-M website. a rebuilding kit is probably available for the whole thing, and it would be wise to renew all the replaceable parts in it, as it is so important.--nbc

jpf321

have a look at

have a look at the parts sheet posted in my link here:

http://www.heatinghelp.com/forum-thread/129681/why-we-blowdown-the-LWCO#p1187889

Steamhead

Part number

for the blow-down is 14-B. This is the ball-valve type of bleeder. Avoid the older poppet-valve type which is the plain #14.