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URGENT: Flooded my boiler

Rob_55
Rob_55 Member Posts: 35
in Strictly Steam
Was manually adding water via water feed and left it on by mistake. Water made it into the radiators on first floor and started to flood the basement a little from the pressure release valve (I think). Emptied it through the low water cutoff until water level in tube was at normal level.



Can I fire the boiler back up now? Is there anything I should do first?

Comments

  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,502
    Been there

    I flooded mine about 8 tears back by not closing the manual feed valve fully. I found out about it when the system came on and made a horrendous sound. When I went downstairs I found the sight glass full, I filled up a couple of buckets with hot water.



    My boilers water never got out of the rads on the first floor because the racket stirred me to action. After draining the boiler I sat next to it and fired it up while enjoying a beer, 15 minutes layer the header was full of steam and everybody was happy.



    Make sure nothing electrical is wet and fire it up, but keep an eye on it till the thermostat is satisfied. I think the only side effect will be more crud gets washed down into your returns but otherwise you should be ok.



    Bob
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
  • Rob_55
    Rob_55 Member Posts: 35
    Done that

    OK, so hopefully I didn't ruin anything. I'll give it an hour to let the water empty out of the rads and pipes so I don't get any hammering (hopefully). If it doesn't fire up, is there something I should do?
  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,502
    If it doesn't fire up

    I'm a homeowner who has lived with steam for well over 60 years and i do most of my own work on the maintenance side but I don't mess around with the oil side outside of some really basic stuff. I'm not conversant with gas boilers.



    As long as all the controls are dry and there is no evidence of water getting into any motors I'd just fire it up and stand back. If it's a gas system make sure the pilot is lit or that the igniter is dry and free of debris. If anything untoward happens shut it down and call a pro.



    good luck,



    Bob
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
  • Rob_55
    Rob_55 Member Posts: 35
    edited October 2010
    Running

    So it has been running for about an hour now. Just cut off due to pressure, which is normal ~1psi. Think everything is OK now. Thanks!
  • Rod
    Rod Posts: 2,067
    Spring Loaded Valve

    Hi- Put one of these on the boiler side of your present valve where you can see the sight glass.

       - Rod 

    http://www.amazon.com/Jones-Stephens-S05-100-Self-Closing-Shower/dp/B000DZDSMY
  • nicholas bonham-carter
    nicholas bonham-carter Member Posts: 8,578
    edited October 2010
    spring-loaded valve

    i put one of those valves on, after i allowed the system to overfill to the 2nd floor! it has a chain on it so you can control it from the sight glass position. you can keep the original valve to use as a throttle for cutting down the flow to a trickle.-nbc
  • nicholas bonham-carter
    nicholas bonham-carter Member Posts: 8,578
    sprin-loaded valve

    i put one of those valves on, after i allowed the system to overfill to the 2nd floor! it has a chain on it so you can control it from the sight glass position. you can keep the original valve to use as a throttle for cutting down the flow to a trickle.-nbc
  • Rob_55
    Rob_55 Member Posts: 35
    I can see my sight glass

    Don't think I need that. I can actually see my sight glass from the water valve....in this case, I went upstairs and forgot about it. Thanks for the help though.
This discussion has been closed.

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