Water Loss

JHill33

Hello all:

Let me first say that I am new to steam systems, so please excuse my lack of proper lingo.  I asked my first question on this forum a few weeks ago and received a few great, helpful responses. After that, I bought Dan's book "We Got Steam Heat" and read it cover to cover overnight - very informative! I consider myself extremely lucky that I found this website.

Okay, with that said, let me throw this off you guys and gals... I have two steam boilers (for a two family house). I (so far) haven't had any problems with my (second floor) heat, though I haven't been running it much at all yet. But the tenants' system (first floor), shuts off every 7-10 days or so because of low water level. (The tenants use their heat quite a bit.) I "flush" the low water cut-off weekly (letting the water flow until clear; maybe emptying about a quart). Other than that, I don't see any water leaking anywhere, and the tenants aren't complaining about spewing water from the radiators or anything like that.

(Also, as it may be relevant, I should note that I had the boilers fully serviced about 2 weeks ago.)

My question is: is it ordinary to lose enough water every 7-10 days so that the low-water cutoff kicks in and shuts down the boiler? After this happens, I usually slowly fill the boiler so that the water level in the gauge glass is a little less than 2/3 full. About 7-10 days later, the water level is low again.

Any thoughts? Your help is, as always, much appreciated.

BobC

Excess water use

What kind of boiler is it and how old is it? Is there any banging in the pipes and does it change over the 7-10 days? does the system heat all the radiators ok? On a mild day it's normal to just get partial heating of radiators.



When the boiler is firing and actively making steam, check the chimney to see if there is a lot of white smoke, that could indicate a hole above the waterline. If you do see a lot of steam coming out of the chimney try flooding the boiler when it is cool to see if any water seeps out, it may take a while if it's a small hole. After the test drain the boiler till the water level is normal.



There could be a plugged return line but that would usually cause the boiler to empty faster. Post some pictures of the boiler and the near boiler piping.



Bob

JHill33

Water Loss

Thanks so much. I'm at work, but will answer your questions (I think I know the installation year but want to make sure) and post the requested pictures as soon as I get home. I'll also check for the white smoke and let you know!