Water in radiators

Bill Julian

I have a customer who had about 8 gallons of water coming through his radiator vent when he removed it just prior to the boiler steam coming up stairs. I could not believe it! But that's what he said. He also said the water was cold at first then it came out piping hot.\

Below is my customers email to me a hour back. Not sure what his problem is.



MY CUSTOMERS EMAIL



A not-so-funny thing happened this week-end. I went to change the air-vent on the hallway radiator (the system had just started up) and 8-10 gallons of water came shooting out. Three things I noticed – no more banging and the PSI on the boiler dropped from 2 PSI to 0.5 PSI. Also, now the hallway and living room radiators were heating up normally. Awesome, the system was finally working right!



I then filled the boiler after all that water came out. Since then, the hallway radiator went cold after the next cycle and the banging moved to the living room radiator. (It banged under the hallway radiator the cycle after I cleared the system.) Now, the living room radiator is barely heating up. Additionally, the PSI on the boiler went from 0.5 to 2.0 over the next three cycles.



I am still filling the boiler every two days. Is it possible that there’s something preventing most of the water from returning to the boiler?

crash2009

no header and no equalizer

Sounds like the boiler has no header and no equalizer for starters.  Also the return could be plugged or the slope of the return incorrect.  Is this 1 or 2 pipe, gas or oil?  Take your camera with you when you go.  Post some pictures here on your lunch break.

nicholas bonham-carter

old faithful

now that is wet steam!

see if there is also a leak, either in the boiler, or return; because the radiators can only hold so much water.

it is possible that the waterline has been so unsteady as to cause the feeder to put too much fresh oxygenated water in, perhaps with unfortunate corrosive results.--nbc

Steamhead

First thing to check

is whether the supply valve to the radiator is completely open. If not, water will back up in the rad and cause banging, and also squirt out the vent opening.



I think I've looked at four systems in the past two weeks where this was the problem.

Alan Welch

boiler overfilled

Sounds like all the added water is making this a pressurized water system. I wouldn't be surprised if the lower tapping to the gauge glass is plugged . try draining the boiler and see if the water level drops gradually , or use a hose on the drain to check the actual height of the water.

Bill Julian

Water in radiators

Its Gas one pipe Header ok.

Bill Julian

Additional Comments

Thanks for your suggestions, everyone!I tried everything, save trying to figure out what the actual water level was with a hose.  The slope of the return is good (except in one spot that is not near the problem). However, after draining the tank, filling it half way, starting it, and getting 2 gallons of water out of the radiator, the water level in the glass did not change.  So, the water had to come from somewhere.  More and more, I think the return line is plugged.I did have what may have been a leak in the return line.  But over the last month I've only seen water twice (in the same spot).  So, it may be foundation related. Oh, we get banging.  It sounds like the house is going to pop off its foundation, sometimes.  The water comes out the air vent - but only when I remove them.  The new ones stop the water from coming through (mostly). One other tidbit. Once the radiators have been flushed, the water doesn't seem to be returning to the boiler. I've been told it takes about 5 minutes after the system is off. Once the water fills the radiators again, the water seems to be returning properly. However, to get to that point, the boiler has to be refilled constantly and tehn we're back to no heat in the radiators at the end of the line and the banging.

crash2009

Are the returns

 burried under the basement floor?  Where are the pictures I requested a month ago?

jimmythegreek

pics?

post pics as requested.  also did you thoroughly clean the boiler?  Like spending ALOT of time making sure the sight glass in/out are clean, the pigtail clean, flush the return feed, the skim leg is clear, etc.?  I would do these under pressure of fresh fill water so you KNOW they are clean and water can get through them.  Start at the highest tappings and work your way down.  Post pics of the return lines

Charlie from wmass

Are the sight glass ports clear?

I have had a few calls this month with rock steady water lines. Then I cleaned the ports for the sight glass. The lower one has been clogged solid and the top mostly clogged. This meant they were always over filling the boiler.