Does Lack of Equalizer Piping Cause Surging?

Rob_40

Whenever the boiler is on, the water in the inspection glass is rising and falling like a storm is raging inside.   I have the most rudamentary piping for my single pipe steam heating system.  One pipe comes out the top of the boiler, it bends horizontally and does a big loop with several pipes branching off to individual radiators.  The loop ends with a vent and a drops down to return to the boiler.  There is no equalizer piping.  A secondary loop does the same thing.  The diagram shows better than I can describe.

Would the lack of an equalizer cause the water line to rise and fall dramatically?

Rob

kcopp

the short answer....

yes.... hence the name equalizer. Is this a newer boiler or is it a very old set up? Older boilers, due to size were not piped w/ equalizers.  This was because of  high water volume and very low pressure. kpc

BobC

Yes it does

The lack of an equalizer as well as a steam header can cause all kinds of problems.The really old boilers had large steam chests but newer ones depend on the header and equalizer very much. You will not only see a lot ow bouncing water line but the fuel usage will be higher than it should be. If it's an old boiler having the boiler skimmed might help if it's fairly new it should probably be re-piped if that's feasible. If you have the installation manual look at the suggested piping diagram and pay attention no just to the layout but also to pipe sizing.



Is this a recently installed boiler?

What make and model is it?

What pressure is it operating at?



Bob

Rob_40

Pretty Old

This is an old coal fired boiler converted to gas.   Earlier post with some photos:

http://www.heatinghelp.com/forum-thread/138302/My-Humble-Boiler

BobC

Replace it

A boiler that old with a leak may not last out the year. Getting pipes off that boiler without breaking something badly would not be likely.



If the water in the boiler is dirty it might be able to be skimmed assuming there is an open port somewhere, which I doubt. If I were you I'd replace that sooner rather than later, when it fails it is going to fail catastrophically. If it goes belly up mid January you will not get a good price and probably not a good install because it will all be a rush job.



Bob