Dirty and confused!

ryanr256

I recently redid the near boiler piping on my system. The boiler we now have was installed in the late '80s and the installer didn't pay attention to the piping diagrams.



We've corrected that mistake as best we can by putting in a proper header, but only used one take off because we didn't want to risk damaging the boiler trying to get the plug out from the other side of the boiler.



Everything went well but I've been dealing with extremely dirty water ever since. I'm talking about coffee brown/black water everytime the boiler fires. I drained and flushed the boiler for a good week after the piping job. I can't do a proper skimming because I don't have a manual fill valve, only the autofeeder. I didn't notice that detail until I went to skim it for the first time. I'm working on getting the manual side of things installed.



This is my procedure: I drain the wet returns until the water runs clear, which is about 5 gallons. I then open the mud leg drain and let it run until the water runs clear. Then I will use the autofill to fill the boiler until water trickles out of the skim port. I then use the wet return drain valve to bring the water level down to the correct level. The water in the sight glass is crystal clear at this point.



Here's what I don't understand: Once the above is done, I fire the boiler to burn off the oxygen from the water I just added. Just as the water temp comes up I get this dirty, brown water raining down in the site glass. Then the water starts pulsing and more dirty water appears. This is all before it starts making any steam. I can hear the pulsing through my main vents and the needle on the pressure guage swings wildly. The pulsing eventually will even out and the main vents close and the system works as expected. But, the water is now filthy again.



Can the inside of the boiler be that dirty? I've thought about taking the pressure relief valve off and running water through that opening (on top of the boiler) to flush things. Would that help? Am I a good candidate for chemicals? If so, what would be recommended? I do have TSP but I'm reticent about using it.



Any suggestions are appreciated.



-Bob

nicholas bonham-carter

Repost in steam section if this is steam.

You need to give a good cleaning to this with skimming the oils off the top of the boiler water. The mfg of your boiler may recommend some sort of product to add to the boiler, before skimming, such as arm&hammer washing soda, recommended by peerless. Check your boiler manual online, and then clean, and skim, and clean, and skim, and clean, and skim,-- it can be time consuming, but needed. Take a good book down next to the boiler for this procedure, as it will be many hours.

Don't forget to check your pressure, and keep it as low as possible, under 2psi for basic function, or under 12 ounces for economy, and comfort.--NBC

Hap_Hazzard

Take a look at Gerry Gill's post

here: http://www.heatinghelp.com/forum-thread/143078/Rinsing-the-boiler



Watch the video.

Rod

Dirty Boiler Water

Hi- I've attached a sheet of notes on cleaning and another on skimming a boiler.that may be of help to you.Also as NBC says look in your boiler's I&O Manual to see if they give any instructions on cleaning /skimming  A new boiler install seems to shake ouy all the dirt and crud hanging about in the system. I had to skim my boiler 5 times before the water finally got under control.

Just keep at it, there is an end!

- Rod