Water dissapears/evaporates question

Nexus5

Hi,



Our system works absolutely fine, all radiators heat nicely and we don't experience any water hammer. There are two things that bother me.

1. During the heating season water level in a glass tube gets lower and lower. Probably 1/2 inch/week. Is it normal? All pipes are exposed and I do not see any leaks. Is it possible that some amount of water evaporates through the vents? All vents are 1 year old along with the boiler (Burnham).

2. When I set a certain temperature on the thermostat, system satisfies the thermostat and shouts itself down, but the temperature in the room raises by ~ 3 to 4 degrees above the set temperature. Once again, could you tell me if this is normal?



Pressure in the boiler never exceeds 1.5 psi and the pressuretrol is set between .5 and 1.5 psi.



Steam systems are a big mystery to me. I am very glad that a forum like this does exist...

Thank you

nicholas bonham-carter

Disappearing water

What size is your system? Is there an lwco which you are flushing out weekly? Was it necessary to add much water at the beginning of this season's operation? Look at your chimney while it is steaming and see if steam is coming from the chimney.

If a white plume is coming out of the chimney, then there could be a leak above the waterline, through which steam passes into the combustion chamber.

A sure test for such a leak would be to over fill the boiler above the normal waterline and let it sit for several hours, while switched off. Any leaks will be seen as drips into the firebox.

Are your main vents closing against the steam properly?

At the beginning, all of us found steam a mystery, but through necessity, have learned its ways, and so will you--NBC

Nexus5

stats + pics

I have an electronic LWCO - is there a way to flush it?

Boiler 86000 BTU IBR

One level in a two family house, 7 radiators

I did not have to add any water before the beginning of the heating season

No steam from the chimney

Main vents do not hiss after the air gets released



I have attached pics of the system, vertical pipe in front of the boiler belongs to our neighbors.

Mark N

Water loss

It is normal for the water level to drop a bit over time. You want to minimize your water loss. Check the packing nut on the hand valves on your rads, make sure they are tight. Check the union on the rads makes sure they are tight. I was losing about the same amount of water as you. After making sure everything was tight it takes me about a month to lose that much water now. What kind of thermostat are you using? Make sure it is set up for steam. If it is a Honeywell see if it is set for 1 cycle per hour. The temp shouldn't swing that much. My thermostat maintains the temp at a constant temp.