Weil McLain SGO Boiler Questions , Maintenance

Craigs

Hey all,

I was curious if you all might be able to give me a hand with my boiler.

Fist off, this baby is from 2006, so it's fairly new. I'm assuming it will last for years.

I'd like to get to know her a bit better, and be able to take care of her myself. But I cannot for the life of me find a service book for this anywhere, similar to a chiltons for your car. All I can find is "Basic" service manuals on the weil mclain website.

Anybody know where I can find a book/manual like a good old fashioned Chilton's?



Here's the link to my manual: <a href="http://www.weil-mclain.com/en/multimedia-library/pdf/weil-mclain-pdf/products/boilers/oil-boilers/sgo/550-141-830_1202.pdf">http://www.weil-mclain.com/en/multimedia-library/pdf/weil-mclain-pdf/products/boilers/oil-boilers/sgo/550-141-830_1202.pdf</a>



I can take some snapshots if anybody would be willing to help me out. Basically I'd just like to clean it every now and then, and empty and refill the water. I tried recently to remove some water from the back bottom side. Only because recently I noticed the level indicator went from clean, to a dark brown. I opened the valve on the bottom back and dared to do nothing more than remove about 1 quart of black water, till it was just brown. Then pushed the manual fill until the water level was back to where it should be.



This all started because for the first year in this home, the water was perfect, and consistent. Now it will eventually get hotter about 4-5 minutes prompting to turn down the hot. It used to stay consistent through 6 showers. I did this before we turned on the heat for the winter, and it didn't seem to help.



So now the heat is on, and I've got a new personality. The heaters will "Pop" every now and then, like a steam bubble is popping in the system. Just one, every so often, they're not regular at all, just a small "Pop".

This is not the pings, from the pipes not being pitched right. When I purchased the house, they were loud as heck, and I pitched all the radiators in the house, and replaced all the vents. Nice and quiet now, except that odd "Pop" that I might have brought on. I'd love to get a movie for you all of it, but it's not consistent, and never know when it happens.



Any thoughts out there? Recommended book?



Model Weil-McLain P-SGO-4 Series 3



Photos:

1st - Front

2nd - Front Expanded

3rd - Side Angle

4th - Rear with Purge Valve on bottom?

5th - What's this hole?

Hap_Hazzard

You came to the right place.

Anybody know where I can find a book/manual like a good old fashioned Chilton's?



We Got Steam Heat! - A Homeowner's Guide to Peaceful Coexistence is a good place to start. Click on the "Shop" link at the left end of the navigation menu above and see if anything else interests you. If you have any questions about any of them, ask away. Most of us have purchased at least a few of these titles, and so far no one's been disappointed.



Basically I'd just like to clean it every now and then, and empty and refill the water.



It isn't necessary to replace the water. In fact, it isn't a good idea. Water promotes corrosion, and corrosion destroys boilers, but once the water has attacked the cast iron for a while, it loses its ability to do further damage. Boiling drives off the oxygen and causes most of the minerals to precipitate, the water becomes saturated with iron compounds until it can't dissolve any more, and the pH settles in at around 9. It's like the iron and the water have fought to a stalemate. The last thing you want to do is send in fresh troops to mount a new offensive.



The trick is to drain the sludge and sediment out with a minimal amount of water. The best way to do this is to open the drain tap at the beginning of a heating cycle, before the water has started to boil, and let it run until it looks clear, then fill it back up to the normal water line. This way, the new water will be heated up and deoxygenated before the oxygen can eat away too much of your boiler. You can make this flushing more effective by replacing the drain tap with a full-port ball valve, but you have to completely drain the boiler to do this, so wait until you have a good reason to drain it anyway.



Now it will eventually get hotter about 4-5 minutes prompting to turn down the hot. It used to stay consistent through 6 showers.



Has there been a change in the water level you're maintaining? Hot water coils can be sensitive to the level of water in the boiler. I don't know a lot about this other than what I've seen other people discuss here, but I have heard that a lot of people maintain a slightly higher water level during the summer months and then return it to normal during heating season.



So now the heat is on, and I've got a new personality. The heaters will "Pop" every now and then, like a steam bubble is popping in the system. Just one, every so often, they're not regular at all, just a small "Pop".



What type of vents do you have on your radiators? If they are the tall, cylindrical or bullet-shaped type, they tend to make noises when they open and close, so there is a pattern to it, but it's pretty infrequent. Could this be what you're hearing?

Craigs

Water Level/temperature and popping

Will this book explain the art of skimming? Need to figure this one out I'm assuming. If so, then I'll have that puppy here on Wednesday.



In regards to the water level. For the first 6 months or so, The level indictor was absolutely clear and right on the "Level". Then I noticed a few months ago, that the water was not 100% consistent in temperature, so I investigate, and saw the window was now a dark brown, and about 3/4 inch below the level indicator. So I pressed the manual fill button to bring it back up. Then I tried opening the valves on the bottom, to see if any of the darker water would come out. Well two of them produced nothing, but the back one I pulled out about 12 oz of black water (Teddy peanut butter jar full). Noticed the level didn't appear to change. And then a few weeks later, pulled out another jar full, but now only brown, instead of black.

Then I realized I should look for guidance before starting to go to town on it.



Found out about the skimming, but didn't see anything that would fit the description for my boiler. The manual only says to do it, doesn't explain how.



As for the popping, all the vents are the cylindrical maid-o-mist ones with proper sized vent inserts to keep the heat even throughout the house.

I put these all in, and put a slight pitch towards the return on all the radiators last fall, and it stopped about 98% of the banging, but I just didn't recall the "Pop" every now and then, mainly on startup. I might have just not noticed it since I was so glad to not have the horrendous knocking anymore.



Thanks!

Hap_Hazzard

Skimming

First, there's nothing to suggest that your boiler needs skimming now, and it won't improve the situation with the hot water coil. That's more likely to be caused by a buildup of scale in the coil.



I'm not that familiar with this boiler, but I'd guess you could use the tapping to the right of the gauge glass. Since it's right over your systems switch, you'll have to be really careful not to let water drip on the junction box when you're installing the nipple and when you're skimming.



The book doesn't cover skimming in any detail since it's not something users are encouraged to tackle, but this article covers it pretty well.