Burnham boiler losing water

Putnajo

I have a Burnham IN-5 boiler. I do not know how old it is, but believe that it was installed within the last 10 years. Since we moved in one year ago, we have noticed that it was not able to heat the radiators, a problem that was largely fixed when we insulated the pipes. Three months ago, we had the boiler serviced (we live in NJ). They did the following: 1) drained the boiler and put a solvent in it; 2) replaced a clogged drain valve; 3) replaced the pigtail; and 4) replaced both main air vents. I should also note that the boiler was installed with copper piping - the main lines are all black iron, but the pipes directly off the boiler including the headers are copper. I know this is no good, but I have to live with it for now.



Since the maintenance was done, the boiler has begun to lose water. Last winter, I never put water into the boiler. This winter, I will fill it up to 2/3 of the sight glass and then within 36 hours it will be down to half. Burnham indicates that I shouldn't have to add water more than once a month and I'm clearly having to do that. this winter has been exceptionally cold (some single digits) and the house has a lot of heat loss, so the boiler is running a lot.



My 2 questions are: 1) is it possible that something was done in the maintenance that is causing the boiler to lose water; 2) is this normal; and 3) is there something I can do to assess where it may be losing water or do I just need to call a professional?

Charlie from wmass

you can turn off the boiler and

raise the water level until the boiler is flooded up into the header. If the block has the leak I would bet on water will start spiling on the floor. Do you have underground return piping? Are there plumes of white smoke coming out the chimney when the boiler is running? Did you get Equacool on speed dial yet?

Putnajo

We have above ground piping...

...so I'm able to see all of the wet returns. I checked for temperature differences to see if there could possibly be a clog in the wet return, but didn't notice anything.



I'll ask a stupid question. How do I know when the water has reached the header (it is a hot water fill)?

Charlie from wmass

time how long it takes to

go from the middle to the top of the sight glass, then go that long once check for leaks then go that long a second time and check again. If it is a hot water feed you could leave the boiler off until the header is cold then fill until it feels warm. MAKE SURE TO DRAIN THE BOILER TO NORMAL LEVELS BEFORE FIRING IT.  good luck.

BobC

flooding

Shut the boiler down and add the water slowly unless the boiler is cool. If it takes 30 seconds to increase the level in the sight glass by a couple of inches just give it 10-15 more seconds and you should be fine.



Give it an hour or so and see if any water shows up around the boiler. Drain the level back to normal before restarting the boiler.



Bob

Jamie Hall

Solvent?

What kind of solvent?  I'm not sure about Burnhams -- but on some other makes some solvents will result in damage to gaskets and, as a result, leaks.



You should not be having to add that much water, so do the leak checking as the guys have suggested.