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Help with steam boiler

mooko
mooko Member Posts: 1
in THE MAIN WALL
I turned up my thermostat and there was no heat coming out of the radiator so I thought the pilot must be out. So I went and checked the boiler and the pilot was indeed out. I relit it and left it on. I come home and noticed that the pilot was out again. I relit it and ran it for 15 minutes before noticing that no heat was coming out of the radiators. I then noticed that there was no water in the glass tube level thingee. So I thought maybe I should turn on the manual water feed valve to give it some water. when I did that, the boiler started steaming and then water started leaking from the boiler. Did I just crack and ruin my boiler from the thermal shock? Please help a newbie homeowner.

Comments

  • Unknown
    Unknown
    ohhhhhhh not good

    Best to have a REAL steam boiler experts on this.. where's ya located?
  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,502
    edited November 2013
    Leaking boiler

    What kind of boiler is it and can you tell where the leak is on the boiler?



    If the casting has cracked and it's not to old you might be able to get a section replaced IF the other sections are not on the verge of failing. The labor to do this will be high and it will take time to get parts and pull everything apart. Also the force required to get things apart may do more damage which will mean more things have to be replaced.



    If the whole boiler has to be replaced it's important that it be installed per the manual piping diagram using steel pipe - NOT COPPER. Where do you live? Look in the "Find a Contractor" link on this page to see if anybody is near you.



    You should post this in the Strictly Steam section so the steam pro's will see it. Finally post some pictures of the boiler and the piping around it in Strictly Steam  so we can see what your dealing with.



    god luck,



    Bob
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
  • nicholas bonham-carter
    nicholas bonham-carter Member Posts: 8,578
    Thermal shock?

    When you saw that the sight-glass was empty, the water had already leaked out, so your addition of water probably did not kill the boiler, as it was already dead.

    Now is the time for you to measure your radiators in order to size a new boiler, rather than merely relying on the rating of the old boiler.

    Chances are that your old boiler was oversized, and can be replaced with one which is more economical, as long as the piping instructions are followed.

    Take some pictures of the old one, and post them here for some analysis.--NBC
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