ChrisJ - how many

Steam_Starter

steamaster tablets should I use?



Boiler moderately clean. 3 section utica. Some oils from new 3" header still present. not a ton of sludge but enough. Been skimmed 5 times so far with about 15 total gallons removed.



Sight glass is clean but I still see some residue from oils.





Whaddya think?

kcopp

15 gallons....

on a skim is not a lot of water at all. You have a long ways to go....

BobC

How many

Once you get ALL the oils out, put 4 or 5 tablets in and let the boiler make steam for a half hour or so, it may make some strange noises while it does this.



After the boiler has cooled drain the boiler and refill it a couple of times to remove all of the steam master.DO NOT TRY REFILLING A HOT BOILER WITH COLD WATER!



After the final fill add one tablet and build a head of steam, the water on the sight glass should be a light violet color. You MIGHT have to add another half a tablet. If you can check the PH it should be around 9 or so.



Bob

ChrisJ

I agree

I agree with both what kcopp and BobC said.  One tablet and check your PH after steaming for a while to make sure its between 8 and 9.  If its 7 or 8 you can try adding half a tablet or a whole tablet and see what happens.  Anything more than two will cause problems, except for when cleaning as BobC mentioned.  Personally I try to keep my PH around 9.



I skimmed my boiler 6 times before finally using a wand.  I probably removed around 25 gallons each of those 6 times.



And most important always remember to boil fresh water immediately.  I'll make a mental note when I see the boiler could use some water and the next time I hear the thermostat click I go down and slowly add water with the burner going.  I get the water I want in before it starts boiling and the fresh water gets boiled instantly.

Steam_Starter

Oh my...

Thanks for the input gents.  I will follow what you have laid out for me.



JLG

ChrisJ

Also

I should have mentioned if you don't have anything to test the PH with just use one tablet for now and try to order or pick up something. Anything that will test for between 6 and higher should work.



I have tape that does 0 to 13 and its just too hard to tell the difference between 9 10 and 11. I plan on buying tape that does a more narrow band to make it easier to read.

ChrisJ

PH

I think this is what I'm going for next for testing. Will make my life a lot easier.



https://www.microessentiallab.com/ProductInfo/F01-WIDRG-060110-SRD.aspx



6 to 11.

Steam_Starter

I already have...

A dropper test kit.  Not as easy as strips but it will do the job.



Looks like im going to be doing a lot more skimming tonight and for the next few nights.



Thanks again for the info.

ALIGA

before adding the tablets

you should ensure you have no surging on water in the sight glass.



i added them believing they would help with surging, and it did not.



currently my water line is stable, and am thinking about adding a half tablet in there.

ChrisJ

Surging

ALIGA,



The water in the gauge glass is always going to move some. Mine moves up and down 1/2" or so. Maybe even 1" at times especially when it first starts steaming.

ALIGA

water movement

agreed.



mine used to drop 4 or so inches until it was barely visible. after tons of skimming, the water says at the halfway mark now!

ChrisJ

All clean!

I spent yesterday cleaning the boiler.  Tried just draining it hot but I wasn't happy with the results.  I used the wand again and found plenty of rust in the rear section where my return connects but very little in the center and front sections.  I feel this suggests the majority of the rust came from the rest of the system rather than the boiler.



This picture is the kind of water I was getting out of the rear section using the wand aimed downward.  It seems to work really well at stirring the stuff settled at the bottom up and getting it out.  I continued this until the water ran clean.



After adding one tablet I felt it wasn't quite enough so I tossed a second in which was the original amount I had used.   I still feel using one tablet is safer as a recommendation as too much is definitely a bad bad thing.  Also keep in mind they take time to dissolve and I wouldn't make any decisions until the boiler runs a few cycles.  I will check my PH in a few days but it seems to be behaving fine.  I did notice just draining and refilling did not get all of the treatment out so that is something to keep in mind before adding more.  This is probably why the last time I added some 2 was too much.   I also find it interesting that when the pills dissolve they just turn the water blue.  It doesn't appear to turn purple / violet until it boilers.   I wonder why that is.