steam tablets

nycpa

How do I add steam tablets on my work well McClain boiler, I always have brown water

rrg

I use the relief valve

I undo the 3/4 pressure relief valve and add the tablet.

I do have to use a small pipe to push/crush it down a little bit.



For next season I plan to add a T with a cap so there is easy access.

nycpa

thanks for the pic

Thanks for the tip, i have two questions, can i dilute the tablets in water and pour it down my radiator shut off valve cap? And in your picture i see a pressuretrol and vapostate? Why do you have both? I have a pressuretrol only and my brother in law has a vaperstat pn his only, both are like the one you have

rrg

I'm no expert, only what I have learned from here

I learned that my pressure was very high at 3-5psi and I could not get it lower to my liking. The screw on the pressuretrol would almost come undone at the very low setting.



With the steam specific vaporstat I can now run it lower than 1psi.

The pressuretrol is in series and set to turn off the boiler at a higher value for safety reasons in case the vaporstat fails to cut off.



I have read you can dissolve the tablets but I can not comment on pouring it down the radiator.



By the way the tablets do work, IMHO.

When I drain/flush now I get very little crud, nothing like before.

nycpa

did you install vaporstat yourself

How did you install the vapostat in seris, i cant get my pressuretrol below 2, system shuts off, seem to have same problem you had, thanks for your help

rrg

If you are handy you can install vaporstat

If you can use a pipe wrench or adjustable wrench you can add it.

Just be sure to use the loops at the bottom of your devices.



Series connections means you have a connection that the Vaporstat or Pressuretrol can break or open and stop the boiler by telling the low water cutoff switch some setting has been met by either device.



Here is a good pic of series from this forum. It's not mine.

The member is crash2009, thank him.



Be sure to test the wiring when you have everything open.

With the boiler off remove one lead and have the thermostat call for heat. (no heat)

Next replace wire.

Next do the same on the other device. (no heat)

Last secure all leads and call for heat from thermostat the boiler should start now.



If this is confusing call a professional.

Update here is a second pic.

ChrisJ

Skimmer

I always toss the tablets in via the skimmer on my boiler. If they don't quite make it all the way in I give them a push with a screw driver.



Make sure you don't follow the instructions on the bottle as they are wrong! 1 tablet works fine for most boilers though I am currently running 2 with no problems. If you use 3 or more you are almost guaranteed to have problems. I think the instructions on the bottle say to use something like 12. I emailed them and asked why and never heard back.

Steam_Starter

pH thru the roof...

I would do EXACTLY what ChrisJ says...



I was using two tablets on a 3 section boiler and I noticed I started losing all the water out of my sight glass.  Did a little research and realized that a high pH can cause foaming.  Well, I checked the pH and it was over 12! 



Drained, flushed, refilled then went to one tablet and viola!  No more foaming.

ChrisJ

PH

I feel checking PH is a must on a steam boiler even if not using treatment. Too low of a PH means death for the boiler and too high means wet steam. In my opinion which probably isn't worth much, a PH of 8 or 9 is perfect for a steam boiler.





My PH ends up around 6 without anything and around 9 maybe even 10 (hard to tell with the hydrion tape I have) with two tablets. If you start with a slightly high PH in the first place problems can happen by adding treatment. I think 2 is a bit high even for my water / setup but it has not caused problems so I left it alone.

nycpa

Skimmer Port?

Where is the skimmer port on a Weil McClain boiler?