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Weekly Steam System Maintenance

Mike__S
Mike__S Member Posts: 2
in Strictly Steam
Hi there,



I have a single pipe steam system and a newish Burnham gas fired boiler. I am wondering what the regular weekly maintenance should be. Currently, I am just removing water until it runs clear. I do it 1-2 times per week and I remove about two gallons before it gets really clear.



I've read in some places that I need to take water while it is running and until it is clear and also that you are doing this until boiler cuts out. In other places, I've read to take only a smaller amount of water and that it doesn't need to be totally clear. And that too much fresh water is not great. Which is the better method? Or are both right?



Should I remove more water periodically? (What is a blowdown?)



Do I ever need to remove water from the wet return?



Do I need to do anything else?



Thanks (again)!

Mike

Comments

  • nicholas bonham-carter
    nicholas bonham-carter Member Posts: 8,578
    Flushing, and blowing down

    I think you are talking about the LWCO , and it's maintenance. I do mine weekly, and make sure the boiler cuts off when I drain it into a bucket. The water from my LWCO will never get clear, so when it is like weak tea, I stop draining, and that is enough.

    Flushing the boiler is accomplished by opening a valve (I hope you have one) which drains out the boiler itself, and should wash out any rust particles, and calcium buildup, and that could be done monthly.--NBC
  • conversiontime
    conversiontime Member Posts: 87
    edited January 2014
    flush/test the LWCO while boiler firing

    Otherwise you will not know if it actually works correctly. When done this way the boiler should cut off while the auto water feeder kicks in and as soon as the feeder stops the boiler should refire. I tend to blow my down 1x monthly as described vs weekly as I think that is a bit overkill and adds lots of unwanted fresh water. On some older lwco like mine you want to occasionally take them apart and clean out good (during non heat season). The reason is these float can become jammed with crud and I have seen mine actually get stuck with water feeder open, then the boiler, basement, mains, riser, rads, etc all can flood.



    Biggest thing I do is monitor the water level almost daily during season, blow down monthly, check rads  weekly for potential leaking rads and cold rads. Water droplets can clog some rad vents where they get cold or start spitting water onto the floor, etc.

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