Crown Boiler BSI series

steamfitter

I received a call from a guy who was having trouble with a one pipe steam boiler in his mother's home. He told me it was a 138,000 btu Crown Boiler-BSI Series. He mentioned low water level, priming, short cycling,etc. When I asked him about the near boiler piping there was more than 24" between the header and the water line, but one outlet, out of the two 2" outlets on top of the boiler was plugged. I told him that he had a major problem right there and that he should pipe the other outlet and connect both to a header, using elbows breaking into the header for expansion. I told him to pipe the header into the run of a tee and then run the main out of the bull and continue the other run of the tee into a reducing 90 (2" x 1 1/2") for the equalizer line. I then told him to look up the boiler manufacturer's literature on the internet and check the their suggested piping instructions.
When I got off the phone with him, I went on the website and looked up the Crown Boiler BSI-138 and I could not believe what I saw. The instructions said that using the 2nd outlet on top of the boiler was optional. Here I thought this boiler was improperly piped and the steam was pulling the water out of the boiler due to increased velocity from the one plugged outlet. I figured the water line was slanted and that's why the water level appeared to be low on the guage glass. Everything that the LAOSH book stated about what happens when you plug one outlet on a steam boiler seemed to be happening here according to what this guy was telling me on the phone. There were other issues regarding the hartford loop and the low water cutoff, but I thought the main problem was this near boiler piping. But the manufacturer's suggested piping shows using both outlets as optional.
Has anyone come across these Crown Boilers or any steam boilers that do not require both steam supply outlets to be used? I've never heard of this!
I appreciate your thoughts!

nicholas bonham-carter

One 3 in riser has more capacity than 2 times 2 inch risers- maybe that's what they called for.--nbc

STEAM DOCTOR

Bsi only has 2" tappings (I think). If memory serves me correctly, following crown or Burnham recommendations on six section gas boilers, will give you close to 50 feet per second. Part of why it pays to educate one's self and not blindly follow manufacturer's recommendations

Bug512

I have the same boiler and have no issues with one outlet.

Picture

When installing I also called Crown and inquired and they said that it's "optional". Also the 138 is a five section boiler.

Here is a link to their near boiler piping kits. Link

Maybe the boiler needs a good skim ? When I first fired ours up the water level also dropped, now after skimming (several times) my water level drops a maximum of 1" and is steady as can be. I will have to make a new video showing the difference of before and after.

Fred

Without seeing the near boiler piping, oils in the boiler water is a good suspect. All the symptoms sound like it needs a good skim or two or three. That's where I'd start.