Too much water in boiler?

NYTreeGuy

The water level in my boiler sight glass seems to rise slowly throughout the night and day. The Auto Fill Valve seems to go on and off properly when I test it by draining water out of the boiler. I just replaced one of the two Gorton #1's on main, the other is probably 50 years old. Not sure where I should look next. The air valves on the radiators? Or is it normal for the water level to fluctuate?

KC_Jones

If the water is rising over time you have some kind of leak on a supply line or a leaking hot water coil. Do you get your domestic hot water from this boiler?

BobC

The seal on the auto water feeler may be leaking by, shut off the feed for the auto water feeder for a couple of days to see if that stops the over filling.

Do you have a domestic hot water coil in the boiler? If you do that may have developed a pinhole and is adding water to the boiler.

Bob

NYTreeGuy

No, the boiler is only for heat, not hot water. I just installed a brand new McDonnell Miller 47 automatic water feeder. I am very new to steam heat, my thought is that if there is a vent or valve letting off too much steam, it would cause the water feeder to open too much, so when the system shuts off, there is now too much water in the boiler. I changed one of the Gorton #1's on the main because it was letting off a lot of steam.

KC_Jones

Just to be clear about vents. They basically shouldn't let out ANY steam. Once the steam hits them they should close. If you see steam or vapor coming out the vent is bad or needs cleaned (cleaning can be hit or miss). This applies to all vents, mains and radiator.

NYTreeGuy

Thanks BobC. I hope the feeder isn't leaking because it's brand new.

If the boiler is only for heat then does it not have a hot water coil?

NYTreeGuy

Thanks KC_Jones. When I run the heat, there are some radiator vents that constantly hiss and let off steam. So based on what you are saying, I should replace these (I would rather do that then clean them).

Can I temporarily turn off these radiators? Or would that have a negative effect on how the whole system runs?

Fred

Does the water in the boiler sight glass bounce a lot when the boiler is running? It sould only bounce about 1/2" to 3/4". If it is bouncing a lot, it could be dropping down enough that the Low water cut-off shuts the boiler down and the auto water feeder adds water and the boiler fires up again. Then when the thermostat is satisfied and the boiler sits idle for 15 to 45 minutes and the water has a chance to settle down, the boiler is overfilled because it didn't need water to begin with, it just had a lot of water bounce and maybe some was pushed out into the returns.
Having said that, if there is a lot of water bounce, you need to skim the boiler to get rid of oils on the surface of the water and that should stabalize the water.
Replace any vents that spew steam or water and "no" a boiler that is not used for demand HW does not have a coil in it unless someone installed one and then abandoned it for whatever reason.

KC_Jones

I would not turn the rad off unless you needed to remove it for some reason. The valves typically don't seal anyway (they are very old). In addition taking that load off the system essentially makes the boiler over sized which isn't a good thing. Pick up some new vents and replace any that aren't working. I will add though, what pressure is your pressuretrol set for? If you have a lot of vents spraying steam/water this can also be caused by too much pressure. If you aren't sure take a picture of your pressuretrol and post here and we can help. If it is the type with the grey cover we would need a picture with the cover off to see the setting on the white wheel inside. If it is a pressure issue then it's possible (after lowering the pressure) you will need new vents anyway. High pressure kills vents.

NYTreeGuy

Thanks Fred. The water does bounce about 1" right now. Since I did just replace the Auto Feed Valve and the LWCO, maybe I do need to Skim?

Fred

1" isn't too bad but it wouldn't hurt to skim it. It may bounce more during longer runs. Also, note what @KC_jones said about the Pressure. Too much pressure will definately cause issues that can affect the water level

NYTreeGuy

Here is a pic of the boiler, and 2 of the pressure controls. I am not quite clear on how to correctly set them, currently cut in is 0.5, diff is 1.0 (I think)

Fred

Yep, turn that screw on top to turn the Cut-in down to .5PSI and the white dial should be at :1 facing out. Your pressure can go way to high the way it is set now. That may resolve your issues.

NYTreeGuy

Thanks Fred, I will adjust those now. What's the best way to get a base line reading on the sight glass? And should the water level in the sight glass match the line on the feeder valve, once the boiler has cooled?

Fred

Depending on the boiler model, The Normal water level should be between 1/2 to 3/4 's of the way up the glass. If you have the owner's manual, check it. If not, post the make and model and we'll tell you. I see it's a Weil mcLain. That should be at about 1/2 to 2/3's the way up the glass.

Fred

I also noticed the pigtail (looped pipe your pressure gauge and Pressuretrol are mounted on) is upside down. The purpose of that loop is to hold water to but a buffer between the gauge and Pressuretrol to protect them from the steam. You need to turn that pigtail so that the loop is down and will hold water.

KC_Jones

Good catch Fred, but (and maybe I am nuts) I don't think that pigtail will work at all being installed on top of the LWCO. No matter which way it's installed it will look like it does. I think he needs a new pigtail.

Fred

KC_Jones said:

Good catch Fred, but (and maybe I am nuts) I don't think that pigtail will work at all being installed on top of the LWCO. No matter which way it's installed it will look like it does. I think he needs a new pigtail.

He does need a new pigtail but I thought he'd figure that out

KC_Jones

lol ok...I was staring at that pic thinking I was losing it for a few minutes.