Muddy steamer

Jim Pompetti

Came across the muddiest steam boiler I ever saw . Even the sign glass had mud in it . What the best clean up?

Steamhead

Hi Jim, long time since we heard from you! How ya been?

Here it is in a nutshell:

Flush out the boiler and wet returns with a hose.

Let it run for a bit then flush it again.

Repeat as necessary until it stays clean.

All that mud had to come from somewhere. I'd bet the system had chemicals in it which probably didn't help. You don't want to make the problem worse.

clammy

It all depends on wheather you can or if they left nipples and or plugs on the return tappings .If so no biggy getem off and use a wand and flush it out .I have ran into alot which you where unable to remove plugs ,there i used a pump and flushed it out and the used the pump to try and get some circulation using the boiler drain on the boiler and the safety valve i will usually add a cleaning agent if its really bad .If bad i will usually cycle the burner to keep the water hot while circulating to help loosen the mud up .I do fill the boiler while doing this so a good flush of the return is sometimes needed also but if you have a isolation valve on your hartford loop piping i would close it ,less chance of loosing crap up in the returns .This method works some what and can take some time w varying results and you will have to skim the boiler also .This method works but not as well as draining and flushing the boiler out from the return tappings.What really sucks is how much could 1 tee and 2 nipples and2 caps cost i guess alot to most who are thinking how am i going to get out of this job and done with it ,while others take the time to set it up for 5 or 10 years down the road when the boiler needs a water side cleaning .Which at point if your the guy who installed it ,it's a beautiful thing and a piece of cake to get done.Itruely hate seeing boilers being piped with no tee s on equilizer tieng into boiler block and a plug socked into the other side tighter then humanly possible amzing .Hope it helps for what its worthPeace and good lucl clammy

Jim Pompetti

Nice to hear from you STEAMHEAD , Been semi-retired , Jamie running the show . All is well , hope you and yours are doing good.

Jim Pompetti

Semi-retired means only 50 hours a week . God bless