gauge glass

Paul S_3

on a few of my steamer installs i have corrosion at the bottom of the gauge glass...they get green and have a slight leak....should i be installing blow downs there? also on smaller boilers the steamaster tablets are huge dont fit in a 3/4 pipe ....how do u guys put them in whole? thanks Paul S

STEAM DOCTOR

Not sure that blow down will help. Are these on Williamson's? I have also seen a few leaks from bottom glass nut. Maybe quality issue with the washers??

EBEBRATT-Ed

Don't know if this applies to what your talking about but we had a boiler high pressure steam (25psig) that we couldn't keep the gage glasses from leaking. We would replace the glass and the washers and a few weeks later it would start leaking.

Turns out the ph was off and the boiler water was etching the gage glass

BobC

Was it on the acis side?

Bob

Fred

My boiler also has only the 3/4" tapping. When I add Steamaster tablets, I put one or two in a cup of water, dissolve them and then add them to the boiler using a funnel with a tube attached to it. I think what you will find, as far as the corrosion at the bottom of the sight glass is that the glass will actually erode at the bottom and allow it to leak around the washer. I have found that that glass erosion seems to occur when the glass tube has been cut and the cut end is left raw. I have taken a little emery cloth and polished the raw end of the glass and the problem seems to go away.

Gordo

@ Paul S: Do you have pictures? If not, I'm going to guess that the sightglass nuts were not tight enough to squeeze the gasket to form a leak-proof seal.

All too often, the sightglass fittings are not put in straight, so the nut is cocked at a sight angle, making it difficult to make good seal even with extra tightening.

Sometimes, however, an extra eight of a turn or less on the nut before you put the boiler into service is enough. The assembly folks at the factory are more concerned about not breaking the glass then worrying about a leak. That's your job.

Make sure you have access to extra sightglass tubes, gaskets, and nuts. That way, nothing will break!

Oh, and when they leak, the little "brass" slip washer inside the nut rusts out and often bonds with the nut, ruining it. That's because that washer is not copper/zinc brass , but a special magnetic brass called "chinesium".

Paul S_3

its not the nuts with the washers that hold the glass....its the fitting at the bottom of the gauge glass assembly where you can remove and install a i belive a 1/4 valve and a blowdown....like jstar used to do..... @STEAM DOCTOR its a williamson

STEAM DOCTOR

@Paul S . Havnt seen that and I have installed lots of Williamson's. Maybe just tighten down a bit or remove and reapply sealant. I used to install 1/4" blow down valve but stopped when I realized that no one was using them. Anyways, I service most of the boilers that I install. Cleaning the glass is part of the service.

ChrisJ

I'd pull out the cheesy drain they give you and install something better.

This is what I've done. There's a plug in it just to make sure nothing happens if someone bumps the valve. The plug is just hand tight.

1/4" NPT will screw in fine.

Paul S_3

@ChrisJ howd u get your wayer that clean....no matter what i do its always dark violet and brown

ChrisJ

Paul S said:

@ChrisJ howd u get your wayer that clean....no matter what i do its always dark violet and brown

Wash boiler out with wand hooked to water heater drain followed by a quick skim. Throw in 1-2 steam master tablets, seems to depend on water quality, 2 may be too much but it works for me.

Water stays very clean all year.

Here's my drain water after a season. This is why I try to get people to use treatment, it's no joke.






Here's my drain water WITHOUT treatment. This was the first season I had the boiler and was the last with plain water. My water may be more corrosive than some, but fact is look what a difference water treatment makes, even something as simple as Steamaster tablets.

Gordo

Here is our solution to that joke of a valve at the bottom of the lower sight glass fitting: That 1/4"npt brass street 45 gets us out of a lot of trouble whilst maintaining good flow. Then a relatively hard to find (but worth it) 1/4" ntp x 3/4" male hose ball valve, then a superannuated washing machine hose to carry away the hot rusty water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWaHRD-6bmQ

BobC

I agree with @ChrisJ on the Steamaster tablets. I used it on my boiler since it was installed 4 years ago after I skimmed for the 5th time. I drained about a quart the other day and the water is perfectly clean with a light purple tint. The water has been in the boiler all that time.

Bob

Paul S_3

im going to install what @Gordo did....as far as treatment i will flush as much as i can out during install and maintenance....put few tablets in there then lets see next year.....thanks guys