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Closing a Big Mouth

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Comments

  • Fred
    Fred Member Posts: 8,542
    The chemicals are different between the two but I don't know about the 8-way. I think @ChrisJ discussed the differences in another post. He probably knows. I have a bottle of the Steamaster tablets that I've had for three or four years. I used a couple tablets once last year and I put a couple more in before I fired the boiler up this season. I don't know why I have reservations about putting any chemicals in my boiler but every once and a while, I ask myself "Why not?" and I do it. :)
  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,495
    I just bought the next to last bottle of Steamaster on Amazon. I've used it on my boiler since it was new and when I drain a little off the skim port or the boiler drain all I get is nice clean water with a slight purple hue.

    I drain enough water out of the boiler at the beginning of each season to test my probe LWCO. I probably add a tablet every other year to make up for water I've drained off.

    Bob
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
  • curiousburke_2
    curiousburke_2 Member Posts: 70
    That's pretty impressive. Also, your system must be completely leak free. I doubt I can say the same
  • RomanGK_26986764589
    RomanGK_26986764589 Member Posts: 229
    edited November 2016
    Yes. I wish mine was completely leak free. I need to add about 2 gallons once a month during the cold months of the winter.
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,231
    edited November 2016
    His system isn't leak free in regards to steam or even moisture. He's talking about water he drains. You don't lose steamaster via vents so as you add makeup water your dose doesn't change. No matter what you do, a steam system loses water every time it breaths even if steam never hits a vent. When it sucks in that dry winter air the air absorbs some moisture and then ends up getting pushed back out during the next heating cycle. I forget how much water I lose now, 2 cups a week during a very cold week?

    Rectorseal 8 way isn't the same as Steamaster. Sadly, I don't know if it performs the same or not.

    @Sailah Amazon is empty again. :(
    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment
  • Sailah
    Sailah Member Posts: 826
    Yeah I saw that. The other case was shipped to CA distribution center so it should be available again soon. I'll get a few more cases and then that will be the end for me. So stock up!
    Peter Owens
    SteamIQ
  • curiousburke_2
    curiousburke_2 Member Posts: 70
    edited November 2016
    So, I was wrong, gunking does seem to be a slow process, as there is a small amount of accumulated gunk in the glass this morning. That's a relief.

    It's also a relief to hear that you loose 2 cups a week ChrisJ. I'll have to measure my loss rate. I know I have a small loss.

    I was planning to use the Rectorseal 8 way in this early cleaning, then switch to the tabs. It got lots of good reviews. However, Amazon said I could just refuse delivery, do you think it's worth a try or not worth the risk? Does anybody here have any experience with it?
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,231
    Personally I'd skip the 8 way.

    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment
  • curiousburke_2
    curiousburke_2 Member Posts: 70
    Received my Steamaster tabets today. They are huge! No way I'm getting that in any open port I have. I have a plug I could remove, but would prefer not to. Do you crush them up and dissolve in water to get them in?
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,231
    edited November 2016
    curiousburke said:

    Received my Steamaster tabets today. They are huge! No way I'm getting that in any open port I have. I have a plug I could remove, but would prefer not to. Do you crush them up and dissolve in water to get them in?

    I toss them in my proper skim port. :)

    But, now that I gave you a hard time (sorry, it's required) you can do whatever you need to, just wash your hands immediately after busting them up or whatever. It's likely best to even wear latex gloves. I'm just guessing, for all I know they're non-toxic but I'd err on the side of caution. You can probably mix them with some water and pour them in if you need to.
    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment
  • curiousburke_2
    curiousburke_2 Member Posts: 70
    edited November 2016
    I appreciated the razing ... once I figured out what I was being razed for :/
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,231
    curiousburke said:

    I appreciated the razing ... once I figured out what I was being razed for :/

    Eh,
    As long as you can get the boiler clean you'll figure out an easy way to get the Steamaster in.

    No big deal.
    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment
  • curiousburke_2
    curiousburke_2 Member Posts: 70
    Dissolving and pouring in worked fine, although slow. It's strange that they don't give the number of tablets in terms of per gallon.
  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,495
    Most boilers need no more than one or two tablets.

    Bob
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
  • curiousburke_2
    curiousburke_2 Member Posts: 70
    I have two tabs in now, and the Ph is 10.25. I did notice that after only one cycle stuff starts to accumulate on the surface of the water. I'm planning to run it for a couple days then drain and only use one tablet.
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,231
    curiousburke said:

    I have two tabs in now, and the Ph is 10.25. I did notice that after only one cycle stuff starts to accumulate on the surface of the water. I'm planning to run it for a couple days then drain and only use one tablet.

    Is the system running smoothly?
    If so, why change anything?

    a PH of 10.25 is perfectly fine for a cast iron boiler. It certainly isn't going to rust!

    Curious, what did you use to get such an accurate measurement?
    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment
  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,495
    You might consider a good skim followed by a blow down of the sight glass. make sure you bring the boiler up to steam after skimming to drive the oxygen off. That will reduce the concentration of Steamaster.

    Bob
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
  • curiousburke_2
    curiousburke_2 Member Posts: 70
    edited November 2016
    The system is running ok. Having two tablets of Steamaster in produces roughly the same ~8 to 10 oz pressure within the boiler that I saw before. I'm guessing it's causing foam. I skimmed and drained again yesterday, and replaced one tab, with the result that the internal pressure was cut in half, actually, maybe a little less, like maybe 3oz. I have a 3lb wiki gauge, so the reading isn't that accurate, but it's not zero as I'm accustomed to seeing. I'll drain half the water out later and replace with fresh to cut the concentration of Steamaster. The water does come out fairly purple.

    To measure the Ph I use my fishtank meter. Actually, it's not sold for fishtanks, its a ~$20 Qimius Ph tester from Amazon. I blow down into a glass and get an instant read. I certainly don't believe the 100th place, but it's probably accurate to the 10th place. I blew down this morning while steaming, and I did noticed a lot of suspended mater fell out in the bottom of the glass. Some of it was clearly dope (white), but I'm guessing the rest is iron (dark). Will a cleaning wand get this dark stuff out for good, or is it being produce so cleaning won't finish it? Could it be scale?

    BTW, your suggestions for how to clean the sight glass have worked wonders. It's so nice to get that stuck on crud out.
  • curiousburke_2
    curiousburke_2 Member Posts: 70
    I should also mention that when I say 10.25, I just mean 10 and a quarter. The number bounces around in the 100th place. Also, my tap water comes out just over 8
  • curiousburke_2
    curiousburke_2 Member Posts: 70
    edited November 2016
    Hmmm, my pH meter is behaving very funny now. I looked it up and it's only supposed to be used up to 50C, so I may have killed it. Clearly need to let the water cool first, but I loved the pH meter while it lasted :)

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