Surging on new boiler

steamhammerqueen

Hi, we recently became home owners and came with it a lot of headaches. We just replaced an old leaky boiler with a new Burnham gas-fired steam boiler - please see the picture link below. Since day one we got this problem: glass water quickly goes down by 2-3 inches as soon as the boiler fires up, often tripping the lwco, then rises up as quickly as the boiler switches off, and the short cycling continues. The plumber thought the lwco was bad and replaced it several times, yet the problem continues. We also heard loud sound of water running in the radiators. My question is 1) can an expert tell us if there's a problem with near boiler piping (see pic), and 2) should we skim the boiler - our plumber didn't install a port for that, should we ask him. Also, can someone recommend a steam heating specialist in the NYC area. Very much appreciate your response.

http://imgur.com/a/S3sKq

Abracadabra

Skim the boiler.
Near boiler piping is wrong, see the I&OM and tell the installer to read it.

EzzyT

The near boiler piping is incorrect. Yes the boiler needs to be skimmed.
Send me a private message I do work in NYC

STEAM DOCTOR

Ditto. Rotten near boiler piping. Needs to be skimmed. Don't shoot the messenger. LWCO is doing it's job

steamhammerqueen

Thanks everyone for replying. Can someone say in a few words what's wrong with the piping which would help me to compare with the manual. In this kind of scenario, do I have the right to ask the plumber to redo the job (we already paid in full)?

KC_Jones

In addition to what is stated above the Hartford loop is supposed to use a close nipple not that long one it has. This is specifically called out in the manual as well. The way it is it could cause hammering.

steamhammerqueen

Thank you for your detailed response, very much appreciated. Hatterasguy, your "deaf ears" comment seems right.