Going Through Too Much Water???

AdmiralYoda

I've been in my house for 10 years now and the steam boiler seems to go through more water than I would expect. It hasn't gotten any worse over time but it downed on me that it might not be normal.

On a frigid week the sight glass could be 3/4 full and by the end of the week it could be down to 1/4. I usually top it off a few times but that seems like a lot of water.

I've had a plumber buddy look at it and he couldn't find any cracks and says it looks fine.

Is that too much water?

Fred

That is not normal. Are any of the wet returns under the basement floor? Is this a one or two pipe system? Do you see any main vent leaking steam? If one pipe system, do you see any radiator vents leaking? Are any of the radiator valve leaking? Are you sure the water usage hasn't gotten worse over those ten years? o you see a steam cloud coming out of the chimney when the boiler is running?

AdmiralYoda

No wet returns under the floor. Its a single pipe system. No steam leaks in the piping. One radiator has a hairline crack and does leak a bit....doesn't leave any mess behind. Water usage hasn't gotten any worse in 10 years.

The boiler holds pressure just fine. When it cuts off at 1.5psi I don't hear any hissing or anything.

When the boiler starts up after being off for a certain amount of time I do see alot of steam coming out of the chimney. If its been off for say 15-30 minutes I see a fair amount of steam for say half a minute or so. It its been off for less than 15 minutes or more than 30 or so there isnt much steam out of the chimney.

Steamhead

AdmiralYoda said:

When the boiler starts up after being off for a certain amount of time I do see alot of steam coming out of the chimney. If its been off for say 15-30 minutes I see a fair amount of steam for say half a minute or so. It its been off for less than 15 minutes or more than 30 or so there isnt much steam out of the chimney.

Sounds like you found the leak. But why not have a Steam Man come over to verify it? Then you'll know for sure. Where are you located?

AdmiralYoda

I'm in central MA. His name escapes me but there is a well known gentleman in Western MA.

I may just live with it until I replace the boiler...its 30 years old at this point.

Fred

AdmiralYoda said:

I'm in central MA. His name escapes me but there is a well known gentleman in Western MA.

I may just live with it until I replace the boiler...its 30 years old at this point.

It's likely @Charlie from wmass It is better to find the leak (probably somewhere in boiler above the water line) and know what you are dealing with rather than have a full blown failure in the dead of winter.

Charlie from wmass

Likely to be me.

AdmiralYoda

Charlie from wmass said:

Likely to be me.

Bingo! I've been planning to give you a ring at some point. My boiler is old and my header piping is all messed up. And I have no main vents.

We've been burning wood mostly so the boiler hasnt really been an issue. But if for some reason I start using steam as my sole fule source.....I might be in for some issues.

Just for the heck of it.....my steam setup and all its woes:
forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/152380/check-out-my-steam-system-need-some-advice-pictures#latest

Charlie from wmass

Link does not work.

AdmiralYoda

Charlie from wmass said:

Link does not work.

Fixed it. Link should work now.

Charlie from wmass

I am currently living in Springfield so I am a nit closer. I will be in Leominster next week.

MilanD

You'd be surprised how much water a radiator vent that's not closing can let out аѕ ѕteam. Make that 6 rads, and this can happen.

If you listen to what your boiler sounds like with your head by the draft hood or by the damper when it's making steam, and you can hear a hissing sound, like water running through the copper pipe when the faucet is on, you likely have a leak. A lot of make up water will do this to the boiler. Happened to me this winter.

Flooding the boiler is not that difficult. Find a way to fill it with water past the main riser, and wait. If it drips below, you got it. Just don't do this on a hot boiler. After it's been off for a few hours should be fine, when it's ok to touch close to that riser.

AdmiralYoda

As soon as heating season is over in another month or so I will take a deeper look. All of my vents are less than 10 years old and appear to be functioning correctly.

One of the radiators has a hairline crack between the sections and hisses a bit when the system is at the upper end of its pressure range.

Flooding the boiler is a piece of cake and I will do it after heating season. The only hard part is to figure out when the boiler is full so I don't go overboard and fill up my radiators too!

Charlie from wmass

If you have it slightly warm and you fill it with cold water you should be able to feel a temp change in the riser.

AdmiralYoda

Charlie from wmass said:

If you have it slightly warm and you fill it with cold water you should be able to feel a temp change in the riser.

Great idea! Thank you!

AdmiralYoda

Well....the verdict is in. NO LEAK!!!!

At the start of the heating season I removed the radiator that had a hairline crack on the bottom because I was remodeling that room. Capped and shut the valve.

Well its been shut all winter and I've only added water maybe 3 times. And that was probably just from making up lost water from flushing the HWCO and sludge at the bottom.

That one radiator was making me add water once or more per week! And by the way....very little water came out of the crack in the radiator. When I pulled up the carpet there wasn't even a water stain on the subfloor.

Thanks for your help guys!

Jamie Hall

It's really kind of astonishing how much water can be lost through a small leak. This is a good case in point -- thank you!

dabrakeman

I have seen ain a couple posts now the reference that if you see any steam emitting from your chimney that you should suspect a a upper boiler leak. Is this really true? On a cold day I have always seen steam coming from the chimney both with my old boiler and with the new one I got 6 years ago. Seems Admiral Yoda passed his flooded boiler test yet still has steam visible? Not sure whether there might be some other condensation source other than a leak from the closed water/steam system that could occur during system cooldown?

Jamie Hall

On a cooler day, with the dewpoint relatively high, you will almost always see some condensation as the flue gas escapes from the chimney or vent, except for condensing boilers operating in their well down in their condensing range. This is because all fuels produce some water as they burn -- natural gas the most, and on down from there. The question is... how much? Billows? You have a leak. Wisps? Most likely not. In between... judgement call, and not an easy one.

EBEBRATT-Ed

As @Jamie Hall pointed out all gas equipment will condense coming out of the chimney if it is cold out.