Was told to drain monthly...

arogg619

Hey all. First post. So long story short I inherited a house in a way from my girlfriends parents. I was told to drain the hot water in the basement with a yellow handle monthly. I was told to drain about 3/4 of the bucket twice, one time per month. I went to do it about a half hour ago and only about a half a bucket of super dirty water came out. Went to drain more and nothing comes out. The sight glass is about half way and pretty damn dirty. Is this thing ok? If i try to drain more theres alot of clicking. Sorry, i really dont know anything about this stuff. First house and all. Her parents are coming in for the holidays and I don't want them to think I've been neglecting it.

JUGHNE

We don't want you to lose any points potential in-laws, so post some pictures of the valve you are talking about. Not close but good quality with good light we can zoom in.
Did the burner shut off?

Jamie Hall

Can you quick like go down to the basement and take a picture of the yellow handle you are draining -- or trying to -- and the area around it? And the front of the boiler? And post them? I have an idea as to what you are trying to do -- and some thoughts about where to go next -- but I sure need a picture to be more certain.

arogg619

Haha especially since I just bought the ring last week. I'll go down and take some photos. Btw, everything has been working. Hot water in the shower in the shower every day and the heat is pumping no problem. Let me go grab those photos

EBEBRATT-Ed

If you have half a glass of water and and can't drain any more water I would suspect something could be plugged up. I would suggest you place a call for service and have it checked

arogg619

The sight glass is actually pretty clear now. But the handle on the bottom left is what I'm talking about

arogg619

Closer of sight glass

arogg619

> @EBEBRATT-Ed said:
> If you have half a glass of water and and can't drain any more water I would suspect something could be plugged up. I would suggest you place a call for service and have it checked

Half bucket, not glass...if I opened it again, it doesn't stop, it just kinda sputter and then something started clicking on and off it sounds like

JUGHNE

That is the low water cut off, LWCO, it has 2 functions.
It shuts off the burner if the water gets too low
and it may activate a valve to add more water.
That would be the 2 clicks you hear.

But it should not "run out" of water.
You have more issues.

Move the bucket away and back up for pictures that are not so dark........remember your points.

arogg619

Better? Tough lighting down there

JUGHNE

So when you "blow down the LWCO" into the bucket, it should be done when the boiler is firing......it must shut the fire down.
Then the fill valve should activate and add water to replace what you lost during blow down.
The water level should return to where it was before you drained any down.

You are testing the function of fire shut down, water refilling and also flush any crud out of the device. Perhaps you should blow down weekly. At least until the water flow freely and is relativity clean......this is one of the most important safety devices on the boiler. If the LWCO fills with sludge then the float inside may not drop down to shut down fire......dry fire lead at best to a cracked boiler and worst an explosion.

Somewhere the cold water of the house is connected to the boiler, could you post pictures of that piping and valves?

arogg619

I mean, the sight glass raised back to its normal height and it's clear. Should be all good then? Maybe my gf emptied it recently without saying and thats why only half the amount came out

HVACNUT

And adjust the pressurtrol (The grey control to the right of the switch) from 2 psi to .5 psi. Adjustment screw is in top. Then pop off the cover and make sure the dial is set to 1.

arogg619

> @HVACNUT said:
> And adjust the pressurtrol (The grey control to the right of the switch) from 2 psi to .5 psi. Adjustment screw is in top. Then pop off the cover and make sure the dial is set to 1.

Not questioning you, just curious what that's for? I've never had to touch that

JUGHNE

It was probably partially plugged at the drain outlet.
That bowl you are draining is connected to the water in the lower part of the boiler. It should not run out of water until you drain the boiler down to the level of the lower pipe of the LWCO, which is the bottom of the sight glass. Even though the sight glass drops there is still water in the boiler. Just like the glass on the large coffee pots, (if you are familiar with), the level drops in the glass but there is still coffee in the pot. A reason to start drinking coffee not Dew,

arogg619

No worries there. I'm a guy who enjoys every cup of his coffee. Thanks for the help guys. I'd hate to have to ask for her father's permission while fixing boiler lol.

HVACNUT

> @arogg619 said:

> Not questioning you, just curious what that's for? I've never had to touch that

It regulates the amount of steam pressure the system makes. On a heat demand, the burner will cut in at .5 psi and shut off at the 1 psi differential.
You want lower pressure for even, latent heat.
P.S. The Empire State Building runs on 3.5 psi.
Most guys here are using controls that measure pressure in ounces, not pounds.

Jamie Hall

All the above is right on. There is, however, one good reason why you may only get half a bucket of water out. If the water level in the assembly that lever is attached to -- the low water cutoff -- gets low, it won't refill right away. As you have noticed. This is not a problem, so long as it does refill within, say, 30 seconds or so.

The clicking you hear is the contacts in the low water cutoff and automatic water feeder opening and closing as the water level changes. This is a very good thing, as it indicates that the float in there is moving.

The technique I use is to open that valve fully; first shot is usually a bit grubby (!). Then close it when the flow drops off and let the level come back up. And then do it again (should be much cleaner). And so on, until I'm happy. Seems to work. Usually somewhat less than a gallon on my system, but your mileage may vary.

Oh -- and good luck with that ring...

JUGHNE

I have been on both sides of the father-in-law table now......just drinking coffee would get you some points here.

But about those pictures of the water fill cold water piping connection and any valves?