Suddenly this Winter: Loss of 12" of water per day in boiler site tube, cannot explain

davevarga

I have a 100 year old house with a boiler installed in 1969. Suddenly this winter I have to keep adding water into the boiler as the water level keeps going down. 6" of water at night and at least 6" in the morning. This is very different from previous years, where perhaps I lost 1" - 2" of water per day. I have:

• Checked under the boiler and carefully under every radiator for leaks, found nothing.
  
• Put in new steam vents on all six radiators
  
• Gone outside and looked up at the chimney for evidence of water vapor , there is no white smoke coming out when the boiler is on and the radiators are hot.
  

OK, is the water somehow making it's way into the air of the house? I compared the humidity of a friends house who had steam radiators with the humidity inside my house. Both steam boiler houses air was the same, which was about 5% higher than than the outside air.

Any ideas as to what could be causing such a rapid loss of water in the boiler?

Dave
Montclair, NJ

Jamie Hall

Any nice wet returns? Maybe out of sight somewhere? Which are leaking?

EBEBRATT-Ed

When you get a chance shut the boiler off. When it is no more than lukewarm and you can hold your hand on the boiler metal fill it with water (overfill it) you may have a leak above the water line. After this test drain the boiler down to 1/2 a glass and restart

Also, look at your return piping. Is any of it under the basement floor or in a crawl space where you might have a leak that you don't see. Buried returns are the first thing to look for

nicholas bonham-carter

You mention that 1-2 inches of water were dissapearing in previous years, so this loss has been going on for some time.
If you discover the worst from the test, then come here for advice on the boiler replacement, including sizing, and piping.
At least you got 48 years out of it, and when correctly installed a new boiler will burn up to 30% less fuel, but not if done improperly.—NBC

New England SteamWorks

Agree with all the above. And do come here for advice on the replacement to avoid any further calamities.

davevarga

Thx, no buried returns. Will certainly do the leakage test tonight.

davevarga

Hi, cannot get the furnace top off without taking the exhaust pipe off. In my efforts to do so, I noticed that there is a very small vent on the top of the boiler and when my face was over it, my glasses fogged up. Thus we know there are holes in the top of the boiler and steam is escaping that way, must be a lot of steam (but not visible....?!?) There is no leakage underneath the boiler. The rate of water loss has increased each day for the last week, now the boiler is on continuously as the efficiency is way down. OK, need a new boiler unit. Yep, the boiler lasted 48 years, am grateful. And thanks to everyone for helping me troubleshoot. Any more advice would be appreciated.

KC_Jones

Go to the the find a contractor page and find a good steam man in your area. I see you are in NJ, @Dave0176 or @EzzyT are both good and both NJ. You want a steam expert not just anyone.

EzzyT

@davevarga private message me and hopefully we can set up a consultation

Fred

Until you get the boiler replaced, make sure the LWCO and auto feed continue to work properly. You don't want a dry fire! Also, keep your face away from any areas that might have a steam leak. You will only see steam as it condenses and you don't want to burn your corneas or face.

New England SteamWorks

KC_Jones said:

Go to the the find a contractor page and find a good steam man in your area. I see you are in NJ, @Dave0176 or @EzzyT are both good and both NJ. You want a steam expert not just anyone.

Agree. Don't be the guy who comes back here because the new boiler was installed incorrectly!