undersized boiler

Snowmelt

if a boiler is undersized by more then 100,000 BTU will it loose its water and always have to be replaced ? for ex boiler out put is 225,000 BTU i think the boiler that's needed is 350,000 BTU out. MY last job for Friday was go back to this art school and take radiator sizes to get an edr.

Jamie Hall

Shouldn't. Although -- is this steam? - some condensate may be very slow to return, and it's entirely possible that the volume of steam it is making may lower the water level when running.

What it will do is give you weirdly uneven heat...

Snowmelt

Jamie, this is the art school that I been working with past month. It’s like a small elementary school on one side with office and lounge on other side, it may of been college, it does have another steam boiler and 2 water boilers, as well as one room which is forced hot air. So a lot is going on. I measured the rads I can up with almost 400,000 btu but I think my math or I wrote down wrong numbers. I will double check on Monday. The existing boiler is 280,000 in 225 ish on the out. The rooms do get warm but they always have to add water to the unit.

Snowmelt

It does have a condensation pump, fyi when the pump kicks on it only goes on for 45 secs then cuts out.

EBEBRATT-Ed

If you have a condensate pump you likely have steam traps. When they go bad steam comes out the condensate pump vent pipe. I have seen these piped outside or to a remote location where the steam may not be noticed

Snowmelt

thats a good point, there was a section of floor that was water damaged but no water , it was above the condensation pump where it might of caused damage to the floor .

JUGHNE

Could the boiler have a leak internally....boiling steam out the chimney?
Is there a piping tunnel with leaks?
Any piping under the floor?

Snowmelt

Could be a leak and coming out of chimney, the piping under floor is in crawl space, but no leak there. Although someone said steam could be coming out of trap relief and can be buckling the floor above but I can’t really be sure. Also, I had rads that were hot but the returns weren’t hot, the returns could of been clogged up with rott. but that’s one of many things.