Low Water Cutoffs....Lack of Maintenance

EBEBRATT-Ed

An expensive lesson.

We were called in to replace a Smith 28-12 section steamer with a cracked back section. My co-worker got to the job before me and the boiler had 2 LWCOs #51 M/M feeder cut off as the primary and a M/M probe type as the secondary with manual reset. The State boiler inspector showed up as he wanted to see why it had failed.

Of course the boiler was empty. My coworker found the #51 switch "made" and the float up. He poked the linkage and the float fell. probably never been cleaned since the boiler was installed 12 years ago.

When I got their I was stripping the wiring and finally got around to the probe LWCO

Whomever installed it used a black coupling and a black short nipple on the probe....that's a disaster. I unscrewed the thing carefully so not to disturb it. The end of the probe was sticking into the boiler water, but their was crud inside the nipple around the probe. I think with the nipple and coupling the crud made a "dam" and water trapped between the crud and the control kept the burner on.

Fred

Wow, double trouble! Failure to maintain will eventually Bite you in the arss every time.

Steamhead

A boiler this size would be installed in a large commercial or apartment or similar building, and would therefore have to have a state license to operate.

And as for the condition of those LWCOs- you can't fix stupid!

EBEBRATT-Ed

@IamNotLost

In MA any steam boiler over 250,000btu (I think that's the right #) is registered with the state (or supposed to be)

The state comes out and does an inspection at initial start up and yearly after that. If the owner has insurance their insurance company boiler inspector comes out in lieu of the state inspector.

Don't know how the notification for this one was made but the boiler is on state property

Not sure how other states operate but MA is known for being strict

Steamhead

Oh, the state was operating this boiler?

A similar situation was posted here not long ago:

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/167419/is-this-a-normal-operating-condition/p1

EBEBRATT-Ed

@Steamhead

Boiler is on state owned property (National Guard) I guess the state boiler inspectors inspect it.

Maintenance or lack of it by the buildings facility dept.

Solid_Fuel_Man

One would think that by definition of "boiler inspection" the inspector would drain water with the burner running to prove out the LWCO.

When I do inspections on dual LWCO's I test the high LWCO, then keep draining until the lower manual reset trips.

Let the feeder fill the boiler back to normal level and make sure the lower LWCO has to be reset.

Seems a state inspector would have a procedure to do at least that.

SeanBeans

This isn’t lack of maintenance..

But this came doped like this from the factory

Solid_Fuel_Man

Wow! Someone got a little too excited with the word "dope".