NEED HELP WITH A WEIL MCLAIN BOILER

watsey

I have a Weil McLain gold oil that is old. The pipes And radiators are 80+ years old And I’m not even sure if it’s steam or hot water or both. The boiler was turning on for a few minutes and then shutting off and I had to hit the red reset to get it back on and it would run 3-5 minutes and **** off and after 2 more times it stayed running but I noticed the water in the glass was almost black but it was cold so I waited a bit for the house to heat up and then I shut it off and drained some water and it came out very dark brownish and I did not fully drain all the water but I dumped 1/2 a bucket and after the boiler cooled off I put water in the the level on my gauge and left it. Last night I heard it kick on and after 3-5 minutes it went off again and after 3-5 times of resetting and stopping it stayed running but again the water was bad and I drained some water while it was running and it came out almost black and had grit in it. I put water back in and drained and put water then drained and it was clear for a second and then brown/black water. I shut the boiler off and started draining and it just kept coming out dark and gritty ( I left out that I tried draining water the other day after the boiler was fully cooled and the water that came out was only slightly tan and that’s why I drained it while hot today)

I’m not afraid that I drained all the water from the entire system and I added water until the level was where I normally add it and tried to run the boiler and it shut off and I reset it and 3-5 minutes it went off and I reset it and it was running but the water level was filling the glass gauge completely and I started to hear the whistling of steam from the valve next to the boiler and I got spooked so I shut it down. DID I DESTROY THIS BOILER??

Jamie Hall

No, probably not. And from your description it is steam but in dire need of extensive (but not necessarily expensive) service. There are any number -- at least two -- safety devices which could be shutting off the boiler, but it is a little hard to tell which.

Where are you located? We may know someone in your area who knows and loves steam systems who can help you. In the meantime, until you can get a qualified service person, turn the boiler off and let it cool completely. Then adjust the water level to the midpoint of the gauge glass. Then turn it back on. Do NOT add water to a hot boiler -- that really could destroy it.

watsey

Im in central NJ. This boiler and house honestly are so dilapidated it most likely would be condemned if it was ever inspected for anything. My grandmother’s parents bought it and it still has the original heating pipes and even still has the old porcelain electric connectors in the basement. We have 5 generations in the house as I write this. I took a mortgage out in 2007 to remodel and we got robbed by the contractor and when we tried to pursue legal option lawyers told us we had no case because his “receipts” totaled the amount we gave him. We unfortunately do not have money right now to get the boiler serviced and the last few years have had trouble paying for oil so the boiler ran out quite a few times and I had to use diesel. I appreciate the response. I think the issue is there is no water getting to the radiators...I turned it on last night and it ran a few minutes shutoff and I reset it and it ran 5-7 minutes and the pipes were hot in the basement but when I checked the 1st floor radiators they were ice cold and so were the pipes that split off from the large pipes that directly feed the radiators. The PSI gauge on the boiler also was at 0 and the water in the gauge was fluxing drastically up and down much more then normal.

watsey

I just looked and I ran it during the night like I said and the water level was at the level mark on the gauge and now as you can see it is much higher and I did not add water.

watsey

I know it is in bad condition. lol

pecmsg

Need pics from further away. Mostly of the piping on top of the boiler!

JUGHNE

You need help and while waiting you should get the book "We Got Steam Heat"......written for the homeowner. This will give you a lot of answers for questions you have not even thought of yet.

Is that Red Reset button on the oil burner?
You do not want to continually reset that....the chamber will load up with unburned oil and the next reset could be a disaster.

More pictures of your boiler, all sides from a ways back covering floor to ceiling.
You need someone to at least service the burner for sure.

ScottSecor

@watsey check your inbox.

STEVEusaPA

The furnace cement to try to seal the inspection port is scary enough. Boiler probably plugged and shooting soot.

It really might not be as bad as you think.
Good/proper cleaning and tune-up, skim boiler, check all the piping & rads for any leaks/sagging, proper venting.

Do you see any water leaking or are you adding alot of water to the boiler during the winter?

EzzyT

@watsey where in central New Jersey are you located?