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I wasn't sure what is considered, "normal" for boiler water usage. I probably have to manually top off my boiler 1-2 times a week when it's running a lot. I'm guessing that each time its maybe a gallon or 2 as it's not a very big boiler. There always seems to be some white smoke coming from the chimney even last year. Not sure if this is normal or not. The boiler was but installed in 2014 before I bought this house. It will clear up a little bit when it runs a little. Its about 25 degrees out when I took that picture.
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What’s coming out of the chimney looks like a leaking boiler. The way to find out for sure is to shut it down, let it cook for a while, and overfill with water and see if it’s leaking out somewhere.
As far as water usage, it does depend on size of system, but I’d say no more than a gallon per month for an average house. Much more than that and I’d be hinting down the leaks. My house is 1500 sq ft and I use 3-4 gallons per year.
EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Boiler Control
Boiler pictures updated 2/21/15
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10202744301871904.1073741828.1330391881&type=1&l=c34ad6ee78
If you see water with this test and it isn’t coming from an pipe connections, it’s time for a new boiler.
Before replacing I would find out why this one failed so quickly, 5 years is crazy. You may be eligible for a warranty claim for the new boiler.
EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Boiler Control
Boiler pictures updated 2/21/15
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10202744301871904.1073741828.1330391881&type=1&l=c34ad6ee78
On the water fill test. What you want to do is to add enough water to the boiler so that it is up in the risers, if not all the way to the header. Then let it sit for a while and see if it drops. This is not as easy as it sounds, since there really isn't any good way to "see" the water level in an iron pipe. Don't get carried away an overfill the system! And... don't forget to lower the water level to normal on the sight glass before you run it again.
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England.
Hoffman Equipped System (all original except boiler), Weil-Mclain 580, 2.75 gph Carlin, Vapourstat 0.5 -- 6.0 ounces per square inch
Given that it's only five years old, I would recommend looking into the possibility of repairing the boiler. Some boilers use elastomeric seals between the sections that can be replaced. It's a major job, and not something to undertake during heating season, but if you can limp through the winter by maintaining the water level, you should get somebody in there to tear it down and either rebuild it or do a thorough post-mortem on it.
This would be a good place to put in a plug for hiring a steam professional to inspect the heating system whenever you're considering buying a home with steam heat.
1983(?) Peerless G-561-W-S | 3" drop header, CG400-1090, VXT-24
1983(?) Peerless G-561-W-S | 3" drop header, CG400-1090, VXT-24
EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Boiler Control
Boiler pictures updated 2/21/15
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10202744301871904.1073741828.1330391881&type=1&l=c34ad6ee78
EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Boiler Control
Boiler pictures updated 2/21/15
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10202744301871904.1073741828.1330391881&type=1&l=c34ad6ee78
Where are you located?
1983(?) Peerless G-561-W-S | 3" drop header, CG400-1090, VXT-24
https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/charles-garrity-plumbing-and-heating
1983(?) Peerless G-561-W-S | 3" drop header, CG400-1090, VXT-24
If my boiler dies before I do, I know I'm going to replace it with the most similar Peerless model, but ease of replacement isn't the only reason. The big reason is that it's 36 years old and still going strong, and it was piped incorrectly for the first 30 years. If I'd needed to replace it after five years I'd be inclined to try a different brand, but maybe yours was just an isolated case.
1983(?) Peerless G-561-W-S | 3" drop header, CG400-1090, VXT-24
Also keep in mind those pipes typically don't like to come back apart.
I would also be concerned about what caused that one to fail, excess make up water is the usual suspect so it would be worth while to figure that out and have it fixed at the same time.
EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Boiler Control
Boiler pictures updated 2/21/15
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10202744301871904.1073741828.1330391881&type=1&l=c34ad6ee78
1983(?) Peerless G-561-W-S | 3" drop header, CG400-1090, VXT-24
I don't think there's much in it, though...
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England.
Hoffman Equipped System (all original except boiler), Weil-Mclain 580, 2.75 gph Carlin, Vapourstat 0.5 -- 6.0 ounces per square inch
1983(?) Peerless G-561-W-S | 3" drop header, CG400-1090, VXT-24
After noticing lots of steam/water vapor come out of my chimney I started asking questions. I pretty much got the same answers you have received here and filled my boiler up to the header....no leak!
But it turns out my leaking radiator was the culprit. I recently removed it and I'm not adding any water anymore. One radiator can leak ALOT of steam.