New Boiler New Problems

JeffPmillburn

the return is above ground. The plumber just did a visual inspection but will have to use a camera of none of the other suggestions on this string work

mattmia2

You can flood the system up to the air vents in the basement, or maybe even remove them and flood it up to the lowest radiator vent and see if it comes out somewhere. Up the chimney or down a drain or into the ground is really the only place that you could lose that much without seeing it condense inside the house.

Fred

nde said:

I know somebody asked but is the return buried or above ground? There is no way that much water would be lost via rad vents in a day so it has to be somewhere else. When you say the old boiler cracked was that b/c it went dry and was fired which would suggest a big leak before the new boiler went in? It must be a leak in the return or inside wall where it cannot be seen. If return is above ground and dry, you should check each rad riser, might have to run a plumber camera down from each rad via the riser run to check for leaks.

You'd be surprised how much water can be lost when multiple vents aren't closing. Also, he did say all returns are above the basement floor. If a riser or pipe in a wall were leaking, from a single point, the ceiling or wall or an area in the basement would be wet. The issue seems to me to be pressure that is building to a point that it blows the vents open. Even these new vents may have to be replaced when he gets the pressure under control. Problem is either a faulty Pressuretrol, or a clogged pigtail. Once that is identified and corrected, I would also suggest another good skimming. It's a relatively new boiler and one skim just isn't enough. Oils in the water can also do strange things but first get the pressure under control.

JeffPmillburn

its a combination of losing all the water in the boiler in a day along with the radiators at the end of the line pumping steam out of the vents for almost the entire time the boiler is running (even with brand new gorton vents). I am going to try leaving the heat at a set 70 for a day or two to see what happens. Hopefully that solves the venting issue. Then we can see if the water is having to be re-filled daily.

JeffPmillburn

i am also going to watch the pressure when it is running later and see if i can clean the pig tail

clammy

Has anyone checked the pitch of your mains for sagging ? How’s ur sight glass looking clean and does your water line bounce when the boiler is producing steam . For starters it sometimes takes multiply visits to get a boiler clean aside from flushing and skimming the boiler may need to be wanded out with each section being hosed down and the boiler filled flushed then fired and skimmed . I would also suggest flushing out your wet returns something often neglected and maybe should be done say at a minimum when ever a boiler is replaced .peace and good luck clammy