No water visible in sight glass during operation

Fred

Hap_Hazzard said:

Fred said:

Hap_Hazzard said:

Fred said:

Wow, the top of the glass should be bone dry. If there is water or condensation there, it's time for a good skim!

Seriously? Would it surprise you to know that water goes all the way up into my header when the boiler is making steam? I even have an equalizer to return the water to the boiler. My point is: water gets everywhere.

I'd have to say "yes" I'm surprised. That's not normal, @Hap_Hazzard

Not normal for carryover to reach the header and return via the equalizer?

It's normal for water droplets to fall out of the steam, in the header and for that to be returned to the boiler through the equalizer. It is not normal for any of the content of the boiler, except those droplets to rise up into the header. I think you are playing with semantics here. In any case, the top portion of the glass should remain dry as a bone and does if the boiler water is clean. Skimming usually takes care of that.

New England SteamWorks

Tell 'em Fred!

KC_Jones

ChrisJ said:

Hap_Hazzard said:

It doesn't drip. It runs down the inside of the glass. If you've never noticed this you're probably not looking very closely, or the upper glasscock is closed.

I recently skimmed my boiler, and I piped it. If you want to call me a moron, I think that's a reflection on you.

I've stared at mine for hours, water doesn't run down. Steam cannot get into it and if the top was shut the water wouldn't move (no vent).

@KC_Jones Does water run down the top of your gauge glass? I'm sure you noticed while polishing copper for hours...

Only when it was surging due to oils or excess water treatment.

Precaud

Hap_Hazzard said:

Right. And, since the top of the gauge glass is only about three to four inches above the water line, it doesn't take an unusual amount of surging to cause some water to enter it and run down into the glass.

I think I see @Hap_Hazzard 's point, and I've seen evidence of it on my boiler. For a couple weeks after I removed the old non-functional LWCO, there was a small leak in the tee off the takeoff to the top of the gauge glass. It took a few minutes after the start of each cycle for the slow drip to appear, and it lasted until the cycle ended. Obviously, it wouldn't be dripping if water weren't present there.

It only makes sense that, if the gauge glass were mounted right at those takeoffs, then indeed a small amount of water would be dripping down into the top of the glass (maybe in such small amount as to not be easily visible). In this case, the glass and new LWCO were relocated to the side of the boiler via 15" of pipe. That may be why I have never seen water dripping down from the top of the glass.

Then, there's also the basic discrepancy that, we're advised that we need to have 24" risers to the header, to separate steam from water. Well, if there's water in the risers, then how can you argue that there's no water in the top takeoff to the gauge glass, which is much closer to the water line?

ethicalpaul

If you can see it, it's too much, that's my takeaway. Every time I have been able to see it, it's been because I had too high a ph due to following the instructions on the chemical, or because I had oil on my water (due to new pipes).

ChrisJ

Precaud said:

Hap_Hazzard said:

Right. And, since the top of the gauge glass is only about three to four inches above the water line, it doesn't take an unusual amount of surging to cause some water to enter it and run down into the glass.

I think I see @Hap_Hazzard 's point, and I've seen evidence of it on my boiler. For a couple weeks after I removed the old non-functional LWCO, there was a small leak in the tee off the takeoff to the top of the gauge glass. It took a few minutes after the start of each cycle for the slow drip to appear, and it lasted until the cycle ended. Obviously, it wouldn't be dripping if water weren't present there.

It only makes sense that, if the gauge glass were mounted right at those takeoffs, then indeed a small amount of water would be dripping down into the top of the glass (maybe in such small amount as to not be easily visible). In this case, the glass and new LWCO were relocated to the side of the boiler via 15" of pipe. That may be why I have never seen water dripping down from the top of the glass.

Then, there's also the basic discrepancy that, we're advised that we need to have 24" risers to the header, to separate steam from water. Well, if there's water in the risers, then how can you argue that there's no water in the top takeoff to the gauge glass, which is much closer to the water line?

Steam is blowing up into the risers and unintentionally sucking water up with it.

There's no real flow into a gauge glass and so no draft to suck anything into it. The top connection is in no way a "takeoff". It's simply a vent so the water can move up and down freely in the tube. It keeps the pressure at the top of the glass roughly equal to the bottom pressure.

Maybe your water line and setup causes it a little, but it's considered bad in general. Regardless, it's certainly not how the device works, I.E. "water being replaced at the top of the gauge glass" which is what started this unbelievable argument..........

STEAM DOCTOR

@Precaud. Water in the top of the glass happens. By the zillions. So does banging and uneven heating and high heating bills and hissing and spitting air vents etc. These things all happen. But they shouldn't. If these things happen then something ain't right.

Precaud

ChrisJ said:

Steam is blowing up into the risers and unintentionally sucking water up with it.

This thread is definitely getting wiggy... now we're talking about water doing things, whether it means to or not! It doesn't matter to my point if water gets blown or sucked into a riser.

There's no real flow into a gauge glass and so no draft to suck anything into it. The top connection is in no way a "takeoff"

I didn't say there was flow. I saw no evidence of flow. I only said water was present, enough to cause a slow drip, until I fixed the leak. Is it still there? I have no idea. And perhaps "takeoff" was the wrong word. But I am sure you understood what I meant. We're getting a bit pedantic here.

Nor I am not defending the idea of "water being replaced at the top of the gauge glass". I've never seen it, and it doesn't make sense to me.

Jamie Hall

But, as @Hap_Hazzard says, it does take some surging. How stable is the actual water level in the glass, as you watch the boiler firing? Bouncing an inch or so -- probably no problem. Bouncing a good deal more than that -- problem. Skim and check water chemistry.

Precaud

@Jamie Hall , my boiler is not having any issues related to the topic at hand. I logged my observations, thinking they might possibly support what @Hap_Hazzard was describing. I now regret doing so...

Hap_Hazzard

Jamie Hall said:

But, as @Hap_Hazzard says, it does take some surging. How stable is the actual water level in the glass, as you watch the boiler firing? Bouncing an inch or so -- probably no problem. Bouncing a good deal more than that -- problem. Skim and check water chemistry.

Mine doesn't bounce more than a quarter inch or so, but the gauge glass doesn't perfectly reflect what's happening inside the boiler. The water has to flow through the ½" pipes and the gaugecocks, so there's a lot of damping going on. The video of the Weil-McLain boiler with the glass pipes gives a more accurate picture of what happens inside a boiler when it's making steam, but I'm sure some people are going to insist that that boiler needs to be skimmed.

Precaud said:

I logged my observations, thinking they might possibly support what @Hap_Hazzard was describing. I now regret doing so...

Agreeing with me can be risky. I don't recommend it.