flushing out mud from steam boiler

tec

I need to flush out the mud out of three boilers. There 's the boiler drain lower rear and a skimming tap with a valve upper front section of the boiler. Could I connect a garden hose to the skimming valve and open the boiler drain valve and flush it out that way and should I remove the low water cut-off probe and the pressuretrol

Steamhead

Make and model of your boilers?

Big Ed_4

Mud to remove would be the boiler drain not the skimmer port . Mud is an indication of steam leaks .

MaxMercy

Off topic a bit but I have a question about "mud" in these steamers. I assume the mud is mostly the solids from added water staying behind when the steam evaporates, is that correct? If so, would not a good quality water filter be helpful on the water inlet side?

ethicalpaul

I wouldn't think so, unless as @Big Ed_4 said, there are steam leaks.

In normal operation, only a tiny percentage of the boiler water is steam at any given time. But if you're putting lots of replacement water in, then yes, all that lost steam must leave behind its solids.

MaxMercy

ethicalpaul said:

But if you're putting lots of replacement water in, then yes, all that lost steam must leave behind its solids.

Which begs the question from someone who knows nothing about steam: how much replacement water would a steam system properly designed and operating (average 2000sq foot home for exaple) use per month during the winter?

AMservices

I have seen a good amount of steam systems use no make-up water through a season. I have 1 system that sticks out in my mind that I replaced the boiler 3 years ago and the VXT auto feed clock still reads 000.
I think everyone has there own methods on how to go about cleaning the inside of a boiler. 
I kinda like what the OP is suggesting, connecting a hose to the skim port and flushing from the top down. That way your not pushing mud back in when refilling. 

Every boiler I brake apart has a pile of mud opposite where the return connects. 
There's been a number of times I've been flushing and flushing and the a chunk of mud breaks off and I'm back to square 1 . 
Makes me sick working on a boiler for 5 hours and I feel like I need to be there for 5 more days. 

ethicalpaul

MaxMercy said:

ethicalpaul said:

But if you're putting lots of replacement water in, then yes, all that lost steam must leave behind its solids.

Which begs the question from someone who knows nothing about steam: how much replacement water would a steam system properly designed and operating (average 2000sq foot home for exaple) use per month during the winter?

My small 1-pipe system (200 EDR) uses maybe a quart a month or a little more than that. It went to almost a quart a week when I had a slow drip on a radiator valve. It's that kind of change that you want to keep an eye on.