Best way to get smell out of new steam system

Ron Jr._3

Been back to a steam install with a customer that has a VERY sensitive sense of smell. Gotta admit , I smelled that oily , dank scent of a new steamer too when I arrived. 

Drained the boiler , added 8-Way treatment , skimmed about 20 gallons and purged the returns for about 2 hours and another 20 gallons. After that I skimmed again and it smelled like all the oil and gunk were gone. 

Customer called the next day. Same complaint. 

Wondering if anyone has a go-to steam cleaner or tips for these pesky smelly jobs. 

Thanks in advance. 

Big Ed_4

Next time prevent oil from getting in . Take a five gallon bucket grab some laundry detergent and water and leave it by the vise . After you cut and thread the pipe clean off the cutting oil .

Right now you have to put in the time and skim it out ..

kcopp

Lemon juice?

clammy

Have you wiped down the outside of the piping to remove exterior oils ,spray nine or zeb degreaser usually does a good job . If it’s coming out of the air vents then maybe dump the water and wand the boiler out from the bottom and drain then flush fill and fire and skim . If I’m doing a fair amount of cutting on longer pipes I ll set up a spray foamier and foam them w dawn and then rise out W water works like a charm , other wise a bucket w a gallon of vinegar gets the oil right off or brake cleaner . Peace and good luck clammy

Ron Jr._3

These were pre-cut nips . The boiler block itself was the source of most of the oils. 

Like I said , I put in the time (3+ hours) to skim the top of the water line and purge the returns and thought the smell was all gone. I don't cut and run from any steamer. If I thought oils were still in there , I woulda doubled the time if need be. 

I'm thinking another steam cleaner product other than 8-Way. Which I like because it's a liquid. 

neilc

that oil smell is distributed thru the system and rads,
you'll have to go back and repeat that full skim and returns dump a time or 2,

nicholas bonham-carter

If the main vents are too small, then most of the air will escape through the radiator vents upstairs.—NBC

ethicalpaul

After checking the main venting as mentioned by @nicholas bonham-carter above, I would try:

 adding TSP or similar cleaner. Let it boil awhile (remove the main vent so you don’t send smells to the living space) with a higher water line (but beware too much carryover) and then skim it until water runs cool, then drain it dry then fill it and put in 1/3 the instructed dose of 8-way and come back in a week to repeat.

do some customer management. Tell them you will be reducing the smell some, then some more after you come back in a week, then after that the rest has to dissipate itself, like a new car smell, it has to finish clearing over time. But you hopefully greatly reduced the smell in those two visits.

Ron Jr._3

Thanks for the input. I was assuming you want the vents open fully to run the cleaner all the way through every pipe and radiator . I was even tempted to get the water extremely hot and fill the entire system with water to the lowest rad with that hot water . Just to try to work the oil smell out more. But that's crop up another set of headaches 😉

nicholas bonham-carter

If you overfill the system, then the oils will rise to the top of the water.
Best to use 8-way cleaner, or Arm&Hammer washing soda, and then simmer for a couple of hours, followed by a very slow skim, (burner off), until the water runs cold.
It may need several sessions of this.—NBC

Ron Jr._3

nicholas bonham-carter said:

If you overfill the system, then the oils will rise to the top of the water. Best to use 8-way cleaner, or Arm&Hammer washing soda, and then simmer for a couple of hours, followed by a very slow skim, (burner off), until the water runs cold. It may need several sessions of this.—NBC

Thanks. I used 8-Way already. I remember using a brand that produced a semi sweet smell from the vents. Forget which it was . Going to follow up tomorrow to see if someone else was there to purge and skim and ask about results .