Summer draining

stevenknaub

If I am not using my one pipe steam boiler six months or more each year, would it be beneficial to open all drains, boiler, and return lines, remove all radiator vents, and leave everything open to the atmosphere until heat is needed in the fall?
I read something similar on this site when a certain author named Clark I think was mentioned.
Could the drained water be covered and reused?

ChrisJ

stevenknaub said:

If I am not using my one pipe steam boiler six months or more each year, would it be beneficial to open all drains, boiler, and return lines, remove all radiator vents, and leave everything open to the atmosphere until heat is needed in the fall?
I read something similar on this site when a certain author named Clark I think was mentioned.
Could the drained water be covered and reused?

All of the vents are open when the system is off. There's no reason to touch them.

I wouldn't drain the boiler.
I try to overfill mine about an inch on the gauge glass at the end of the heating season so I'm sure all of the fresh water is boiled before shutting down.

random12345

Not a pro, just homeowner. Agree with the above. Boil first, then fill. Overfill, then boil. Read your boiler's manual if available. It will likely tell you to do the same thing. From what I gather corrosion occurs primarily at the waterline. I have a steam boiler, here's what it says in my manual, page 48:

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/catsy.782/MegaSteam+IO+Manual.pdf

jhewings

I think ChrisJ is advising overfill a little, then boil to get rid of the oxygen. This is similar to what I have read here before. I don't understand the MegaSteam advice, because then oxygenated water is sitting in the boiler all summer.