Vxt@25 fills 3-4 times a day

Hyrdonic_Nut88

Hey my hydronic friends I do not do much steam but I can’t pass up a chance to learn 

I got a call for a 2008 burnham

sfeam boiler that needed some cleaning. To be honest steam does not exist where Iive. The vxt fills 3-4 times a day very quick but it’s a bad sign. It hits lwco then fills. The piping is probably 100 years old and I want to clean her up. I’m replacing the sight glass which looks pretty gold low water but no oil. Should I be crawling looking for a wet return leak or steam from

the chimney. I know Something is up as the boiler shuts down on Lwco. Im going to get all of dans books but for now does any have any recommendations for a beginner steam guy ? We’re I live I can’t even ask for help no on knows and im a relative youngster any ideas or troubleshooting would be so appreciated 

Thanks

n

btw I am qualified just don’t do steam im

a master plumber refrigeration service tech epa cert, oil lic and gas fitter I just don’t know to much bout steam And I want to change that

KC_Jones

I wouldn’t put a penny or minute into that boiler until the leak is found. If the leak is the boiler all work and money put into it is a waste.

It shouldn’t need topped off more than once a month.

Fill the boiler up to the header and let it set for a few, if it has a hole you’ll see a puddle on the floor, if you do, it’s time to replace. If you don’t, start hunting for leaks. Underground returns are suspect, other than that look for puddles or places it could leak and go into cracks in the floor and not be obvious.

STEAM DOCTOR

Almost certainly a boiler leak

Hyrdonic_Nut88

Thanks guys house is 160 years old so it ain’t easy also on the pressure gauge would yall pig tail it? I’m sure it’s broke but it reads like 30psi makes no sense 

Jamie Hall

That pressure gauge is useless. You should add (not replace) another gauge -- say 0 to 5 psi -- on the boiler. There's likely to be a place you can attach it. And yes, it should have a pigtail.

The age of the house is irrlelvant -- the one Cedric is in here is getting on for 250 years now. Just makes things more interesting sometimes.

STEAM DOCTOR

Start from the beginning. Have you confirmed whether or not the boiler is leaking?

Hyrdonic_Nut88

I haven’t I’m going to look for steam up the chimney, take the vent down and look for cracks in the boiler. I plan on overfilling the boiler to the header is full and look for leaks. I plan on checking radiator valves to ensure they are not leaking. Then I guess follow the returns I don’t think I have a steam leak but I’ll look. The problem is Getting to the returns to look for the leaks. I mean some of the crawls are so tight I have no idea how to get in? Digging would not be cost effective 

there is no reason this boiler should be shutting dow  off on lwco a couple times a day and filling this often finding the leak is going to be hard. 

Hyrdonic_Nut88

Another thing is my condensate lines are cool to the touch. Shouldn’t they be warm I mean it’s 200 degree water going back. How long does it take for it to heat up as I may try to use this to find my leak find the warm pipes 

Jamie Hall

Hyrdonic_Nut88 said:

Another thing is my condensate lines are cool to the touch. Shouldn’t they be warm I mean it’s 200 degree water going back. How long does it take for it to heat up as I may try to use this to find my leak find the warm pipes 

That depends a lot on how long the wet returns are and the environment they are in. There is remarkably little heat in condensate flow, and the wet returns are usually cool within say 10 feet or so. That is, to the touch. An infrared camera will show the actual temperature gradient in the pipe, and that could be useful.

Hyrdonic_Nut88

Well found a leak In a pipe but there has to be more as the lwco goes off almost every cycle this boiler is sketching me out. I know the 30 psi gauge sucks but it still scares me. This boiler was so plugged it was incredible. Im getting water back at the Hartford loop as there’s a drain at the lowest point so that’s good. 

Pressuretrol I set to 1/2 psi with a 1 inch differential before it was set to 2 psi with a 1 inch differential it’s a Honeywell 

this boiler in 16 years has used 732 gallons of water according to the VLT

it also has a leak on the sight glass- it’s a Burnham independence do I have to get the valves with the extension or can I use the universal one? 

Again thanks to everyone who took the time to help a fellow tradesmen out !

EBEBRATT-Ed

The boiler is full of muck because of all the MU water that is being added.