Help! Why is water spurting out the top of my steam boiler's pipes?

cluelessandlost

Walked down the basement today to see that there's tons of water on the ground and it was spurting out the top of my steam boiler's pipes like a fountain. Is it possible the insulation contractors who came in today might have done something? Or is this just a bad coincidence?

I actually took some pictures of the pipes before today in the process of getting a quote for boiler replacement… On the right side is the after picture, with the pipes circled where the water was spurting out.

If anyone can help, that'd be greatly appreciated. I had to turn the boiler off to stop the water from coming out and now I have no heat.

ethicalpaul

In the "before" pic it looks like this isn't a new behavior…does your system make hammer sounds? Have you noticed while making steam the water level suddenly dropping several inches or even appearing empty in the gauge glass?

It appears to me that your boiler is "surging" where it throws gallons of boiler water into the main pipes. One last question, is that valve in the "after" pic the valve that fills your boiler with water? Is it possible they opened a valve that has flooded your boiler?

cluelessandlost

Yes, I have terrible hammering issues with this system! And unfortunately the gauge glass is so murky it's hard to tell what the water level is. But the hammering got a lot worse when I recently refilled the water because I noticed it seemed low. It's why I accepted a quote yesterday from New England Steamworks for a boiler replacement… I was really hoping this old system could still hold out until then!!!

I took a picture of where the surging pipe is connected to my boiler. The pipe I use to feed water into the boiler is a different, thinner pipe on the left of it.

ethicalpaul

That is one of the finest steam contractors in the country in my opinion so I have to assume they found that the boiler has indeed failed (or perhaps they are going to repipe your current one). Regardless, you will have a fantastic new boiler installation when they are done. The piping of your current boiler is atrocious.

cluelessandlost

No idea if this is good or bad timing but me getting a quote from them is actually completely separate from what happened today to my boiler. So they haven't diagnosed anything officially but even my amateur self can tell there's a lot of issues with my current system. The previous owners must have had either a ton of deferred maintenance or the people they called for annual maintenance simply were not well-versed with steam systems.

Are there any short-term fixes I can do for this issue until the replacement? Nothing has been scheduled yet, but I imagine it wouldn't be anytime soon considering the holidays. Right now I'm considering putting some JB Weld Steelstick on top of the pipe, but I don't know if that might cause more issues? There's hole at the top but I don't know if it's meant to be there or not.

Maybe I just need to lower the heat of the house and put a bucket under it…

Grallert

This is a first for me. A steam boiler piped entirely in copper from what appears to be day one.

You don't want to block those holes, they are important. Those vents are there to let air out and close when they feel steam. They could be completely failed, they sometime do that. You could try and remove them or have someone try and remove them soak them in white vinegar rinse them out. with them on the upright position you should be able to blow through one and inverted you should be blocked.

I sure you will be getting clearer information but it seems to me there are a few things you can do to tame your boiler short of condemning it at this moment. It must have worked to some degree recently.

Boy what a weird system.

EBEBRATT-Ed

The first thing you MUST do is establish where the water line in the boiler is. It's not safe to run a boiler when you don't know where the boiler water level is.

Shut the boiler down and have someone clean the gauge glass and the gauge glass connections and then you will be able to see the water level.

If the vent still leaks after the water level is normal then have the vent fixed.

cluelessandlost

Yeah, this sight glass is a mess! I'm looking to see if I can follow this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR3w4WeqeCc), but there doesn't appear to be a relief valve at the bottom? Is taking the glass out the only way to clean it? I'll be honest I'm a little worried about breaking anything further.

Is this happening because the water is too low or too high?

Jamie Hall

There isn't a good way to clean the sight glass without removing it. You should have a replacement on hand, and replacement o-rings. The glass is dismayingly fragile…

When water starts coming out up high where it shouldn't be it's more likely an overfill problem than too low. What worries us is that without the sight glass you just don't know…

ethicalpaul

given your current level of knowledge, unless you are extremely handy and also risk tolerant you should have them come in and perform a check and service on the whole system then see if replacement is warranted. I have seen a complete copper system work fine so it’s possible.

All the issues you have described so far point to lack of maintenance, not failure of the boiler

Grallert

Something you can do that is very low risk is simply close and then open the top and bottom valves on the sight glass. Sometimes this will dislodge crud in the valves that prevent an accurate reading of water level.

cluelessandlost

I found a local plumbing/heating person to come in today who had some experience with steam, and yeah, I definitely didn't have the equipment or experience to do what he did.

The previous owner of this house got yearly maintenance from their oil delivery company, and I'm pretty sure the quality of service was abysmal. Because the guy I got in today said one of the valves was frozen/stuck and another was just completely blocked when he tried to attach a hose to it. He did end up finding a place to attach the hose to flush the system and he said he'd be shocked if this boiler had been flushed anytime recently considering how long it took to see clear water. Anyway, other than that, he also replaced my sight glass (I can finally see the water level!), lowered the pressure of the system (it was at 3 psi and he put it down lower), and tested all the safety stuff like the low-water cut off. He said that this isn't a long-term fix, since there's so much wrong with my system, but since I'm getting a replacement in a month, hopefully this holds out until then. At least there shouldn't be water coming out of the pipes now.

Thanks to everyone here who replied and helped calm down my anxiety. Cross your fingers this lasts long enough until my replacement!

delcrossv

Make sure that whatever new boiler goes in is piped in strict accordance with the installation manual in black iron pipe. Have that written into the contract.

Have the installer show you the picture from the installation manual so you know what you're getting.

ethicalpaul

They apparently have New England Steamworks coming in so I don't think that will be a problem, but I'm still wondering if the existing boiler has failed or not. It sure looks pretty clean and newish

cluelessandlost

The boiler is ~20 years old. And from the testing done today, it does appear to be functional. The main problem with my system is the piping/venting, the burner is apparently oversized (something about it getting too hot too quickly), and I'm also having some issues with my hot water keeping its temperature.

This is a new home I intend to stay in long-term, so along with everything I hear about the longevity of steam heat, I figure it's not a bad idea to invest in a fresh system properly installed (as well as fixing the rest of the piping + insulating them at a later date).

delcrossv

New England Steam Works will take care of it.