Steam boiler water

leaking

I have a 10 year old WeilMclain steam LbG 6/23 about 600,000 btu boiler in Chicago . Water is not real hard no softener is needed to shower . Should I filter or treat water ? Weil Mc Lain said no to adding chemicals. I have two tankless Takagi ng tankless that I use their Delime filter , I believe it’s a mineral that alkalines water . I do flush boiler off brown water every few days so a flush clean is never much of a deal . Is any treatment Going to help boiler life ? Or anything?

ethicalpaul

I don’t think you need a filter but stop your weekly draining. Did WM suggest that too?

Draining requires refilling, and refilling causes brown water, which is rust, so you are hastening the death of your boiler.

To prolong the life of your boiler I would normally say that the ph of your water should be increased to 10 or so. That dramatically reduces corrosion, see my short video here

But WM is a special case because for some reason (possibly due to their use of elastomer gaskets in their boilers) they advise a maximum ph of 8.5

How they think anyone can accurately measure .5 of a ph is beyond me.

I suspect that their ph warning is bunk but that’s for every individual to decide.

Big Ed_4

Your best off not adding fresh water to the system . Spend your time and money on fixing the leaks . Brown water tells me you have steam leaks … In theory and with a perfect system you only have to fill the system once .. I never seen one yet ,but you can get it down to a few gallons a year .

delcrossv

Just add some 8way at 1/4 the dose on the bottle.

Stop draining. You're doing more harm than good.

Track down and fix your steam leaks.

leaking

draining is bad ? I only drain maybe 1-3 gallons . Yes if files , auto fill about every cycle maybe 5 seconds. Fix steam leaks ? Like air vents ? I have 50 radiators, I thought this was normal ! How does removing - mud 1-3 gallons a day or week and auto fill ruin a boiler ? How does do I find Leaks? If the leak is only really noticed at the building pressure of a cycle . That means being in each apartment at that one point in a cycle ? Correct ? That’s difficult to just walk into a tenants apartment when the cycle starts . It’s like something that could take a month of bs. Not fun. My installer , well respected Chicago boiler co said draining like this was good it kept boiler clean. It is clean . The yearly flush gets almost nothing . Weekly every two weeks draining maybe 3-5 gallons it’s black , then it settles and builds. It’s a 90 year old place . Gorton vents , all different numbers .

delcrossv

If the auto fill is running every cycle you have a serious leak issue.

And yes, you have to check every radiator. Welcome to the joys of being a landlord.

leaking

ok. Vents can not close . We repacked radiator valves years ago . water under valve ok. What else to look for ? . Why is draining 2 gallon a day bad ? Why is new water bad ?

delcrossv

New water has dissolved oxygen in it. That dissolved oxygen is rusting your boiler. That's why you want to minimize makeup water as much as possible.

What you're doing is draining off deoxygenated water and adding new oxygenated water.

ethicalpaul

draining is bad ?

yes

I only drain maybe 1-3 gallons .

Don't do that

Yes if files , auto fill about every cycle maybe 5 seconds. Fix steam leaks ? Like air vents ? I have 50 radiators, I thought this was normal !

Normal does not mean good. Leaks are bad.

How does removing - mud 1-3 gallons a day or week and auto fill ruin a boiler ?

That mud is your boiler rusting away

How does do I find Leaks? If the leak is only really noticed at the building pressure of a cycle . That means being in each apartment at that one point in a cycle ? Correct ? That’s difficult to just walk into a tenants apartment when the cycle starts . It’s like something that could take a month of bs. Not fun.

The easiest way is to check them during a long call for heat where the radiators are completely full of steam and the vent should be shut. If it's letting out steam or water, you have to replace it. If the valves are dripping, you have to fix or replace them.

My installer , well respected Chicago boiler co said draining like this was good it kept boiler clean. It is clean .

He's not respected by me. His advice is rotting your boiler out. Good for him maybe, not good for you.

The yearly flush gets almost nothing . Weekly every two weeks draining maybe 3-5 gallons it’s black , then it settles and builds. It’s a 90 year old place . Gorton vents , all different numbers . 

I don't know what you mean by this

EBEBRATT-Ed

Once you spray foam all the pipes you will make it harder to find the leaks. Leaks can develop anywhere but it is mor likely to lose water or steam (same thing) from vents and around radiator valves. Running the boiler pressure too high makes any leaks worse.

leaking

Oxygen boils off ! I’ve been told in a few minutes ! Pipes rust ! I don’t agree I’m killing the boiler with 50 radiators . The Kewanee was 50+ no leaks , black water for 5 seconds , the same . Repacking valves helped a lot . I take out hissing vents . I look for leaks at valve area , no pipe leaks . I’ll call Weil Mc Lain. I don’t believe I’m killing my boiler . Merry Christmas 🎉🍺🍺🥃🥃🍷🍷🧑🏻‍🎄🧑🏻‍🎄🎉🥃

SuperTech

Sorry but you are very much hastening the failure of your boiler when you keep adding fresh water full of dissolved oxygen. This is a well known established fact that any intelligent individual in the heating trades has known for a very long time.

Whatever you do, please don't move forward with your ill advised spray foam idea until you find and repair the leaks in your system. You will be kicking yourself later when the boiler fails and the source of leakage was never found.

Merry Christmas and good luck with everything.

RTW

Maybe its a good idea for the OP to read a few of Dan Holohan's books. Sadly, it seems OP always pushes back against good, sound advice in this thread ( and another one on foam ) P.S. Lay off whatever it is that clouds one's judgment on obvious expert opinions with good intentions trying to help

LINK to books:

Amazon.com : dan holohan books

Regards,

RTW