Steam Problem Too Much Water and Hammer

creger.robert

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ethicalpaul

You didn't give much written information, or a question, but I will offer that the piping of that boiler is dramatically, almost comically, bad and even with perfect water quality, it may never perform acceptably.

Most notable to me is the way way way too high hartford loop.

delcrossv

@ethicalpaul A Gifford loop?

bburd

Ditto. Whoever piped that boiler obviously did not follow the manufacturer's minimum piping configuration, size and material standards described in the installation manual.

Piped the way it is, I would be surprised if it did not bang and otherwise perform poorly.

ethicalpaul

No, a Gifford Loop is like 2" above the water line, not two feet

delcrossv

Wonder why Utica drew it that way. Wierd.

bburd

Utica added a note: "Hartford loop from old boiler in wrong location for this boiler". I agree, it's easy to misinterpret.

KC_Jones

I'd add that the piping is woefully inadequate. According to what I see in the manual that boiler is supposed to use both tappings, and both to be 4". I'm looking at a newer version of the boiler you have, but still what I see in those pics isn't anywhere close to that. I'm not even sure if the one riser shown is 4". That piping being undersized will definitely cause it to suck water out and hammer like crazy.

ethicalpaul

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1841061#Comment_1841061

Yeah you can see on the view to the right the hartford loop is at the normal height.

109A_5

Hello creger.robert,

Is the system overfilled ?

How can you tell ?

Is there pipe pitch issues (condensate puddles) where the hammer is coming from ?

This may be a considered a Gifford loop on steroids. Does it hammer here ?

109A_5

If you think your system has too much water in it, maybe the auto feeder is leaking (Red Arrow). Looks like there is two ways to turn off the water feed (The Orange arrows). Make sure the LWCO (Low Water Cut Off) is working correctly. If flooded, drain the boiler water the the proper level. Monitor the water level, although it may be hard to since that sight glass looks really dirty or the boiler's water is really dirty or both.

HeatingHelp.com

@creger.robert, I've merged your duplicate posts into one here to prevent confusion. Thanks.

ethicalpaul

I'm still waiting for Robert to tell us in more detail what he is experiencing and what his question is

creger.robert

pecmsg

From looking at the near boiler piping and water hammer and water. My WAG is the near boiler piping is wrong, wrong, wrong!

neilc

gifford ?

or false water line for previous boiler ?

109A_5

neilc I was thinking of a false water line too, but the wet returns, at least what you can see of them seem plenty low enough. So I going with a Hartford loop from a previous boiler (Snowman type) or just a goofy installer.

Is there a height limit for a Gifford loop ?

The OP's keyboard is broken ?

delcrossv

According to Gifford's paper, at least 1/2" above the LWCO WL.

https://heatinghelp.com/assets/Uploads/HPACGiffordLoop.pdf