No water in the boiler

georgearoush

My steam boiler was turned on about three weeks ago, and I check it weekly to make sure it’s working properly. Today, my tenant mentioned that their apartment felt cold. When I inspected the boiler, I found that it had no water at all. I refilled it, but it still won’t start.

My questions are:

1. How and why did the water run out?
2. Why won’t it start after being refilled to the water line?

For context, when I refilled it, I also drained the boiler. The drained water was very dirty and filled with sediment at first. After draining about three buckets, the water started running clear.

I’m not sure exactly when it stopped working, but since I check it every Saturday and it was working a week ago, it must have stopped sometime in the past few days.

leonz

Speaking as a novice here:

Is there a manual reset on your low water cut off switch that you are not aware of?

Is your heating system a one pipe system or two pipe system?

Your boiler may very well have a hole in the steam chest.

Its best to call a steam licensed plumber to look at your boiler as you should not run it.

Jamie Hall

If you managed to lose enough water to cause the boiler to shut down in a week — the question isn't how and why, the question is where. You have a very significant leak somewhere. It might be in the boiler on the steam side, it might be below the boiler water line, or it might be in a wet return. A broken steam line is unlikely, but it has happened.

But there's a big leak.

Don't try to run the boiler until you find it.

As to why it might not run now, @leonz may have hit it: you may have a low water cutoff with a manual reset. Which is probably a good thing, as it may have prevented you from running the boiler dry, which never good and can be catastrophic.

georgearoush

I don't think there is a leak. Yesterday, I didn't see any water around the boiler even after refilling it, and none of the tenants have reported any leaks or signs of steam escaping (I asked).

Even if there were a leak, wouldn't the auto water feeder kick in? And wouldn't the low-water cutoff prevent the boiler from running completely dry, leaving at least some water inside? Also, why isn’t the boiler starting now that I have refilled it?

I will call my plumber on Monday, but I am trying to make sense of caused this issue.

georgearoush

I forgot to mention. I am not sure if my boiler has a manual reset. I will check and see if it does. Maybe that's what preventing it from starting after filling it with water.

pecmsg

I don't think there is a leak.

You had NO water.

a) There is a leak

b) Someone drained the boiler

Jamie Hall

Sorry, but you have a leak. Water doesn't just disappear like magic. If, however, you don't see any puddles around, it may be a leak in the boiler above the water line, and the water is escaping as steam up the chimney.

I Can't tell you why the autofeeder didn't try to keep up — assuming you have one and its valves are open.

I hope your plumber is a competent HVAC person, well versed in steam heat. Not all of them are…

EBEBRATT-Ed

Check to see if the circuit breaker or fuses to the boiler in the electrical panel is good.

Mad Dog_2

Before you do damage, get a Steam.Pro in there. Please 🙏 Mad Dog

mattmia2

if you have buried wet returns or returns you otherwise can't see, they could be leaking so the water goes out as steam but not all of it comes back.

leonz

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1869290#Comment_1869290

Do you have a one pipe system or a two pipe system???

Is the boiler a top fired boiler?

Is the boiler a cast iron boiler with multiple sections or a steel plate boiler?

Is your Low Water Cut Off Switch part of the automatic water feeders control system?

If you had a quick massive loss of boiler water your Low Water Cut Off Switch would not restart.

Is your steam boiler set on a dirt floor but on blocks like most coal fired steam boilers were??

You could have a crack under the steam chest in a corner weld or along a lower seam weld or a leaking cast iron section and not see it if there is a dirt floor under the boiler.

Is there any rust at the flue breech?

I probably forgot something here but keep looking please as you should not run this steam boiler at all.

georgearoush

Everyone, thank you all for your input. It is greatly appreciated.

I met with my plumber this morning and we resolved the boiler issue. The blocked vent sensor had tripped. After resetting it, the boiler started working again. My plumber mentioned that this can happen during periods of high wind, and we did have strong winds in my area last week.

As for the lack of water in the boiler, he wasn't certain what caused it. However, now that the boiler is running, we tested the low-water sensor and confirmed that the auto-feeder is working properly. To be safe, he also cleaned the float in the water level sensor.

We inspected the system for leaks and didn't find any. There was no white smoke or excessive venting. I will continue to monitor the system, but if anyone has additional suggestions, aside from checking for excessive steam or white smoke from the chimney, please let me know.

A bit of background on the boiler: it is a Slant/Fin GXH-125EDPZT one-pipe system, installed in the basement (obiousely). The area around the boiler is clean, spacious, and well maintained.

mattmia2

flood it and see if water leaks out somewhere or the level drops