Cleaning steam heat system

DeirdreMacCallan

First, let me say that I am a novice. The system I'm dealing with is my 93 yr old Dad's. It works pretty well but every week or two in heating season, I need to drain muddy water from two pipes near the floor by the furnace and then add water from a pipe above the furnace. The glass tube which shows lets me know I'm not overfilling it, is so muddy that I can't tell anything. The guy who's been keeping the system going for years can clean the glass tube but doesn't feel that cleaning out the source of the sludge is an option. Is there something that can be done to clean out the radiators and the boiler? Or do I just have to keep draining it forever?

ethicalpaul

the more you drain it, the more mud gets created due to corrosion caused by oxygen in the fresh water

So try to minimize draining to once a year, and only drain until clear

If you really want to reduce your corrosion, you can add small amounts of a treatment called 8-way but be aware it will free up a lot of sediment at first and can make your water worse in the short term.

It raises the ph which greatly reduces corrosion of the iron. See my video:

https://youtu.be/Im1ipgVa6Yk?si=a5C08daHzOS6dh00

Captain Who

How much up and down surging are you seeing in the sight glass, or is it so filthy that you can't even tell?

I drain and backflush my boiler and returns once a year and fill with boiled and rebottled distilled water treated with Rectorseal 8-way, to keep my TSS (total suspended solids) down to a reasonable level so I don't get surging and carryover. I use a short length of hose that goes from my utility tub spigot to the boiler drain valve. I have a ball valve on the hose at the boiler end so I can remove the hose to drain without leaking all over the floor.

I put a full port drain valve on the boiler, replacing the one from the factory that hardly flows. Velocity is important when draining and flushing, to get more crud out. My wet return drain valve is still the crummy gate valve one.

I also have a Dahl ball valve at the bottom of my sight glass, with a garden hose to hose barb adapter and a short length of clear vinyl tubing. That helps to blowdown the sight glass occasionally which makes sure you are getting a true reading and it also helps to clean it somewhat.

If I were you I'd do both of these things and see where you are at. Replacing the boiler drain valve is optional but recommended and is best left to someone who feels confident doing so, after the boiler had been drained of course. Cleaning radiators is a lot of work.

This the hose end full flow ball valve that I used but of course they don't seem to carry it anymore:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gilmour-Single-Flex-Connect-Shut-Off-Hose-Adapter-853054-1002/322663402

Jamie Hall

The only thing that needs to be cleaned or flushed more than once a year is the low water cutoff — and that only if it is a float type. Otherwise, once a year is ample.

The radiators don't ever need cleaning. Only steam gets to them — bar mishaps.

That sight glass, though — that needs to be replaced. If it can't be cleaned, replace it. If you can't see your water level you ae really asking for trouble!

leonz

As Br. Jamie said the low water cut off needs to be cleaned every year if it is a float type low water cut off switch, and the sight glass needs to be changed as well.

If you have so much mud in the boiler it needs to be shut down and flushed and wanded clean it to remove the sludge through the mud leg of the boiler.

You need a steam licensed plumber to do this work as your current plumber is not helping you or your father and the boiler may very well need to be brought up to current plumbing code standards.

Please visit the find a plumber page here on the forums main page to locate a plumber in your area that does steam heating service. if you do not see a plumber that does steam service work you should call the local plumbing inspectors office and ask who does steam boiler service work in your immediate area.

DeirdreMacCallan

Thank you for all the responses. I'm a 75 yr old lady who's idea of plumbing is unclogging a toilet, so I won't be doing any of this myself. I can only hope that the guy who has kept the system going so far won't feel that I'm overstepping my role by suggesting these options and quit.

Keith, my boiler guy, cleaned the sight glass, which makes a big difference. I'm going to talk to him about cleaning the boiler.

Leonz, I hope the radiators don't need cleaning but when I over filled the boiler one time and caused the radiators to leak, the water that came out was FILTHY.