When to let water out of boiler drain. Burnham Gas Steam

Thom18

Hi, I am confused , just had new Burnham steam master max installed in 2 floor townhouse in Brooklyn. Every plumber I have talked to says ' Yea u should open the drain and drain a a gallon or two every week. maintenance, moreso if it comes out brownish to start' But on Page 3 of their manual it states DO NOT CONTINUALLY ADD FRESH WATER YOU WILL SEVERELY DAMAGE BOILER. I understand draining water means replacing water, so what is going on with this? Thanks for any help.

ChrisJ

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/203975/when-to-let-water-out-of-boiler-drain-burnham-gas-steam

DO NOT drain any water, especially weekly.

If it was a float type LWCO, you should be dumping that weekly with the burner on, but I assume this new install has a probe type LWCO. Pictures would help us.

You may want to have the system flushed out every few years but other than that, no, no draining.

Captain Who

Did they follow ALL the installation instructions in the manual or did they take the money and run? They should perform skimming which can take the better part of a day to do and I think it is best to run the boiler for a couple days and then do it.

EdTheHeaterMan

That instruction of draining water weekly comes from an old style LWCO control that requires that procedure. They actually have the necessary valve as part of the control.

Unless you have one of the float type LWCO controls that instruction is not for you. Most new boilers are equipped with a probe type electronic LWCO control. They only require annual maintenance. Do not open any water drain valves during the heating season to let water out of the boiler unless it is required for servicing some other part of the system. You want to keep from adding fresh water on a regular basis.

That water in your boiler is actually equivalent to distilled water after several weeks of operation because it will all have been boiled off at some point to make steam then returned to the boiler as condensed water. That is the process for distilled water, boiling off the water and condensing it back into water. That way all the contaminants are left behind. That is what you don't want in your boiler or float type LWCO so you flush them out.  But the new water added will contain more contaminants.    

So if you don't have a float type LWCO, don’t add new water  every week.  Wait for the entire year of operation then you can flush out any muck that forms inside the boiler from that entire year of operation all at once.  Make sense?

Hope this answers your query.

tcassano87

once a month Max to check your LWCO. What company from Brooklyn said this out of curiosity cause that’s horrible advice. Even if you had an Older style 67, just enough to check proper function, not gallons. Do you have a picture of the install??

mattmia2

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1889913#Comment_1889913

if it is a float type lwco it isn't just to test it, it is also to flush muck out of the float chamber so it doesn't end up binding up so a bit more water than what it takes to shut it down isn't a bad idea.

tcassano87

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1889914#Comment_1889914

No I know but generally you open it 2-3x even four times testing it and you’re getting enough out to accomplish both. Certainly don’t need gallons of water, at least in my opinion. But I’d also be very shocked if he had a 67

4GenPlumber

So, I was talking to a Burnham rep that told me they have a water quality issue that the chlorides stay dissolved and get to a higher concentration because of the location of the flue. Apparently they have a tendency to rot the return nipple so draining the steam max is actually a good idea. Could have been BS but it sounded like logic unless the water was treated.

ethicalpaul

The return nipple mostly sees condensate so I'm not sure how draining the boiler would assist with that. And in any case I would much rather replace a return nipple than a boiler. If I owned it I wouldn't be draining it more than once per year for no more than a gallon.