Boiler water loss during off season

geemalar · September 24

Woke up to some cooler temps this morning so I decided to turn on the heat this morning. Prior to turning it on I went and checked my water level and I noticed it had dropped about 5 inches in the sight glass from the normal level since sitting unused since about April? I don’t recall that ever happening before, or at least not that much of a drop. I added the water (manual feed only) and ran the system. Everything seemed to work fine.
How concerning is it having dropped that much over the past 6 months?

While on the subject, I had plans to flush the boiler this year as it hasn’t been flushed in quite some time. Should I add any cleaning product to the system in order to help clean out the boiler? Thanks for any assistance………

Steamhead · September 24

There's a leak somewhere. Do any of your return lines run underground?

Jamie Hall · September 24

and the leak has to be in a return or in the boiler itself. Critical question: was the water level below the Hartford Loop?

geemalar · September 25

None of the return lines run underground. The water level was right about at the same level that the Hartford loop returns to the boiler line. The return line is behind the vertical pipe, you can faintly see it in the second picture directly below the 90 degree elbow

mattmia2 · September 25

is the return overhead until it gets to the boiler?

geemalar · September 25

The return starts out about 4 feet high at the opposite corner of my basement. It has a slight downward angle as it works its way back along 2 walls to about 5 feet from the boiler. From there it drops 90 degrees down to about 6 inches off the floor. Proceeds to run back to the Hartford loop line seen in the picture. Turns 90 degrees back up and the makes another 90 degree turn that’s shown in the second picture.

109A_5 · September 25

The water level should have stayed where it was in the Spring, assuming the boiler is not used to also heat DHW (Domestic Hot Water).

It may be a coincidence that the water line stopped at the Hartford loop level. Even so I would inspect (very carefully with adequate lighting) under the boiler, the bottom of the boiler's block and the short wet return for any evidence of leaking, like any disturbed dust where water was dripping or any corrosion on any of the metal parts and piping.

mattmia2 · September 25

it isn't set up warm start, is it?

geemalar · September 25

It does not have a warm start set up.

I did notice as I cleaned up underneath the boiler (cobwebs, dust, etc) that there were some pieces of debris that apparently flaked off the boiler. But there was no evidence of water just the debris in the far RH corner underneath.

Is it time to fill it all the way up to check for any leaks at the top? When I ran it this morning it worked perfectly fine. I did not hear or see any evidence of leaking anywhere.

mattmia2 · September 25

it is never a bad idea to flood it once a year or so to see if it is leaking above the water line but that probably isn't your leak. looking in the combustion chamber might tell you if the boiler is leaking somewhere slowly enough that it is evaporating. the part of the return that is below the water line is more likely

109A_5 · September 25

Depending on what is really going on, once warmed up from use it may not leak. It may only have a slow leak when cold. Since you restored the normal water level, keep an eye on it, especially once it cools down again.

geemalar · October 21

Just bringing this back up…….after a review of the situation, the source of the issue was located.

Jamie Hall · October 21

ugh

geemalar · October 21

I don’t know what’s worse, the rusted out boiler or the pair of gloves the installer left on the top of the body casting underneath the top finishing cover.

Grallert · October 21

rats, that's a drag

Steamhead · October 21

Moment of silence…………….

109A_5 · October 22

" or the pair of gloves the installer left on the top of the body casting underneath the top finishing cover. "

New boiler or the old one? If it was the old one, I'm surprised there is anything left of them. Must not have been on the flue gas side of block.

Sad, other than the leak it does not look that bad.

109A_5 · October 22

If that was mine I'd be taking it apart to find out what actually happened.

geemalar · October 22

Gloves were found on the top of the removed boiler. They were right next to where the flue section connects at the rear of the boiler. I should have held onto them or taken a picture, but the contractor was working at a pace to try and get the new unit installed and operating by the end of the day. I was trying my best to stay out of the way of moving forward.

AFA taking it apart, the scrap collectors showed up at 10am to remove and load up the damaged unit and assist in bringing in the new unit.

109A_5 · October 22

Ok, I get it. It is the way this country is going, everyone is in a such a big panic to get things done the information is lost.

geemalar · October 23

All complete and running, had Ezzy T AND Clammy working together to replace the system. Could not be any more pleased how it all turned out. These two are true professionals in what they do.

Steamhead · October 23

Wow- talk about a ship-in-a-bottle job! @Ron Jr._3 would be proud (you have to have been on here for a long time to get the reference). @EzzyT and @clammy are two of the best.

geemalar · October 23

Definitely a tight squeeze. If you notice the date on the water heater, I just had it replaced as a precautionary measure 2 months ago (the old one was 18 years old). Had I known I would have the old water heater pulled out just before they started the boiler replacement. Ezzy said it wasn’t the best situation but he’s dealt with worse.

I could go on and on about how awesome those 2 guys are……….

Boiler water loss during off season

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