Overfilling a steam boiler

John@Reliable

Jamie, all should be ok, but you might get some banging in the pipes for a day or two. This should go away without problems.Next time you have unit serviced (yearly) have a ball valve added as the fill valve for pos. shut-off. Hope this helps John@Reliable

Jamie

I noticed yesterday that the water level in the sight glass was a little bit below the black line so I asked my husband to let some water in. After going out for a few hours, I noticed that one of the radiators was making some unusual noises. It sounded like it may have been spitting water. I went down to the basement and heard a lot of water that sounded like it was flowing back into the boiler. We only been in the house for a few weeks and I never paid attention to the consendate coming back to the boiler so I assumed that's what it was. I just happened to notice that the sight glass was full! I revisited the water intake valve only to realize that my husband had not turned it off completely. It was not running full force, but was not completely shut. After draining approx. 6 buckets full of water using the shut down mechanism, the level in the sight glass is normal again. My question is, are there any problems that may arise from this even though things seem to be OK right now?

Unknown

you may be OK

Sometimes there is sediment in the old pipes, and when the extra water is drained out, the sedement moves down the pipe with the water. That can be a good thing, except that some usually gets left behind in little piles. It can cause noises, or it can be harmless. The little that you let out slowly may have caused no harm.

Noel