DefineTRICKLE

gehring

Okay. This may steam like a stupid question, but how fast is a "trickle" ?? I've just installed a new steam boiler and both the manufacturer's manual as well as Dan's book talk about adding water so that I get a "trickle" out of the skim tap. So, how fast is a trickle? My boiler capacity is 14.6 gallons so if I get a skim flow going at the rate of 10 seconds per cup it would take approximately 40 minutes to completely renew the boiler water. On the other hand if I slow it down to skim flow at 30 seconds per cup then the same boiler would take approx. 2 hours to completely replensih itself.

When skimming is it better to error on the side of slower? Is it possible to go too slow (or too fast)? Is the goal to completely replenish the entire volume of boiler water once? twice? several times? Dan's book talks about shutting the system down to skim (rather than while running), so could I simply hook up a hose from my skim tap to my drain and let it "trickle" all night while I sleep rather than hang out there watching it??

ALSO, as an obviously related matter, what is the general rule of thumb for the speed at which fresh boiler water may be added when the boiler is running and when it is not? I am always paranoid about cracking the boiler with cold water, but I think I may error on the side of being too tediously slow. How can I tell when I'm at the right speed?

Thanks in advance for your advice. I am a do-it-yourselfer, lawyer, not a contractor, so what may seem like silly questions have actually been a source of concern as I repeatedly skim my new system and still end up with dirty water and wet steam.

Mark Hunt

Are you asking us


what the definition of "is" is?

Sorry! Couldn't resist!

When skimming a boiler you want the stuff that is at the top of the water, think cream.

You're not looking to skim off the entire contents of the boiler, just the top.

I feed the water to maintain a flow of water out of the skim tap. Not gushing mind you, just enough so that the stuff floating on the top will come out.

Mark H

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Mark Eatherton1

A Trickle....

is about the size of a ink pen cartridge. Smaller than the pen itself, yet larger than a pencil lead.

It may be that your "system" is contributing dirt to your boiler. Follow Burnhams recommendations as it pertains to the use of chemcicals, and heed Dans advice. Caustic soda is some MEAN stuff.

Flushing is a SLOW and tedious process. If you as a contractor don't plan on spending 8 quality hours filling, flushing and cleaning the boiler, you'll end up spending 16 hours on your own trying to justify what's going on with the system.

Plan on it, figure it into the job and DO IT!

Been there, done that, don't want to do it for free no more...

Good Luck Counselor!

ME

gehring

The analogy to an ink pen cartridge is excellent. Now I have a visual reference from which to gauge the flow. Thank you.

Now, what about during normal (non-skimming operations) what is the maximum safe speed/flow for adding make-up water to a hot boiler to avoid cracking the cast iron? Should that also be a "trickle" or can I safely go faster?
If, for example, my feed goes through a 1/2 inch gate valve, is one quarter turn open slow enough? Is faster okay? Thanks.

[Deleted User]

You want to maintain

a discharge temperature of around 180 degrees F. This all depends on the input of the boiler. There is an exact formulae, however, I find just throttling the valve until you get a continuous flow of 180+ temperatures on the fluid exiting.

ME