Vinegar in Boiler

e. burke

Hi, Great page and group. I read that vinegar should be added and did so. The water in the boiler has turned quite black as a result. At first I thought it was the crud, but now think it might be seals or coating. It's a Weil-Mclain series 3 gold, and I added a pint. Steam quality seemed better, but I'm concerned about the black color of boiler water. Replies greatly appreciated.

George_10

Your trying to get the

scale out of your system. It sounds like you are getting corrosive residue because you have added an acidic to your system. You could tell esily if you just did a pH test. In any event I hope that you have flushed the system.

I would suggest you go to our web site and look at the various water treatments which are avallable. Our web is part of my e-mail address.

eburke

vinegar

In flushing out the system do I open the drain and open the add water valve to. Do I have to shut of the site glass valves, I'm afraid to overfill I will flush out the system, will this amount do any damage?
Ed

George_10

I can not answer the flushing

questions, but I am sure others can. Damage is the result of acidic pH and it would depend on the level you have and the length of time you have had this condition.
Why were you treating your system? Were trying to prevent problems or do you have problems? Look at our web site under hydronics for a good explaination of the preventable problem areas through treatment. Also what kind of a heating system do you have? More info would be very helpful to me and to others. If you would like, you can call us on our 800 number and I can get you expert answers assuming you have the answers to the qestions you would be asked.

eburke

system

I had a new weil mcalain gold 3 series installed. It has two zones one for hot water and the main part of the house for steam. I replaced all the air vents and was getting uneven heating particularly on a long run to a bedroom over the garage. I put a quick vent on and this helped the problem, I also adjusted the air vents on the radiator to vent quickly. Things were better, but my burner would cylce on on and off about every three minutes and off for five, not long enough for the steam to reach the upstairs. I have lowered the pressuretrol to 0.5 and cutoff to 1. I have a Honeywell Chromotherm III which I began to feel might be causing the problem with cycling. I switched the settings from adaptive to convection and this gets rid of the cycling, but the boiler runs longer. It's a one pipe system and the steam radiators are some fin-type and some cast iron, with covers. House was built in 1945. There is some slight hammering, so I was trying to improve the quality of my steam. I know water ph and should have tested it before dumping the vinegar in. I'm a little impulsvie like that. My main concern is that I haven't done too much damage to the system or piping. I flushed out the boiler yesterday, thinking the blackness in the water was crud. I also added a pint of vinegar again, thinking I would help get a better quality of steam. I will flush it out as soon as I get home. I'm just afraid of filling the pipes with water when I flush the boiler. One thing I am considering is venting the mains. I have two vents but they are on the returns opposite each return. I have got a lot of info from the site. Thanks again ed

scrook_2

Vinegar

would reduce the pH slightly as it contains acedic acid, but it is dilute, and acidic acid is a "weak acid" so the effect would likely be small compared to using a "strong acid" say muratic acid (hydrochloric acid) -- not that I'd recommend that either. If the pH was very high then reducing it would reduce foaming, a good thing, but if it was only slightly alkaline (neutral pH=7.0) than it might become acidic, not a good thing.

How was it running before you added it, hows it running now, how old is the boiler, and what other history (if any) do you know about it?
Hot water boiler water tend to have a gray/black tint to it, steam boiler water may look more brown tinted.

You might be best to have a pro look at it, check the pH in the boiler and the pH of the make up water, flush it if needed, look at the system piping/venting etc. and show you how to blow it down, top it off, flush it, and add water treatments should it need it, which it may not; not to mention having it tuned up (that's an oil series 3 gold (W-M SGO), not a gas series 3 (W-M GV) right?) for optimum combustion.

George_10

How much make up

water do you need. If the answer is very little, you could use our 922 product to keep your boiler water in good shape. The 922 has an oxygen scvenger in it as well as scale and corrosion inhibitors. It also helps to control pH. It is safe with the metals found in these systems. All of this is on our web site in greater detail.

Hope I have been of some help, but I do not want to give you bad advice, hence all of the questions. The 922 is used in a ratio of 1 to 20 gals of boiler water. We do ship and we do take orders from end users as well as contractors. Both our cleaner and our treatment product are enviromentally friendly. Enough of a commercial, good luck with your system.