Water leaking from the boiler

scrook_2

You mean 10 to 20 psi? You may have a bad (leaking) pressure relief valve, you may have a bad (leaking) pressure reducing valve (fill valve), you may have a waterlogged (too little air) expansion tank -- a horizontal metal tank between the floor joists over the boiler, you may have bad bladder type expansion tank (leaking bladder) --vertical barrel shaped tank connected it the top w/ an air fitting on the bottom, and you may also have some air in the system, though if water not air comes out of the bleed valve at the tor of the radiators when you open them that would indicate all the air is out of them. In any case you should have it looked at by a service pro.

sam_5

Water leaking from the boiler

Ok ... the water seems to be dripping from the emergency valve switch. I let some water out after I noticed the gauge was up to like 200psi or something like that. So i let it out and now it's at between 100psi and 200psi. At night i hear the radiator in the living room banging. gf doesnt like it and it does scare me as i'm trying to fall asleep. i'm not sure if it's anything to worry about. my friend told me to "bleed" the radiators some more and i did. the water shoots out and he tells me thats because there's air in it. my question is why is there air. shouldnt it be filled with water at all time?

[Deleted User]

first of all

The pressure you are reading seems to be in KPa, not PSI. It does convert to about 30 PSI which is why your relief VALVE is leaking.This could be caused by any number of problems...Waterlogged expansion tank, faulty PRV valve ect.
You should really have a pro check it out.

sam_5

usually how much for someone to come out and check this out? damn noises at night bother me. i'm afraid im going to blow something up.

check this pic out ...

http://www.samsen.org/photos/thumbnails.php?album=2
i know the one in the back is the emergency valve switc. what is the other one above the bucket? it was leaking before but now it's ok. also, the last pic with the gold thing. what the heck is that? it has that little lever on the top that swings from one side to another. it sits between the pipes from the main water pipe to the pipe leading into the boiler

[Deleted User]

I think

The issue here is peace of mind and safety (and a good nights sleep). Look around either on the wall or by local recommendation for someone you feel you can trust and have the problem fixed ASAP.(Before you get yourself in hot water, no pun intended).

Richard D._2

What ever the labor rate is

for your area..A qualified tech is cheaper then the hospital bill if not fixed properly! Good Luck

scrook_2

pictures...

The thing w/ the yellow tag and test lever is the pressure relief valve (which should have a stub of 3/4 copper tube going to within 6" to 12" of the floor but thats not the primary problem). Does this drip? It appears not in the picture.

The red handled valve (below and left of the relief vavle) w/ the hose threads is a drain valve, it looks like it IS dripping. It can be replaced or it can just have a brass hose cap put on it, they do develop drips sometimes.

The gauge to the left and above the drain is the temperature and pressure gauge, pressure may be in psi, and/or altitude (feet of water). Typical pressure for a 2 story house is about 12psi/85kPa (cold)to perhaps 20 psi/140kPa (hot), the relief valve is usually set to open at 30 psi (210 kPa).

The speedometer/odometer like thing is your water meter. very small flows will cause the blue whirlygig to turn, at slightly higher flows you'll see the red needle turn. The water co. will read the odometer portion (perhaps only the black numbers on the white background as it is common to bill in 100 cubic feet increments. A cubic foot is 7.48 US gallons.

The last picture, the angled bronze painted thing w/ a little lever tab on top is the fill pressure reducing valve. It redusced the house water pressure to about 12psi. The lever is to open it to quickly fill the boiler when it is first installed or has been drained for service.

You should have a pro check it out (and tune up the burner & check the combustion in addition to checking the circulation side of the system too while they're there), many of these things are not too expensive to fix, not that you really have a choice.

You don't want the pressure reducing valve leaking fresh water in, nor either the pressure relief or the drain leaking out as you'll be adding minerals and disolved air to the boiler neither of which is desireable. The radiator noises could be many things, including air.