Water level fluctuation

marty_4

Burnham steam boiler w/ two tappings, appears to be set up correctly, but:

When making steam, water level rises substantially (2 - 3 inches above "off" level) and right after shut off for high pressure, level drops substantially ( to 2 - 3 inches below "off" level; yup, that's 4 to 6 inches total ). As a result, I think the boiler is getting overfilled, and at it's peak the water goes up to the top of the glass, and I'm getting wet steam.

It almost seems as if there's some vacuum being created after the burner kicks out at high pressure, and the water is being "sucked" out of the boiler.

Any ideas?

Vito_3

LEAKY STEAM VENT

One of my steam radiators is leaking a lot of water after a long heating cycle. In fact if I remove the vent a great deal of water is ejected under pressure. I have had a great deal of problems with this radiator before. Any ideas?

Thanks

Steamhead

That sounds like a dirty water problem

Try flushing and skimming the boiler. Dirty water, or oil sitting on top of the water, will interfere with proper steaming and cause zooming water levels. This is really a job for a pro- you can locate one on the Find a Professional page of this site.

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Steamhead

First thing to check

is whether the steam supply valve (and the valve on the return if this is a 2-pipe air-vent system) is all the way open. If not, open it all the way. Then check to see if the radiator is off-level. It should be level, or pitched slightly toward the steam connection if it's a one-pipe radiator.

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marty_4

re: dirty water problem

That was my first thought, but the boiler was skimmed and then chemically treated. Same problem.

Steamhead

\"Chemically treated\"

might just be the problem. Sometimes chemicals make the situation worse. Or, more dirt could have washed into the boiler from out in the system. Did the contractor flush out the return lines?

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marty_4

return lines

As far as I know, they didn't flush the returns, but I'm not sure. (I'm also not sure what/how you flush the retuns; are we talking about the returns for the whole system? (as opposed to "near boiler piping" only?)).

PS another contractor thought it was that the header was undersized, but that doesn't make sense to me. Could that be it?

Steamhead

Flushing returns

we're talking about "wet" returns here, those that run below the boiler's water line. I like to hook up a hose to the main vent opening and let the water run down the drip line, thru the return and out.

Burnham's web site has installation manuals on it, these include piping diagrams. Download a copy to compare the diagarm to what was installed.

www.burnham.com

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marty_4

wet returns

Just so you know, there's about 200 feet of wet returns.

chuck_6

How often to clean dirty water

Steamhead:
How often should the water be cleaned from a boiler to avoid "dirty waterr"? Is once a week enough or too much?