High heat bill follows flooding of steam system

Michael DiClerico

Can someone give me some advice? I am a carpenter with little to no knowledge of heating systems. 3 weeks ago my mother-in-laws pipe froze in her bathroom. In fixing that problem I created a bigger problem. When I turned the water back on in the house I accidentally opened the water feed to the boiler, flooding the system to the point where water was pouring out of the first floor radiators (dumb I know!). I drained of a lot of water and got the system running. My father-in-law then had to check the level up to three times a day (he used to check every two weeks)usually needing to drain off more water. Since then the heating is very erratic and the fuel bills have increased by 35%. I have talked to a few peole and purchased "The lost art of steam heating". This led me to leveling off the radiators to make sure any excess water was getting out of the radiators. I would like to take a shot at fixing the problem myself (I created it and don't want to hire someone, yet anyway). I realize now the complex simplicity of these systems and would appreciate if someone could point me to the most likely cause and cure of my problem. One note: my father-in-law says the water gauge surges.
Thanks to any and all who respond.

Steamhead

You probably

loosened a lot of dirt which washed down into the returns. This causes the water to return slowly and the boiler to run low on water, which the feeder has to make up. When the water finally returns, the boiler floods.

The only way out of this one is to flush the system from top to bottom under pressure from a hose. Be prepared for a lot of dirt.

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Unknown

Also

check the pitch of the steam mains and pipes in the basement. The weight of these pipes with water in them is tremendously greater than that of pipes with steam or air. Check for loose or broken hangers or straps. If there are sags, they will now be filled with water. Hope this helps.

Glenn

Michael DiClerico

How do I actually flush the return? Where do I put the hose and I assume I don't want to fill the boiler with the dirt so where do I let it out? As I recall there are three valves, one is in the wet return, one is at the bottom back of the boiler and one is on the side of the boiler below the feed line. Thanks again for the advice.

Michael DiClerico

Thanks, I'll be sure to check.

[Deleted User]

this may be worth reading

http://www.heatinghelp.com/newsletter.cfm?Id=117

Michael DiClerico

Thanks, I appreciate the insight.