problem with low water level.

Howard Garrett

I am a homeowner who recently had a Burnham steam heat system installed by a local contractor. It replaced a 7 year old previous system that had rusted out. The previous unit had an automatic water feeder that I recall often fed water into the system. Probably that was the cause of the rusting of the boiler. I now manually fill the system until the glass tube is about 50% full. When I do this the boiler operates properly, but within a day or 2 I have to manually fill the glass tube again until it is 50% full again. I've been told by the engineer at the factory I should not put water into the boiler much more than once a month or I will again rust out the system in a relatively short time.
The installer has checked the return pipes in the cellar and can find no leaks anywhere to cause this water loss. He also replaced 3 vents on 3 of lthe 10 radiators we have, but still the water in the tube goes from 1/2 full to about 1/3rd full every day or two. Are there any suggestions of posible causes of this leak I must have. I don't see any signs of water leaks anywhere in the house.
Thanks for any suggestions.
Howard Garrett

gehring_3

Water loss

I am responding as a fellow homeowner/DYIer who has had such problems before...Make sure all of your radiator valves are 100% open. Sometimes, if they are halfway in between, the steam can get in, but the condensate cannot get back out so over time your radiator will fill with the water that should have gone back to the boiler. This can also happen if the valve appears to be open, but is actually broken off inside in a partially closed position. Also, when the system is making steam go around looking for any fine, misting steam leaks coming from any radiator valves (around the packing) or any fittings, elbows, etc in the basement. If you are loosing steam this way it will sometimes dissipate into the air without ever leaving a real obvious puddle of water. Also, when the boiler was replaced were the wet returns cleanned out or replaced as well? Perhaps water is backing up into them due to corrosion and blockage.

Unknown

Howard

The proper level to fill the boiler to would be the 2/3 to 3/4 level of the gauge glass. This should be done when the system is off and all condensate has returned to the boiler. As far as the source of the loss of water in the system, I would suggest the following.

Most if not all steam systems are old systems. There are many sources of very small steam leaks that can add up to quite a bit of water loss. These could be valve packings at the radiators, air vents on the radiators and mains as well as pipes and fittings. Generally the only things that are checked are the pipes and fittings for visible leakage. Steam leaking out of a radiator valve packing or air vent into a warm room will probably not be visible. Some ways of making it visible would involve holding tissue paper, a cold water bottle or a cold mirror above the possible source. Leaking steam will show up as condensation on the paper, bottle or mirror. As the factory tech stated, frequent water addition is generally not needed in a properly operating system and over prolonged periods of time can prove harmful. Hope this helps.

Glenn Stanton

Manager of Training

Burnham Hydronics