Sight Glass Leaking

Jamie_10

Hello,

I have a 1-pipe gas fired steam boiler. I'm obsessive about checking the water level and noticed this afternoon that it had dropped significantly. I found the source...the bottom of the sight glass. Very slowly, but conistently, water is coming up through the nut that the glass sits in.

My initial thought is that the nut just may need to be tightened or that there's a gasket in there that may need to be replaced. I'm concerned that if I try to tighten the nut, I'll break the glass. Is this something that I should attempt myself? I really don't want to break the glass and be without the boiler over the weekend. On the other hand, if the chances of me breaking the glass are slim, it may be as easy as tightening the nut. Just looking for advice based on your experiences with sight glasses.

Thanks,
Jamie

Firedragon_4

There's a rubber

gasket (washer) around the glass, if it's dried out (probably) you will now put tension on the glass. If you don't have washers and a new glass and a cutter well........ get the idea????

Steve_75

The sight glass is pretty strong when new - if it hasn't been changed for a while they can get brittle and I have broken many when I have been changing them. There are gaskets at each end under the nut, they look like a hose washer and fit around the glass. Up here in the North East all service men carry a glass tube cutter and washers as the tubes come in 1' lengths and are cut to fit. Most boilers have shut-offs at the glass to make it a real easy and quick job - if you have the cutter. A good hardware store will carry the parts and you may try just replacing the washers if the glass looks OK but there is a fair chance it will break if it is old.

blackoakbob_2

gauge glass.......

I would let it alone until Monday. Add a little water if needed and sit tight for the holiday. You wouldn't want to start the new year with an overtime service call and everyone will have a pleasant, quiet weekend. Then Monday morning you can give it a little tweak and see what happens. To be on the safe side allow the boiler to cool and close the valves on the top and bottom, tighten it a little and re-open the valves and check. If the glass is more than a few years old pick one up and new gaskets and replace it for some peace of mind and Happy New Year.

Jamie_10

Oops...

I went and tried to tighten the nut before reading your posts. The plumber just left a few minutes ago. I'm not sure if the glass was broken to begin with, or if I should take credit, but ultimately that's how things ended up. That said, I now have brand new glass. Lesson learned...wait until Monday next time. Thanks again for the advice. This forum is priceless...

Weezbo

Well, Welcome to the club!*~/:)

look at it this way, if you werent doing something wrong once in a while you probably wouldnt get much done .:)Habby New Year.