Best way to clear a clogged wet return?

John Shea

Anyone ever try it WITHOUT draining the boiler/piping?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Unknown

We use a mild liquid cleaner

but you definitely want to drain what the cleaner dredges up and brings back to the boiler . That primordial ooze won't disappear on it's own . Is there a situation on this job that makes draining the boiler a hassle , John ?

John Shea

Yes.

After a previous run in with a different return, I had a real hard time getting the water clean. The owner should own stock in SQUICK, Rust Raider & Vinegar.

I thought if I could free it up mechanically (small snake) I could possibly drain the sludge off the bottom of the boiler (after it settles). Sounds like that's not such a good idea.

It's about 10F here in Detroit, and I don't want to fight to get new feed water to produce dry steam. (this Peerless boiler is very fussy about cleanliness and pH levels)

Maybe I'm trying to cut a corner that should not be cut.

Thanks Ron Jr.

Dan C.

I used my super vee

on the last one and it worked pissah.

Unknown

Ahh , coincidences

We had a run in with a Peerless steamer today . We replaced this one in November , and there was alot of banging and spitting vents . We raised one dry return , added a main vent to another and cleaned the hell out of the system . The old boiler was piped atrocious to begin with , and with limited room we did the best we could .

To clean this one we dumped out all the water in the boiler , added some squick , refilled and let it steam for a while . We kept the valve closed on the return and let the dirty condensate drain into a bucket to flush all the crap . After about 30 gallons we shut that down and skimmed the boiler - another 20 gallons or so . Then we drained the boiler and refilled . Didn't hear a ping through the whole process and the water was crystal clear when we left . Hope it stays that way for a while .

John Shea

Nice work, Ron

I hope you buried that boiler you replaced. It appears older than prostitution.

There's probably no way around draining the system. I've got a good 75' of that wet return that I think is the problem.

Just curious, Is that a return 'manifold' & drip on the left? Pretty cool. Wish I were a fitter.

Thanks again.

Unknown

Yes , we had to build

our own mini-main to reconnect 3 individual rad pipes . There were another 2 - 2 inch mains we had to reconnect also - making it 5 pipes that had to be rejoined . I'm not ashamed to say this job really sucked . This was in a very tiny and short basement with stairs you had to duck under to get down . Thanks alot John and good luck with the returns on your headache .