Help! I added too much fresh water.

Brad White_9

Dang, Angela, that is a story to pass down the generations.... :)

Water is clean, what's not to like? The flooding did not just take the radiators first in line but rather sought it's own level. All radiators were flooded at a given level. You probably needed new vents anyway.

Your boiler survived WWI, the 1918 Influenza, the Great Depression, WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam, 9/11 and even Jimmy Carter. A little water ought not hurt.

Cheers!

Brad

Angela_2

Help! I added too much fresh water.

Hi,

I was really stupid and walked away from the boiler when I was doing a manual feed. I forgot what I was doing and filled the thing with cold water so high that it leaked out of my radiator valves. It was off when this happened (summer) and it has since been drained to the correct water level, but I'm really freaked out about this because now I've got all that fresh water in the thing and it's a 1911 cast iron boiler. Is there something I could add to the water to counteract all the oxygen before I fire it up for the season?

Brad White_9

Angela

How long was it left running like that? An hour or so and you found it?

I take it you have a steam system, is that correct?

I would not worry- granted, I do not have a crystal ball, but the system is essentially wetted with every firing. And every time she fires then rests, air comes back in to replace the condensed steam. Waves upon the shore. Oxygen happens.

If the system saw street pressure and did not leak, that is a good thing, a hydrostatic test. My guess is the relief valve popped (a good thing). You may elect to replace your air vents should they have been damaged. That is about all I can see. Others have far more hands-on experience and I am sure will add to, concur or refute this if need be.

Otherwise, at worst you gave your system a, uh, how shall I delicately say this? A good terminal flushing.

If the water is clear and clean, I would think you are good to go.

Angela_2

Too much fresh water

Hi Brad,

Thanks for the 'aw, it'll be alright.' Yep, it's steam, and I'd say I walked away from it for 15-20 minutes. Went outside, came back in to find a large, clean puddle of water in the middle of the kitchen floor-- that was my tip off. All that water had come out of the kitchen's radiator vent. Then I went into the foyer to find wanter dripping from the light fixture (another radiator on the second floor was making a similar puddle up there, but the leaky wood floor wasn't holding that puddle in place very well ).

Think these two radiators are first in line? I checked all the radiators, and except for these two, there was just a drop of water on the floor under each air vent (even on the third floor).

I definitely raised the water line many feet with this missive. The funniest thing: I had an appraiser on the way to the house and discovered this just 10 minutes before the appointment. I couldn't believe it! I did manage to get it cleaned up just before he arrived. Lots of garbage pails of hot clean water came gushing out of the flush with amazing force, and I just kept hauling them over to the sink to dump until FINALLY the water line appeared in the guage glass.

This was about 2 weeks ago, and I still haven't fired the boiler for the first time this season (today's the day-- I've got a big oil delivery coming-- Whoo hoo). I have opened the flush though-- and still no rusty black crud has formed at the bottom. Yeah, this water is still clean even after weeks of sitting.

The books keep saying that's a really bad thing! I was thinking what you were thinking though-- that my one pipe system gets wet with condensate anyway. This time it got really wet. I hate that I've just brought in all this fresh corrosive stuff-- this is a very old cast-iron boiler (1911) and I didn't do it any favors.

Angela