How much water should a steam system lose in a week's time?

John S.

A steam system should really lose no water. Especially in a week. The only natural water loss in a system with no leaks would be by evaporation. How much is lost due to evaporation should not be significant.

How much water are you losing?

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JIM_100

WATER LOSS

HOW MUCH WATER SHOULD A STEAM SYSTEM LOSE IN A WEEKS TIME?
WHATS ACCEPTABLE?

JIM_100

WATER LOSS

THANKS FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTION.WE INSTALLED A WATER FEEDER WITH A COUNTER AND IN ONE NIGHT IT ADDED 5 GALLONS OF WATER.WE HAVE CHECKED FOR LEAKS BUT CANT FIND ANY.THERE ARE RETURNS GOING INTO THE CONCRETE FLOOR.I ASSUME THIS IS WHERE THE PROBLEM LIES.AGAIN THANKS

Fred Harwood_2

Water feed

If it added 5 gallons once, that may not be a problem. If it added 5 gallons a day, that may be a problem, depending upon the size of your system, and what else gets its steam from your system. If a home system, a gallon or so a month might be normal, again depending upon the number of vents, the vapor tightness of the system, etc.

Brad White_9

5 gallons

is more than internal evaporation; that is over 40 lbs. of water lost to vapor. Your windows would be pretty foggy right now. How old is the boiler? Might you have a waterline leak which evaporates to the chimney?

You may be correct that the buried returns are the issue. You can pressure test them but in reality, nothing lasts forever when buried except ancient Egyptian royalty.

I would plan on installing new parallel mains above grade soon anyway.

Dan C.

thats usually where the leak is

if you can't find one. Either that or going out the chimney

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Edward A. (Ed) Carey_3

Check the boiler first

Jim,

You may very well have a leak in the returns below ground, or your may have more than one leak in the system.

You need to cut the haystack in half before you look for the needle.

Have your boiler opened so the casting can be inspected from the fireside of the flu passages. That is fairly inexpensive and quick.

You can then be sure if your boiler is sound, or if there is a hole or crack above the water level.

If there is a point of failure above the water line your boiler will have to be replaced. That would be the most cost effective time to test and potentially replace your underground returns.

If the boiler is found to be sound, all you have paid for is a thorough annual cleaning & service of your boiler. You then can be relatively sure that the underground pipes are the culprit. You can plan on replacing them with the knowledge that the boiler will be there for a while.

BTW, if this is a one pipe steam system, be sure that all of your vents are working properly. If even one is stuck open it can have a real adverse affect on the entire system.


Good Luck,

Ed Carey

Patrick Linhardt, \"Linhardt's Field Guide to Ste

water back

Hi Jim,

There is a lot of good advise here, like check for leaks above the water line, then assume the problem is in the underground lines. Five gallons on a regular basis is a Major problem. All the water from condensing steam needs to be returned back to the boiler. You need to start looking for this leak, and the boiler would be the first place. If the boiler is sound or not, the underground lines need to be inspected. The floor is hiding pipe that needs to be replaced at some point. How old is it? If its original, it is probably time. Has a heating professional taken a look at this?

After inspection/replacement of the pipes, try a non-permanent re-covering. Metal plate or paver blocks will make the next inspection much easier.

Best regards, Pat