tips for keeping your steam boiler in top notch shape?

clammy

I feel that at least every 2to 3 year max on residental steam boilers the plug on the water side of the boiler should be removed and the section passes brushed and hosed out and re assembled and fill with water heated and skimmed .If you have a homemade bottle cleaner you can spray up ward into the steam chest to wash some mud and sediment out of the boiler .All that mud and debris acts as insulation and can cause longer run times to produce steam .The drain water from the boiler drain does not do it all it may drain some sediment but your better off with a ball valve and a hose adapter easier to brush when clogged with sediment .peace clammy

Joe_39

how abouts some tips from some pros

on keeping your steam boiler in top notch shape??

ex: flushing LWCO 1 time a week
ex: flushing boiler from lowest draincock at beginning of season till she runs clean

will doing that keep your boiler sections from plugging up down the road?

any other tips?

Josh M.

Open the bottom blow alot more often than that. I would suggest once a week during a light load for a residential. In the industrial world we do it virtually every day as dictated by the water chemistry. Once a year is way to long!

JB_8

Dust

Every few years dust it out. My brothers gas boiler was making a funny noise. I took a look & it had dust all over the rack of burners.

lost in steam

i was told once a month

i have a duplex with two steam boilers. every 1st of the month i "blow down" both boilers. one is a wells mclein that i just drain using the blow down. the other is a burnam (i think) and it has two drains at the bottom. i hook up a hose and let it drain out then fill it back up again. i wasn't told to do anything more special than that. also, every spring i have it tuned up, filters changed, etc.

Bob W._3

My understanding is you can't do a bottom blow under pressure without king valves on the risers. How much water are you suggesting be drained from the bottom during this weekly exercise?