Ran boiler dry - What do I do?

me_16

I think it is a Burham boiler thatlooks less than 20 years old. Last night I think it ran dry. This morning the furnace was very hot with no water inside.

Is there danger? Can I just fill it up with water and run it?

If I get someone to look at it, what should I expect the response to be?

Should I replace the furnace? If I should please tell me what brand to get, save me shopping time! How much do you think I should expect to pay?

Ragu_5

The response...

Should be VERY CAUTIOUS. Get somebody in there who knows what they are doing. If your boiler actually did indeed run dry and kept firing, things could get very tricky. Call the smartest, most knowledgeable company you can get.

I've only seen it happen once in 25 years and it was SCARY. It took all of my training and savvy to save that puppy. Please, please, don't fool with anybody less than the best on this one. Is there somebody from Dan's Find A Professional listing in your area? Great place to start. DEFINITELY NOT a DIY project! Good luck.


To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Weezbo

turn the thing off. until the temp indicator says 70.....

add water,when the reading is 70. maybe hours from now......

if it leaks, stop adding water. if it doesnt you make a bee line for a telephone....

look for find a pro on this site,if no one can be found...try telephone book.

Anna Conda

Absolutely there is danger, especially if the boiler is still hot. Do not even think about adding water to a hot, dry boiler -- you risk cracking the boiler at best, or an explosion at worst. Let the boiler cool down.

You definitely need to hire a pro to examine the boiler, and by 'pro' I mean someone who specializes in steam boilers, not just "oh yeah I do boilers sometimes." As already suggested, try the "Find a Pro" feature here. The pro will have to examine the boiler and look for the signs of heat stress and metal fatigue that will indicate whether the boiler was damaged by the dry firing. Most importantly, the pro will have to examine the LWFC (low-water fuel cut-out, also acronymed as LWCO) on your boiler to find out why it failed; if there isn't an LWFC on your boiler, the pro will have to install one -- this is what a LWFC is for, to prevent this from happening.