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Loss of Water from New Boiler

as i told my children when they lost something, "must be somewhere". the water can't just disappear. have you tried flooding the boiler? maybe the seals have slipped.

if the boiler has not fired for several hours will even a portion of the water return?--nbc

Comments

  • Steve Garson_2
    Steve Garson_2 Member Posts: 712
    New Steam Boiler Runs to Low Water every Two Days

    Here is the situation:
    1. New SGO-3 Boiler
    2. Oil Fired
    3. Dry returns
    4. Boiler runs to low water cut-off every two days
    5. No visible leakage of water or steam coming from air vents.
    6. Running at 1.5 psi cut-off.

    What could possibly be causing the loss of water? Originally, I thought it was from poor near boiler piping. The original contractor came back to repipe correctly, but it made no difference in water loss. Since the returns are all dry, it is clear that they do not leak.

    Steve
    Boston
    Steve from Denver, CO
  • Kool Rod
    Kool Rod Member Posts: 175


    Hi Steve - Perhaps it would help if you posted some pictures of all the piping connected to your boiler. I'm not quite sure how you can have "all" dry returns if the boiler was piped per the installation manual. Are there any returns that run under ground?

    - Rod
  • Steve Garson_2
    Steve Garson_2 Member Posts: 712


    The returns run a few inches below the mains and then drop to a few inches above the floor to the boiler.
    Steve from Denver, CO
  • And

    are there any vacuum-type vents on this system? These can trap water in the system.

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  • Steve Garson_2
    Steve Garson_2 Member Posts: 712


    No vacuum vents. Just Ventrite adjustables on the radiators. Gortons on the mains.

    The water loss is so gradual, that it isn't really noticeable. To go from the normal line to the low water shut off on a WM SGO-3 is only a few gallons of water.

    My suspicion is that the Gortons might not be closing all the time, but this is hard to determine, since it may be intermittent. Perhaps I should put a loose plastic bag over those vents to see if water collects?

    Steve
    Steve from Denver, CO
  • ed wallace
    ed wallace Member Posts: 1,613
    loss of water

    are the rads on carpets if so check the unions see if they are leaking check vents to make sure they are in right and not upside down look for water leaks at all fittings that are visible
  • Steve_55
    Steve_55 Member Posts: 30


    How much water is it loosing per day, and how much damage might excess fresh water do to a new steam boiler. I have anew peerless that seems to be going through a few gallons per cycle, but as with you NO noticiable leaks of water or steam anywhere.
This discussion has been closed.