Cleaning steam heat system

DeirdreMacCallan · February 13

First, let me say that I am a novice. The system I'm dealing with is my 93 yr old Dad's. It works pretty well but every week or two in heating season, I need to drain muddy water from two pipes near the floor by the furnace and then add water from a pipe above the furnace. The glass tube which shows lets me know I'm not overfilling it, is so muddy that I can't tell anything. The guy who's been keeping the system going for years can clean the glass tube but doesn't feel that cleaning out the source of the sludge is an option. Is there something that can be done to clean out the radiators and the boiler? Or do I just have to keep draining it forever?

ethicalpaul · February 13

the more you drain it, the more mud gets created due to corrosion caused by oxygen in the fresh water

So try to minimize draining to once a year, and only drain until clear

If you really want to reduce your corrosion, you can add small amounts of a treatment called 8-way but be aware it will free up a lot of sediment at first and can make your water worse in the short term.

It raises the ph which greatly reduces corrosion of the iron. See my video:

https://youtu.be/Im1ipgVa6Yk?si=a5C08daHzOS6dh00

Captain Who · February 13

How much up and down surging are you seeing in the sight glass, or is it so filthy that you can't even tell?

I drain and backflush my boiler and returns once a year and fill with boiled and rebottled distilled water treated with Rectorseal 8-way, to keep my TSS (total suspended solids) down to a reasonable level so I don't get surging and carryover. I use a short length of hose that goes from my utility tub spigot to the boiler drain valve. I have a ball valve on the hose at the boiler end so I can remove the hose to drain without leaking all over the floor.

I put a full port drain valve on the boiler, replacing the one from the factory that hardly flows. Velocity is important when draining and flushing, to get more crud out. My wet return drain valve is still the crummy gate valve one.

I also have a Dahl ball valve at the bottom of my sight glass, with a garden hose to hose barb adapter and a short length of clear vinyl tubing. That helps to blowdown the sight glass occasionally which makes sure you are getting a true reading and it also helps to clean it somewhat.

If I were you I'd do both of these things and see where you are at. Replacing the boiler drain valve is optional but recommended and is best left to someone who feels confident doing so, after the boiler had been drained of course. Cleaning radiators is a lot of work.

This the hose end full flow ball valve that I used but of course they don't seem to carry it anymore:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gilmour-Single-Flex-Connect-Shut-Off-Hose-Adapter-853054-1002/322663402

Jamie Hall · February 13

The only thing that needs to be cleaned or flushed more than once a year is the low water cutoff — and that only if it is a float type. Otherwise, once a year is ample.

The radiators don't ever need cleaning. Only steam gets to them — bar mishaps.

That sight glass, though — that needs to be replaced. If it can't be cleaned, replace it. If you can't see your water level you ae really asking for trouble!

leonz · February 13

As Br. Jamie said the low water cut off needs to be cleaned every year if it is a float type low water cut off switch, and the sight glass needs to be changed as well.

If you have so much mud in the boiler it needs to be shut down and flushed and wanded clean it to remove the sludge through the mud leg of the boiler.

You need a steam licensed plumber to do this work as your current plumber is not helping you or your father and the boiler may very well need to be brought up to current plumbing code standards.

Please visit the find a plumber page here on the forums main page to locate a plumber in your area that does steam heating service. if you do not see a plumber that does steam service work you should call the local plumbing inspectors office and ask who does steam boiler service work in your immediate area.

DeirdreMacCallan · February 13

Thank you for all the responses. I'm a 75 yr old lady who's idea of plumbing is unclogging a toilet, so I won't be doing any of this myself. I can only hope that the guy who has kept the system going so far won't feel that I'm overstepping my role by suggesting these options and quit.

Keith, my boiler guy, cleaned the sight glass, which makes a big difference. I'm going to talk to him about cleaning the boiler.

Leonz, I hope the radiators don't need cleaning but when I over filled the boiler one time and caused the radiators to leak, the water that came out was FILTHY.

exqheat · March 9

What tool do you use to clean the mud from the boiler. Pressure Washer?

exqheat · March 9

My boiler books say that mud in the bottom of the boiler disrupts the heat transfer in the sections, and can if not properly attended to, can cause a crack in sections. I just wonder if this does not cause 1/3 of the failures. Landlords need better education on this. Few oil companies clean the fire side of the sections much less the mud in the bottom. Most of the lower plugs in the boilers I see haven't been moved since install. Seems like an area of neglect. Without proper drainage in the basement this can be a pain. How is the best way to collect and dispose of the mud. We don't want to clog the drains with it, do we?

This sounds like a whole new area that needs exposure.

EdTheHeaterMan · March 9

I looked at your video and completely understand that lower temperature radiators on hot water systems will reduce the carbon consumption of a heating boiler. I am not understanding how you lower the temperature of a steam radiator. That is what the language in your video indicates is happening when someone installs an EXQUISITE HEAT™ REV-7 control on a steam boiler or a hot air furnace.

Can you detail how that actually works?

I believe outdoor reset controls have been in existence for the better part of the 20th century, and Heat Timer® has a steam boiler timing device that will also limit the operating time of a burner in a steam boiler. Since steam starts out at 212°F at atmospheric pressure, how do you actually cool it down so the radiator temperature is 140°F, as indicated in your graph in the video?

And more to the point… How does this information help with @DeirdreMacCallan issue of sludge in the boiler.

Or are you thinking of inventing a boiler internal cleaning device since no one has one of those yet?

exqheat · 2:22PM

To your first question. If we calculate the precise boiler fire time to the needs of the building the variation in time will not reduce the temperature of the steam or radiators but control how long the steam is applied to the radiator. In a balanced system this may only require the radiator to be partily heated to meet the BTU needs of the room. In a balanced system this would apply to the partial heating of all radiators. The trick then is in the balancing act.

For your second question: My thought gravitate to a device similar to the ones used to seperate solids from hydronic systems. You know the ones that remove air bubbles and solids from the circulating water. You can blow them bown to get the junk out. What about putting a similarly designed device on the return line of a steam boiler near the hartford loop close nipple. We blow off the mcd miller weekly. Why not blow off the one on the Hartford Loop as well. This could avoid the heavy mud from accumulating in the bottom of the boiler.

My question is , what is the best method of cleaning the bottom of the boilers. Most I see have probably never had the lower plugs removed, much less thoroughly cleaned. We should discuss this subject more to raise the need for concern to clean them out.

ethicalpaul · 3:17PM

What about putting a similarly designed device on the return line of a steam boiler near the hartford loop close nipple. We blow off the mcd miller weekly. Why not blow off the one on the Hartford Loop as well. This could avoid the heavy mud from accumulating in the bottom of the boiler.

Because it takes years or decades for any significant buildup of mud there.

A lot of folks do have a valve at the low point of their wet return, so I think this problem is solved.

exqheat · 3:39PM

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1891126#Comment_1891126

The problem with outdoor reset controls is the adjustment of the curve to the building in all kinds of conditions. The heat loss of a building cannot be determined by outdoor temperature. The adjustment of outdoor curves is a hit and miss proposition, and most installers defeat their precision by adjusting to the high side. Indoor temperature allows for precise adjustment automatically, compensating for all heat loss factors at any particular point in time. Adjusting hydronic temperature with high limit adjustment every hour can be accomplished with adjustment of fire time in steam systems. It works. A note on heat timers. Most are not installed properly. Indoor sensors are in the basement on the return pipe rather than as instructed on the last high radiator. Same with Tekmars. So I say, let's stop heating the outdoors.

Cleaning steam heat system

Comments

Categories