Home boiler losing water when in use
My home heating system: oil-fired Peerless WBV-04-SPL boiler with Beckett AFG series burner. Boiler was installed Jan. 2017 & is a combined hydronic and single-pipe steam system (see attached pics). Steam radiators heat the original 2-story house (built in 1943). Hot water baseboards heat a kitchen-family room on first floor and 1 upstairs bedroom (new addition to house, built 2004). The original asbestos insulation on steam pipes was removed prior to our buying the house in 1990. After doing some reading on steam systems this past year, I will be installing fiberglass insulation on all exposed steam pipes this fall (better late than never!).
My problem: During last winter's heating season, the boiler was losing water at an alarming rate (~1/2" drop in sight glass every 1~3 days, depending on heating demand). There is NO water on floor under boiler, nor do I see any evidence of leaks (liquid or steam) in the boiler components, exposed pipes, baseboards or radiators. The boiler hasn't lost any water while inactive over the summer. Within the last 3 years, I replaced old main vent valves (visible near top of boiler pics) with Gorton No. 1's. When I'm in the basement (my "office"), I will occasionally hear the valve on the left vent, but not very often. All radiators are fitted with Varivalve vents (Heat-Timer Corp., Fairfieldd, NJ), except for the radiator in the upstairs master bedroom. I fitted that radiator with a Gorton "C" vent, because that radiator was VERY slow to heat.
The only "clues" I have been able to identify as a possible leak in the system are: 1.) The radiator in the upstairs master bedroom stays cold until the boiler has been generating steam for awhile (at least 30-60 minutes, sometimes longer), at which point the Gorton "C" vent valve will (loudly) start venting, after which that radiator gets extremely hot. 2.) The wood flooring around the supply valve to that upstairs master bedroom radiator is discolored (see attached pics).
Could there be a problem with the supply valve to the problematic upstairs master bedroom radiator, or could there be a leak in the connection under the flooring to that valve that would account for the water loss? What would be the best approach to finding the cause of the excessive boiler water loss? I am mindful that having to frequently add water to my boiler may shorten its useful life. (Our town's water is extremely hard - lots of calcium & magnesium.) The necessity of having to top off the boiler water so frequently also makes it problematic to take trips away from home during the heating season! I plan to contact a steam heating contractor recommended on this site for my area (north-central New Jersey), but thought I'd solicit advice through this forum first. Thanks in advance for any tips!
Comments
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P.S. All supply valves to the steam radiators are fully open, however, many years ago (10? 15?) when I didn't know any better, I partially closed the supply valve to that problematic radiator in the upstairs master bedroom because (ironically), at that time that radiator was supplying too much heat, and I mistakenly thought nearly closing the supply valve would reduce the heat. It operated in a nearly-closed position for at least several months, at which point I replaced the vent valve and then opened the supply valve. Dunno if that could have caused any subsequent problems. Live and learn…
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The fact that the boiler has not lost water while sitting is a good sign. The next thing to do is to completely eliminate the boiler as a cause of leaking.
To do this with the boiler switch shut off add water to the boiler (overfill it) until you feel the supply pipe coming out of the boiler get cold. This indicates that the boiler if filled above the top. Then shut the water down and let it sit overnight if possible. If after this, you see no water in or around the boiler then the boiler is ok. 9 years old it shouldn't be leaking.
If the boiler is not leaking then it is either air vents, supply valve packings or other leaks to search for.
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Well… a half inch drop in two or three days really isn't all that much — though it's more than one would like. However, that is a small enough loss that it's going to be a bit hard to find! You are not likely to find a puddle anywhere — in fact, it's rather likely that you won't even see a drip, since I'm going to bet it's one of two groups of things. First, and most likely, is the radiator valves — the packing has a way of getting tired. Particularly on that upstairs one, it might be worth giving a bit of a twist to the packing nuts.
The second is a vent or vents not really closing all the way — and that can be VERY hard to pin down. Sometimes holding a mirror near the vent when it is supposed to be closed can show some vapour clouding…
On that upstairs radiator — it almost sounds as though there might be condensate pooling in the piping to it. Do you hear any sign of hammer or gurgling?
Br. Jamie, osb
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England0 -
I would close the water loop on the tankless for a week then test.
Here in Jersey are you? That does look like a boiler I looked at in past.0
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