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Boiler water loss during off season

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geemalar
geemalar Member Posts: 104
in Strictly Steam

Woke up to some cooler temps this morning so I decided to turn on the heat this morning. Prior to turning it on I went and checked my water level and I noticed it had dropped about 5 inches in the sight glass from the normal level since sitting unused since about April? I don’t recall that ever happening before, or at least not that much of a drop. I added the water (manual feed only) and ran the system. Everything seemed to work fine.
How concerning is it having dropped that much over the past 6 months?

While on the subject, I had plans to flush the boiler this year as it hasn’t been flushed in quite some time. Should I add any cleaning product to the system in order to help clean out the boiler? Thanks for any assistance………

Comments

  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 18,868

    There's a leak somewhere. Do any of your return lines run underground?

    Co-Founder, All Steamed Up, Inc.

    Semi-retired

    Baltimore, MD, USA

  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 27,788

    and the leak has to be in a return or in the boiler itself. Critical question: was the water level below the Hartford Loop?

    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • geemalar
    geemalar Member Posts: 104

    None of the return lines run underground. The water level was right about at the same level that the Hartford loop returns to the boiler line. The return line is behind the vertical pipe, you can faintly see it in the second picture directly below the 90 degree elbow

    IMG_0038.jpeg IMG_0037.jpeg
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 18,080

    is the return overhead until it gets to the boiler?

  • geemalar
    geemalar Member Posts: 104

    The return starts out about 4 feet high at the opposite corner of my basement. It has a slight downward angle as it works its way back along 2 walls to about 5 feet from the boiler. From there it drops 90 degrees down to about 6 inches off the floor. Proceeds to run back to the Hartford loop line seen in the picture. Turns 90 degrees back up and the makes another 90 degree turn that’s shown in the second picture.

  • 109A_5
    109A_5 Member Posts: 4,433

    The water level should have stayed where it was in the Spring, assuming the boiler is not used to also heat DHW (Domestic Hot Water).

    It may be a coincidence that the water line stopped at the Hartford loop level. Even so I would inspect (very carefully with adequate lighting) under the boiler, the bottom of the boiler's block and the short wet return for any evidence of leaking, like any disturbed dust where water was dripping or any corrosion on any of the metal parts and piping.

    National - U.S. Gas Boiler 45+ Years Old
    Steam 300 SQ. FT. - EDR 347
    One Pipe System
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 18,080

    it isn't set up warm start, is it?

  • geemalar
    geemalar Member Posts: 104

    It does not have a warm start set up.

    I did notice as I cleaned up underneath the boiler (cobwebs, dust, etc) that there were some pieces of debris that apparently flaked off the boiler. But there was no evidence of water just the debris in the far RH corner underneath.

    Is it time to fill it all the way up to check for any leaks at the top? When I ran it this morning it worked perfectly fine. I did not hear or see any evidence of leaking anywhere.

  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 18,080

    it is never a bad idea to flood it once a year or so to see if it is leaking above the water line but that probably isn't your leak. looking in the combustion chamber might tell you if the boiler is leaking somewhere slowly enough that it is evaporating. the part of the return that is below the water line is more likely

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