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Posted by Mike B on January 14, 2004 at 06:53:29:
Hey gang.
I've got a newer boiler in an older home that I recnetly purchased. Former owner said that the boiler is about 4-5 years old, home is more like 90. When I started the system this year, it was clear that there had been little or no maintenance done to the system for some time. The sight glass was pluged with sediment, as was the lower nipple and valve for the glass. I cleaned those out, and ran a rust remover in the system for a few days, and then blew the boiler down 4 times to finally get clear water out.
Also found that the cut in pressure was set to 3PSIG, with a differential of 2PSIG. (The boiler blow down instructions say that it should be done hot with 5 PSIG pressure) I reset the cut in to 0.5 PSIG and all things seem to be good now. The one radiator that would consistantly flood after a couple of heating cycles is still heating nicely after nearly 24 hours later. So WooHoo all things are good.
The question now is this...
The outlet to the main seems a little screwy to me. There is only one to start with. It starts with a Tee with one end plugged (I assume for skimming) but the pipe connected to the other port of the tee runs horisontal for about 2 feet before it gets to a 90 deg elbow and goes vertical. And this first horizontal run of pipe is only about 3 inches above the water line when the boiler is not fired, and only about 16 or 18 inchs above the return line.
I'm not a boiler expert, but that just does not seem to be done correctly. I've no idea who installed the system originally, and may even have been a "handy man" with no training.
Any thoughts???
And many many thanks to those that fund and administer this sight. What a great resource.