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Maintaining Your Boiler
Checkthe water level every day or two.Verify the water tine shown by
operatingthe drain valvean the gauge.Be sure top and bottom valves
on gaugeare alwaysopen so that actual water levelwill be shown
at all times,
POPSAFETY VALVE
Thisvalveshouldopenautomatically w henthe steampressure exceedsthe
safe limit (per instructions packaged with valve).Shouldit everfail to open
under these conditions, s hut downyour system.Havethe valve replaced
immediately, T he pop safety valve shouldbe tested monthlyduring the
heatingseason.Referto thevalvemanufacturefls instructions packaged with
thepop safetyvalve.
LOWWATERCUT-OFF
The LowWater Cut-offwillin_rrupttheelectrical c urrentto theburnerwhen
the waterline in the boilerdropsto a low level.It is very importantto keep
the floatchamber freefrom sediment, a condition essential t o dependability.
To keep any accumulation from interfering with float actionis to "BLOW
DOWN"or flushoutthe controlregularly. T his mustbe donetwo-three times
thefirstweekafterinstallation andoncea weekthereafter d uringthe heating
season.Doit whiletheboileris in operation. F irstnotewater levelin gauge
glass.Openblow-offvalve at bottomof control,waterwill pourout, flushing
away sediment. D rainuntilwateris clear, abouta pail,thenclose valve.If
waterlevelin gaugeglass hasdropped,addwaterto boilerto restorelevel.
Consultlow water cut-off manufacturers instructions includedwith boiler.
NOTE: Openingblow-offvalve checkscut-offoperation too. As floatdrops
withfallingwaterlevel,burners will shutoff.Aftervalveis closedand normal
operatingconditions are restored,burners willresume firing.
Boilersshouldnot be drained betweenheatingseasons.Onlywhen the
waterin the systembecomesdirty shouldthe boilerbe drained,flushedor
boiledout, and refilled. S teamboilersmaybe entirelyfilledwithwaterduring
thesummer m onthsto exclude air.
CLEANING YOURBOILER
Undernormaloperatingconditions, w ith the burnersproperlyadjusted,we
recommendthat you have the flue passages, burner adjustment,and
operationof the controls checked once each year by a Service
Technician.
Before the start of each season (or wheneversystemhas been
shutdownfor sometime)recheck the wholesystem for leaks...and recheck
the boilerandvent pipefor leaks.Replace or patchany boilersealsthat are
faulty.
BOILERFLUEPASSAGES
Flue Passages betweensectionsshouldbe examined yearlyand cleaned.
Removevent pipe.Raisetop panelof boilerand swing outto exposeflue
collector.Removefluecollectortop. Cleanpassageways betweensections
with a flexible handlewire brush.Removedirt fom the bottomof the boiler
and reassemble all parts.Be sure vent pipe connections to chimneyare
secureandno obstructions arepresent.
FOAMING,PRIMINGORSURGING
Thesetermsareusedto describe a fluctuating waterline- whenwater
leavestheboiler.
It is caused by anycombination ofthefollowing:
1. Threading oil andorganicmatterin the boilerwater.(Mineral o il, or core
sanddoesnotcausesurging.)
2. Faultyquickventsthat do not releaseair untila sizeablepressure is built
up - replace.If dirty,cleansothat youcan easilyblowthroughvalve.
3. Improper header design - whensteam flows in oppositedirectionof
equalizerline on "Hartfordloop."Generallya 15"horizontal r un between
riser and maintakeoffwill allowentrainedwater to falloutof thesteam
vaporso it can returnto boiler.(Seepage7, Fig. 8)
4. Adjustment of steamlimitcontrolto a wide differential increases difficulty if
quickventsare old style,slow-releasing t ype or dirty.Alwaysset steam
limitcontrol d ifferential as lowas possible.
5. Soapand detergents causeextremesurging- cleanthoroughly by
skimming theboiler.
CAUTION
Neverrefilla hotboilerwith coldwater- thedangerof thermal s hockmay
cracka section.
CAUTION
Never allowelectricianor oil burnermechanics to try out theirwork by
turningon oil burnerfor evenone secondunlessboiler is filledto the
properoperatinglevel.
SYSTEMCHECKS AFTERFIRSTSTARTING - STEAMSYSTEMS
Read the instructions packagedwithyour controlsand make checks and
adjustments accordingly. S tart the burner and set the Thermostatfor the
desiredroomtemperature. Whenadjusting theSteamPressure control, w atch
the steamPressureGaugeand use its pressurereading- as itwill be more
accurate thanthe control.(Anydifference between the twowillbe duetotheir
different l ocation.)
BOILER WATERTREATMENT
In closed hotwaterheatingsystems, n egligible amounts of makeup waterare
used, and water treatmentis not required.In steam systemswhere the
systemistight,freefromleaks,andall the steamis returned to the boileras
condensate, theamountof makeup wateris small.Again,watertreatment i s
notrequired.
On steam systemswith less than 90% of the steam being returnedas
condensate, o r with very hardor corrosive makeup water,treatment m aybe
desirable.Followthe recommen-dations of the ASME(American Societyof
Mechanical E ngineers) B oilerand Pressure VesselCode,SectionVl, latest
version.
BETWEEN HEATINGSEASONS
Boilersshouldnot be drainedbetweenheating seasons. B oilersin closed hot
waterheatingsystems maybe leftas is. Steamboilersshouldbe entirely filled
withwaterduringthesummermonths to excludeair.
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