House in Progress Diary

Back to the Boiler

Chicago weather. Hot. Cold. Hot. Cold.

So, in preparation for the upcoming winter, we had the boiler serviced. If you recall, last winter, we were having some funky problems with the boiler. We needed to shim the radiators to stop some knocking. We were properly maintaining it by draining off the sediment in the boiler on a very regular basis (once or twice a month). But...water was being added back to the boiler until it backed up into the pipes and out of a couple of steam vents in the basement.

Our steam boiler :)

We do love steam and hot water heat. There is nothing like a warm radiator on a cold day.

But we want this boiler to work correctly. We want to keep it clean and efficient.

Unique Indoor Comfort stopped by to examine the boiler. And noticed something that we missed!

The low-water level control was working...it was putting water BACK into the boiler when the level became low. But it was OVERFLOWING...it wouldn't stop. And it backed right up into the pipes again and through some steam pressure vents in the basement (we thought we had a leaky pipe!)

(You always want to have a clean site gauge and properly working low-water shut off valve. Although it is much more rare these days, boilers without this essential element could explode. Luckily, many boilers in old houses have a low water shut off control...this is something that building codes require. Anytime you get an old house, and an old boiler, make sure you have the boiler maintenance folks give you a proper inspection and lesson. Or check into some self-education.)

We took it out and checked to see if the level was dirty and needed to be cleaned. But it was pretty clean. A few more tries. Unique really threw themselves into this! They were determined to make this work rather than replace it.

But in the end (sigh), as we know at House in Progress, we have a lot of old things that need to be replaced here. We applaud their efforts, patience in educating us, and their service spirit. And we are looking forward to using our NEW low-water level unit.

Posted by jeanne on September 3, 2004 at 7:29 PM (1)