New home owner and its central boiler 6048

[NYMEDIC]

Hey all. Just moved into a new house that came with a 6? Yesr old central boiler 6048. First few days no problem. Loaded twice a day. Careful not to overload. Temp set at 165, 10
Degrees below what inside oil burner was set to. Came home from work tonight and lots of steam was coming from the center fill valve? With gloves trued to set the steam capnback on and of course it popped right off. Come to think of it when i moved in it was off and to the side. Checked the pump it was running fine. Both in and out pipes were hot. Temps says it was 156. I checked water yesterday it was fine but now the fill guage has no water in it when I turn the check valve thing. I turned it off and shut the valves off so when it cools Down the inside burner doesnt try to heat the outside water. Im going tonfill with water tomorrow and restart. My only thought is the water got to low? But i have no clue. Anyone have any thoughts? Also any tricks on filling the water if this is a regularly occurring issue throughout the cold winter?

 

[E Yoder]

Don't try to cap the vent on top, it has to release pressure.
It is not normal to have it boil over. In my experience, boiling is caused by either an air leak into the firebox or lack of flow (water jacket not mixing). Check door gasket and solenoid flap for air leakage, don't overload with wood on a warm day, be sure pump to house is circulating.
If it boils always refill with water immediately, if it boils too low you could melt wiring, etc.

 

[NYMEDIC]

Is it safe to add water while its boiling? Indont think it was too warm yesterday but not sure. Whats the best way to check if pump is circulating. I felt it vibrating and both feed and returns were hot at the boiler and inside the house.

 

[maple1]

Don't try to cap the vent on top, it has to release pressure.
It is not normal to have it boil over. In my experience, boiling is caused by either an air leak into the firebox or lack of flow (water jacket not mixing). Check door gasket and solenoid flap for air leakage, don't overload with wood on a warm day, be sure pump to house is circulating.
If it boils always refill with water immediately, if it boils too low you could melt wiring, etc.

Or a leak?

 

[E Yoder]

Yes, could be a leak, I'm trying to understand how it can steam and be 156 degrees. Filling it will not hurt it.

 

[NYMEDIC]

Ok waited a few days and there was still smoldering logs so i think door gaskets are good. Just filled it up. Probably took between 250 and 300 gallons and temperature is showing 164? Is there a way to test the temp guage? Or could this have stayed that hot? Going to run it and watch water level like a hawk. Pump sounds like its running. Any other tricks to test circulation?

 

[maple1]

There is no way it should have taken that much water unless there is something seriously wrong. And the temp gauge should have read a lot colder than that unless you filled it with hot water. (They can go wonky - better to have more than one).

 

[NYMEDIC]

Not sure. But it stared boiling in the tank fast so we turned the heat up in the house and it stopped. So maybe produce more that consuming? Just bought an IR thermometer to do readings on all of the pipes and turned temp to 185, 15 degrees higher than the oil burner inside which hasnt come on since we turned up heat and had OWB running. Will update tomorrow with all of the results.

 

[maple1]

It could be something as simple as loading way too much for the heat demand. (Not a big demand yet, this time of year). But that is a crap ton of water to be adding, just a day or 2 after things seemed to be ok.

 

[NYMEDIC]

So circulator is working but some disappointing numbers. 189 coming out of pump. 160 entering exhanger. 155 exiting exchanger. 151 returning to tank. No boiling sounds house is 70 degrees. Mama bear hates it. Kids are in heaven. Oil burner fired twice for only a few minutes. Oil burner temp aet at 175.

 

[maple1]

First thing to do is watch your water level very closely. Then, ya those temps don't look good. But should make sure they're accurate first. Temp guns can be good but also they dont measure anything shiny very well. A shot of flat black paint can help. You could also get a bbq thermometer and tape or tie it to the pipe under some insulation to double check temps. Should only take a few minutes to get a decent reading. That is a huge drop in the supply line. If temps are right. Which could mean you are losing all your heat to the ground, or the water isn't flowing enough (air lock? restriction?). Was the blower fan running at the time? I would expect to see a bigger drop across the hx if all was well.

Edit: Also, I would turn down my oil temp. To maybe 160.

Edit again: Forget my mention of blower fan.