Those of you that have owb's, how much do you have to top off your system with water ? What's considered too much when you might have a leak, I know that you loose some to evaporation Thanks!
I haven't added water to mine in three years. The last time I added water was because the damper stuck open and boiled it out.
I remember in spring before shutdown, there was a lot of steam chugging out the top fill port, it stopped and figured I'd deal with it later It's now later! Lol!
Yes if you are topping off a few times a season, there may be a leak. You could have had a boil over and not known for t. Fill it and track it.
In the fall before I light it I always have to add some due to it evaporating throughout the summer months from being hot. Throughout the burning season I add a little here and there. Few gallons maybe. I just do it from time to time to make sure it’s full.
Welcome aboard Creekin Again, I only add when it leaks out....due to a poor gasket on a boiler drain valve this past summer and one other time. The power was out a few years back and I thought I had better crack the door on the OWB just a touch to keep the flame lit. Then, I shoveled snow. I looked back at the stove about 12 minutes later and the water was bubbling out of the top vent! Apparently, there was absolutley no heat loss, rather, excess heat in the water jacket in order for it to overheat in that short of a period. (*Remember, with no power, the pump wasn't circulating) All that being said, if you have "a lot of steam chugging out the top fill port......" maybe you want to check the gasket on your door and also check the damper when it is in the closed position to be sure that no air is continuing to enter the firebox when the stove is supposed to be shut down.
Good things to check for sure, going to stop by the factory where it's made and pick their brains too
Well, I checked out how much water I had to top off this evening and I stopped at about 50gal! Checked my fittings on the back of the boiler and on the backside of one there was dripping, thinking that it was leaking all summer long and didn't notice it, so lost most of my glycol too Note to self: no more sharkbite fittings! Thought they were the best thing since sliced bread but not anymore!! Add this to the other million things I have on my brain to do
Bad news about losing the anti-freeze but good news that you found a leak. Keep looking for other leaks too. Maybe those shark bite fittings aren't heat rated???? I dunno.
Talked to the tech guy at heatmaster today and in regards to the streaming he figured check for a leak, there is a low water shutdown but if there's too much air space in it the water can steam but not necessarily be low enough to shutdown, if that makes sense, in my head it does I stuck at explaining things/teaching things etc..
Just talked to a friend who has multiple leaks on his system too, bought from the same place They made us both feel like plumbers!!
Well, it'll probably take some doing, but you'll get it dialed in for sure; just don't get discouraged.
Update: got the fittings I needed from my plumbing buddy today and borrowed his crimping tool, got the leak fixed up Filled the boiler, fired it up at 11:30 this morning, by 3ish was up to 175° and no leaks!!! Will stay close to home this weekend and monitor everything to make sure it's good to go Glad I built a shed around the boiler Last fall, -27 with the windchill today Wasn't toasty but wasn't a popsicle either
Guess I was a bit early to say everything is working, went to check on everything and found my control panel blank and boiler was shut down, pumps are going (same breaker as boiler) Managed to track down cell numbers for guys at heatmaster (benifet of smallish town) and talked to them, trying to figure out why and what went goofy
Inside was perfectly dry, nice thing is it's a 15min drive to the factory for me for any parts that could be needed
