Posted by Chris S. on December 30, 2000 at 19:40:49:
We have a 25 year old steam boiler which was installed after the central plant system went out of business. For years, we have manually drained out water (usually very rusty in color) until clear and then refilled the system from the cold water supply until the water in the tube was about 1 inch high. With in the last month, an automatic water feed system was installed. Since that time, we have experienced sporadic times of no heat. The only way to get the heat on is to release water from the drain valve which triggers the auto-feeder. Once the drain valve shuts off, the boiler kicks on. A heating contractor has replaced the generator (?) and now says we need a new float.
Could someone please give me more info on this? I thought the feeder would only replace us manually adding water to the system and not affect the operation of the boiler. Thanks in advance for any info. you can give to me.