The glass water gauge on my boiler is so dirty, i cant tell how much water is in the boiler. I have been told i need to remove it, clean it and replace. I have a good idea of how to do it, but need advice from an expert. Do i simply shut off the two valves on the gauge (one at the top and one at the bottom) remove it and clean. Is there any thing else i need to worry about, or any trick to doing this successfully?
Get the rubber gaskets and a new gage glass ahead of time- the rubbers will be hardened and the glass will break :-)
Jim
Just replace it. You'll want a spare on hand anyway, just in case, so you might as well install it rather than reinstalling the old one. They aren't that expensive. Over-tightening is what you want most to guard against. You may need new packing so have some of that on hand as well. I prefer the teflon rope.
hvacrmedic
No, don't clean it, replace it.
You need a new glass as they do wear out, two seals, two brass washers.
This job is best done with the boiler off and not under pressure in case the valves to not seat properly.
Close the valves. Loosen the nut on the top and the bottom and pull them towards the center. Lift the glass and pull it out. Toss the rubbers and the brass washer. On the new glass, mount the nut, the brass washer, the rubber seal and push them on about an inch. Do this on each end with the nuts opposing each other Slide the glass into the top valve, then the bottom. Spread the nuts out to the end and center the glass. You don't want it seated, but floating between them Tighten the nuts hand tight, then slowly snug them with a wrench. No need to over tighten as the rubber seals will hold everything.
Open the valves, start the boiler. Check for leaks. If you have a leak, just turn the nut very slightly, not more than 1/8th turn at a time.
Plumbing supply may have what you need. If not,
If you want to have some real fun, come to work and you can change them on the boilers with 125 psi of steam in them and running.
Also in addition to changing the sight glass, blow down the unit, clean the fill valve and make sure the make-up water valve is functioning properly. Seen too many units die from crap in the make-up system.
TAB Dude
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