what could be wrong with the boiler/heating unit. i have to empty the bucket every day.
Hello Johnny Girl, There should be a hose running into the bottom of the bucket. This is how the water gets pumped out. Call a furnace company and ask them how much it is for a compressor pump. It pumps the water out of the bucket to the outside of the house. Once you tell them what it is you need they will quote you a price. And call around for pricing or chose who you think would be an honest candidate. The compressor pumps are not hard to change out. Good Luck.
You may have a bad water feeder(pressure reducing valve).It is also likely that your expansion tank is full and needs to be drained,the older drainable type is a cylinder shaped tank often hung in the ceiling joists,todrain this you need to shut off the vale going into it,and open the valve going out.There should be a way to let air into tank when draining it otherwise you may collapse the tank by creating a vacuum,lookfor a cap to remove on the tank side of the shut off valve.If you have a newer style diaphramatic tank(approx. a 16 X 12 cylinder) piped into boiler piping,you can check it with a tire prressure gavge that reads pressures as low as the normal diaphram pressure of 12 psi.The port is on the opposite side of the tank from the boiler piping.One more posibility is a bad limit control or limit control turned up too high,but this is the least likely cause,No matter the cause you will want to replace the relief valve since the spring may be weakened from several days of opening,It is designed to open at 30 psi.I suggest you get a service call the repair man can evaluate the situation and show you how to drain the tank the next time,and replacing the relief valve may require draining and bleeding air from system,the repairman may also recommend replacement of the automatic feeder as well since they often fail after draining system,this is normal their not trying to sell you extra parts.
It might be the relief valve or the regulator is over pressuring the boiler. Check the water pressure in the boiler. If it is ok, turn off the power and water supply ,relieve the pressure in the boiler and drain it below the level of the TP valve. Replace it with a relief valve rated for the boiler. Make sure the boiler in full of water and purged of air before it is turned back on. The pressur regulater/fill valve should be replaced if the pressure is too much. If the boiler is overheating call a pro now.
Your boiler should not be overflowing. If your TP relief valve is ok and the boiler tank inself isn't leaking somewhere, you may need what is known as an expansion tank. That is what fixed that problem in my furnace. Cost of tank was about $35.00, install cost another $50.
