Help! New Vaporstat Not Working!

will smith_4

Eric- make sure the pigtail is clean, that the 'trol is level-all mercury switches HAVE to be, and that the pigtail is oriented correctly. Good luck-you'll get it!

Eric Scheidler

It cuts out okay . . .

. . . but doesn't cut back in. I installed a vaporstat today (Honeywell A408). I set the main at 10oz. and the diff at 6oz (subtractive diff -- thus, cut-in at 4 oz.).

When I the boiler first fired after install, the pressure went on up to 2 psi, according to the gauge (it doesn't even have a tick mark for 1; possibly I need a more accurate gauge), before I manually shut the boiler off at the switch.

I changed the level and got it to where it would cut out at what roughly looked like about 0.5-1.5 psi (again, there's no mark for 1psi on this gauge). But it will not cut back in. And when it's cutting out at lower pressure -- about where I'd guess it ought to -- it's WAY out of level.

Do I have a lemon on my hands? Was something possibly damaged when it went up to 2psi when I first fired up the boiler after install? Could there be some other reason it's not cutting in?

Just my luck it's the coldest night of the year here. It looks like I have no choice but to re-install the pressuretrol. It fills the return with steam and spits filthy water out of the return vents, but at least it keeps the house warm.

Eric Scheidler

The pigtail . . .

. . . is clean and correctly oriented and I leveled the vaporstat as well as I could according to the level arrow inside. Should it really be this tricky to install a vaporstat?

Could there be a problem inside the boiler that is preventing the vaporstat (and for that matter, the pressuretrol it was supposed to replace) from getting an accurage pressure reading?

The boiler (Burnham IN8) does not vibrate very badly, but I do know that it is very, very dirty. The skim tapping is still plugged with the manufacturer's over-torqued plug, so it has never been skimmed.

Could the internal pipe that the pigtail fits into be clogged up too? Or something else like that?

Steamhead (in transit)

Make sure

the opening that the pigtail screws into is not clogged. A long shot, but it can happen.

Then flush the boiler out as best you can to get rid of as much dirt as possible.

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