pigtail orientation

Jamie Hall

you need at least one gauge which will read at least twice the relief valve setting -- 40 psi is fine. That's code. Nothing to prevent you from putting another one on, say 0 - 5, though!

keith miller

pigtail orientation

New steam system owner; reading Dan's books. The pigtail on my boiler sticks straight out from the boiler, instead of sticking up. Will it work properly in this orientation? It looks like a loop the loop roller coaster track. Pressuretrol & 0-40 psi(!) gauge on other end of pigtail. Also, should I replace the gauge with a 0-5 psi or some other range gauge? The needle never moves off zero. If the releif valve opens at 15 psi, I sure don't need to be able to read 40!

Big Ed

Pig Tail

Package boilers come through with the pigtail installed in the front so they shorting the hight of the crates for stacking. Not ideal but acceptible. Better off the top away from the water line.. And less horozontal piping that will catch dirt..

JackEnnisMartin

Pigtail

Hello
Pigtails are meant to be oriented in a vertical plane {the exist of the pigtail sticks up]. The loop of the pigtail is meant to be oriented that while the boiler is in operation and the loop expands it does so in a manner that cannot have any influence on a mercury switch it is serving ;in other words, the control stays level. The pigtail is meant to condense steam and create a water seal, so live steam does not have an opportunity to enter the gauge or controls it serving. The gauge was in all likelyhood installed with the idea in mind that the boiler was to be used as a hot water heating appliance. Change out the gauge to good fifteen pound unit that has a lot of graduations on the face. The correct way to operate a steam boiler is to keep the steam pressure as low as possible and still heat the space correctly. The relief valve was once again intended for hot water use. I would be more comfortable, if you were my customer, with a good thiry pound relief --- I have seen old reliefs refuse to pop long after they should have. This occurs, especially, if some idiot had gagged the relief valve and driven the seat in so hard it was siezed. That is not something you should have to worry about on a new appliance.
All the best and have your boiler reviewed by a reputable heating contractor for peace of mind; your family's safety is priceless.
Jack Ennis Martin