Steam boiler burner always on

John@Reliable_14

1)Is the presstrol piping clear/open to allow steam to shut it off? 2) Is boiler rated enough for load, if to small for load it can run forever. 3)Does it get enough fuel to fire properly if size is ok,gas needs to have meter clocked, oil just have nozzle checked.

AG

Steam Boiler burner always on

A couple of problems.

I recently became a home-owner to a house that is heated by a Utica PEG-C (Model #PEG753ID) steam boiler. First off, I was having a problem with cold radiators. I am in Springfield, MA and have had no luck getting a knowledgeable HVAC Pro off of the yellow pages. So if you are in my area, maybe we can set up for you to take a look.

I got a hold of a copy of "The Lost Art..." which has helped tremendously. Some of the pipes are insulated and I replaced rad vents, but still had problems with cold radiators. I then adjusted the Cut-In on the pressure-trol to 0.5 psi, and magic, all radiators are heating, but only half-way. At least I'm warm though.

I removed the pressure-trol cover and found a dial inside that is labeled "Diff", there is a red dot and a line to show what the differential should be set to, but no number markings so I have no idea what pressures I'm running. I did some research and see that it is normal for me to not see any pressure on my 0-30 psi gauge, so I will try looking for a smallare range gauge.

My main issues are that the rads are only heated half-way and the burner stays on all the time. The burner does shut off when the thermostat's (also replaced) temp. request is met. But the system is not reaching that cut-out pressure, if it is- the pressure-trol is not working. I kept thinking that the pressure-trol is good due to the fact that once I set it to 0.5 psi, I had heat at all rads.

Boiler piping seems correct to manufacturer specs.

So my questions are:

1. My pressure-trol cover reads Honeywell, but other than the following no other information on it "9148", "PA 404A 1009 2" and "MPLS, Minn." Anybody know what the differential setting on this thing is?

2. I removed the pressure gauge and peaked inside, is it normal for water to be present in the piping leading to the pressure gauge and pressure-trol? (the piping comes off of a low water cut-off device and the water level present in the pipes seems to reflect the water line that the boiler is at)

3. Do the radiators only heating half-way have anything to do with burner always staying on? What can I do for the burner to shut-off on pressure? would a "vapor-stat" be the solution? (a "vapor-stat" is a replacement for the pressure-trol, correct?)

Brad White

Some thoughts

1) As to the first question, I will pass. Others with more hands-on experience will be along shortly.

2) The piping to the instrumentation should have a pigtail loop and yours does, correct? The pigtail should hold water, that is the purpose. The seal keeps live steam from entering the controls. EDIT- As long as you opened them I had assumed you cleaned them as John said below.

3) If the radiators are not heating all the way across despite ongoing burner running, I suspect venting. Are the radiators venting properly? If the radiators are partially hot there is a charge of compressed air in there that is not getting out ahead of the steam.

Yes, a vaporstat serves the same function as a pressuretrol but does so at a much smaller scale, ounces instead of pounds.

AG

The piping does have a pigtail and it does hold water.

Even if I remove the rad vent valves the rads do not heat all the way. With the vents valves off, a couple of the radiators manage to heat a little more than half way, but it causes a balance problem and one of the other radiators on the same run may not heat at all.

The burner flame is strong and seems good. Any other thoughts?

Thanks.

Brad White

Is the

radiator without a vent drawing a vacuum? If the boiler is not letting steam out then you have a higher pressure in the room or a lower pressure in the system. That spells vacuum to me.

Put your finger over the hole and release it, see which way the puff goes. If any.

Mitch_6

Piping seems correct to spec

Can you post a picture of the boiler.

If the boiler runs without stopping and the radiators are not warm accross I would suspect an undersized boiler or a boiler not properly firing.

With bad vents the boiler reaches pressure with air trapped in the system and will cycle.

A run away boiler with a clogged or not properly you should still get steam out of the radiators with the vents pulled as long as the valves are not closed or the lines blocked.

I am assuming this is a one pipe system. If it is a two pipe with vents and traps then there is another issue.

How old is the boiler did it ever heat properly.


Mitch S.



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Steamhead (in transit)

Another possible cause

could be a hole in the boiler above the waterline. If you see white smoke coming from the chimney this is probably causing it. This would mean the boiler is shot and you need a new one.

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mel rowe

Maybe a useless question, but are you sure the boiler is not sludged up? I had a friend whose boiler ran all the time and was putting out very little steam. When I looked at it with him, I saw no provision for draining and cleaning out either the boiler or the returns, and even though the boiler was fairly new, it had a lot of sludge in the bottom. After repiping and a real good cleaning, it is now running well. FWIW

Patrick Linhardt, \"Linhardt's Field Guide to Ste

I'm not sure there is a problem

Hi AG,

If, as you state that the boiler does not shut off on pressure but does satisfy the thermostat, then you don't have a problem in that area. The radiators do not have to get hot all the way across to satisfy the t-stat depending on the outdoor temp, heat loss, and radiator size.

Most people complain of short-cycling, you do not have that. It sounds to me that it is working fine. I recommend in my book to have a "call for heat" that is not interrupted by the pressuretrol, because it is a safety device.

Differential is usually set at 1.

Best regards, Pat

David Sutton_6

If you are still having problems...

E-mail me and i'll take a look at it, i'm out of Southwick and work in springfield alot.

David Sutton