low water cutoff

Al Letellier_9

I do a lot of steam work and a lot of insurance investigation work and I find the same problem with both types.....no maintenance. Blowing down a float type doesn't do much good if not done correctly, and the electronic type need to have the probe pulled yearly for cleaning. Steam "mud" can accumulate on the probe and give a false reading, allowing the LWCO to think there is water in the boiler. I prefer the electronic type as they require no regular "blow downs" (which seldom get done) and the are simple to maintain and repair/replace. I heard it said that the probe is difficult to pull out, but using never-seize on the threads eliminate that problem. Just lower the water level, diconnect the control and pull the probe. Simple as 1-2-3

Jim_83

low water cutoff

I am replacing my steam boiler and some installers have told me they think the float type low water cut off is more reliable than the probe type.

Their reason is they have replaced more cracked boilers caused by dry firing that used the probe type lwco compared to the float type.

Yes, I know when properly maintained this shouldn’t happen and I shouldn’t run out of water. But sometimes the new equipment is not as reliable as the old equipment. Sometimes the technicians aren’t familiar with the maintenance procedures of the new equipment.

Is the probe type lwco something a homeowner can maintain and test like I did with the float type lwco? I periodically blew down the float type lwco when the boiler was under pressure and waited till the boiler would shut off because there was not enough water in it.

What has your experience been with the float type and probe type lwco?

Thank you.

Steamhead (in transit)

I agree

get the probe-type. The only dry-fired boilers I've seen had float-type cutoffs.

Float-type units are fine when you're paying someone to look after the boiler every day, as in commercial jobs. In the typical residential situation, the boiler is often ignored unless something goes wrong. The probe-type LWCO's longer servicing interval (once a year instead of once a week) makes it ideal for residential boilers.

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