There's no pigtail connecting pressuretrol to boiler

Unknown

if you`re content with the fuel bills from that <i>old beast</i> just change the pigtail to a brass one. The old is likely getting plugged.<BR><BR>Dave

Marvin Schwinder

No Pigtail connecting pressuretrol to boiler

The pressuretrol on my 1936 American Radiator Ideal Oil Burning Boiler #12 is connected with an L shaped pipe, not a pigtail. This Pressuretrol is a Honeywell unit with a big mercury switch and heavy springs.

The boiler seems to run well past the high limit setting on the pressuretrol. Gauge will show 4 lbs of pressure and burner still firing, with pressuretrol high limit set for 2 pounds. What should I do? The service tech says leave it alone since system works.

lchmb

IMHO

It's sorta like with Doctor's...They aren't alway's right and it's your choice to get a second opinion. Check the find a pro site here to see if anyone is close who could come take another look. Might save you some money in the long run. Then again, with the age of your system it may save you a bunch to replace it new...

Robert O'Brien

I

wouldn't worry about it on a 70 year old boiler.Take a look at the Burnham Megasteam

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Steamhead (in transit)

Scary

when "The service tech says leave it alone since system works"....

The Pressuretrol is there for your safety. You should not operate the boiler until this is fixed. Go to the Resources menu at the top of this page, choose Find a Professional and follow the instructions to get someone in there who knows what they're doing.

The others are right when they say you should consider replacing the boiler. A new one will run much more efficiently. The best new residential steam boiler available now is Burnham's Mega-Steam.

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Dan_29

pigtail

Would you still drive a 1936 car with the original sparkplugs around town? I suspect not. Why not change the pressuretrol and pigtail (they are inexpensive). Better yet, change out the boiler--oil is expensive and your beast is contributing way too many hydorcarbons to the Earth's atmosphere and less heat to your home. Your local utility companies and government may pay you rebates and tax credits to do so.

Dan

Marvin Schwinder

Thanks for reply. How far ahead will I be with a new boiler - I think this beast is not so inefficient.
We have a large home - 3200 sq feet. There's over 600 sq feet radiation from the 19 ARCO recessed in-the-wall convectors. The system has four mains and I followed your advice. Called in our plumber who knows steam and he updated all the quick vents, putting a giant Gorton #2 on the longest main and doubling up #1s on the second longest. New #1s on the other two. We keep the place comfortable and burn about 1100 gal/year, which is not much more than friends with similar size homes in my area, with newer boilers, are using. There's an in-ground oil tank and if I were to replace the boiler I thought I'd go with gas - - otherwise I have to bring new tanks into the boiler room - the in ground tank is a liability and has to go at some point. I looked into all this and between asbestos abatement, demo old boiler, install new, run gas line, it's over $10,000. Is it better to stick with oil and bring in new tanks?? That'll be even more than gas line.

There is a modern Beckett AF burner running a 1.35gph 80 degree nozzle, firing through the lower cleanout door. The system seems to work fine. I figure I burn a little extra fuel bringing the system up daily, but after that maybe it's fairly efficient. Is this crazy? How much can I reduce my fuel consumption with modern equipment? I don't know anyone with a home my size and vintage using less than 900 gal/year.

Steamhead (in transit)

I'd stay with oil

if you switch to gas, you're locked into one supplier that can raise rates at will. Look at the golden parachutes the Keyspan/National Greed, uh, Grid bigwigs are getting- you really want to subsidize that?

It's hard to say how much a new boiler will save you, but I think maybe 10% is a reasonable guesstimate. You might even do better than that, depending on how inefficient your present boiler really is.

The EDR you give at just over 600 square feet is just right for the biggest Burnham Mega-Steam, which is rated 629 square feet.

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