Too much pressure in STEAM furnace how do i adust ??

Dean_7

Both Karen and Scott are right. I'm just a homeowner but I have a wonderfully running one pipe steam system thanks to Dan's books and the folks on this site. If you have steam heat you need the books because fewer and fewer people today understand residential steam systems. Also you will know that if someone tells you you need to rip it out to fix it it's usually BS. A properly running system can save you a LOT of money. You have both pressure and water problems. So listen to karen and Scott.

scottRM

too much pressure in my steam furnace

Hi ,I have an old, steam heat system.I'm not having any problem in getting heat, but I am getting a lot of "water sounds" in my radiators and a lot of air/water comming from radiator vents, in which they have been replaced w/ the adjustable dial kind of vents. When they start to hiss and piss too much water,I lower them and less water/air comes out. But what I've also noticed, is on the furnace pressure release valve, it also hisses out some air .My furnace shuts down at 5 lbs of pressure, thats whats it set for ..I also don't have a main vent. The radiator vents are acting as main vent I guess . So, if I'm getting too much pressure in system, what can I do to tone her down some .. sorry about the novel thanks

HitzKup_2

Messed Up System

Sounds like you need a full system evaluation. Try find a professional under resources on the top of this page.

BC_3

TURN IT OFF!!!

Scott--
You wrote "but what ive also noticed is on the furnace pressure release valve it also hisses out some air..." I'm just a homeowner, but if I understand correctly (and you are correct when you state that you have no main vent), it sounds like your pressure could be MUCH higher than your pressure gauge is telling you. I agree that you need to have a professional look at your system, but I'd add: ***turn your system OFF and turn it off NOW!!!*** Then call the professional. BTW, you need a *boiler* repair person, as this beast is not a furnace.

Gentlemen, am I right? I'm guessing from my own (meager)experience with exactly one (poorly-maintained) boiler that the pigtail syphon on his gauge (if there is one to protect the gauge) could be full of gunk, and that he's using a Pressuretrol (on a similarly filled pigtail) that has seen better days. My fear is that, particularly if his emergency pressure relief valve has been opening for a while, it is possible that even his relief valve has accumulated some deposits (not from steam, but perhaps from the water being carried by that steam under excessive pressure?) and may not be working properly. What say you?

Scott-- You've found an excellent website and a great group of experts here. I heartily recommend Dan Holohan's books. With these resources, if you are *very* handy, have plenty of spare time, and can leave the boiler off for a few WEEKS, then you could probably sort this out yourself. (Order the books, read the books, order the parts, install the parts, clean the boiler, test the parts, clean the boiler....) If you want heat tonight, however, I'd contact a professional. With any luck, perhaps you've mistaken your main vent for the emergency pressure release valve and your professional will only need to adjust some screws on the Pressuretrol to enable you to sleep soundly tonight. Good luck!

Karen K.
(Edit: I've changed my name from "Karen" to "Karen K." This was my first post at this site-- and I forgot to check for other "Karen"s before I posted-- sorry about that, Karen! :-)

Brad White

Karen has got your back, Scott

Good post, Karen.

Scott- get a pro in there. You have water feed makeup issues, pressure control issues and flooding issues which may well have terminated your vents with extreme prejudice.

If your 15 PSI relief valve is lifting it means you have the equivalent of almost 35 feet of water above your valve. Your system may well be topped off with water.

Get a pro to get it back into stable operation and let's see how we can get your system running at it's personal best.

Right now it is not stable. I cannot say it is dangerous but will err on the side that it is not. That relief valve is working but let's not rely on that, shall we?