Telltale signs that boiler might be overfiring?

Mark Custis

The manufacturer's plate and it will tell you what should be happening in the way of manifold gas pressures.

You will need someone with a manometer to make any adjustments if they are needed.

Mike K_10

What are the telltale signs that boiler might be overfiring?

I see from looking at old threads that adjusting gas pressure is a job for a pro. But, are there any telltale signs that boiler might be over firing, such that I would need to call a pro to check it out?

Supply House Rick

overfiring

if it is a steam system, one way to check for overfiring is to compare the radiation rating for your boiler to the the added total of radiators in the system. you would get a better explanation of this from dan's book, "the lost art of steam heating", available here. you can make this calculation yourself, before consulting with a pro.

if you have various problems, you can list them here as far as noise, uneven heat, etc, and you will get opinions on their solution, based on several hundred man-years in the trade. most of the time, problems come from incorrect installation, only one facet of which is excess capacity.--nbc

Mike Kehoe_4

To clarify my original question, I am not talking about the

boiler being oversized. The boiler is correctly matched to the edr of the radiators. I am talking just about the level of the gas flames, and the adjustment of the gas valve.

mel rowe

How about checking the gas meter to determine the gas flow per minute, and converting to BTU's per hour for comparison to the rated capacity of the boiler? Wouldn't this give you an idea of whether the boiler is being overfired or not?

Steamhead (in transit)

Clock the gas meter

Time how long the 1/2 cu ft pointer needs to go around twice in seconds and divide that number into 3600 to get the cu ft per hour burn rate of your boiler. Make sure nothing else is using gas at the time. Find out what the BTU content of the gas is in your area.

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Mike K_10

Before doing all that, though, I'm wondering if there are signs

or symptoms that suggest that the gas pressure is too high. In other words, what observable signs might cause you to wonder if the gas pressure was set too high?

Mark Custis

Over

30 years doing this and I have learned never to guess. I have sean regulators move from season to season. I pick up my manometer and electric meter with my hand tools.