vacuum side of a steam pressure gauge

Jim_64

that's the point of my question; under what conditions/s would a heating boiler be in vacuum?

Jim_64

vacuum side of a steam, pressure gauge

i've asked on the wall, checked the lost art and other books, and googled, and this is all i've found;
"For the first Newcomen engine of 1712, the boiler was little more than large brewer’s kettle installed beneath the power cylinder. Because the engine’s power was derived from the vacuum produced by condensation of the steam,"

so, since were not dealing with an steam engine that partially operates off of vacuum; under what conditions will we see a steam, heating boiler operate in vacuum, and if we see it, what's the 'diagnosis' from the vacuum's value?

Steamhead (in transit)

Nowadays

naturally induced vacuum in a steam system isn't so good. It worked fine with coal firing, but with the shorter firing cycles of oil and gas boilers sometimes you get vacuum before all the air is out. The air then expands under vacuum and can block steam circulation.

Some larger systems use vacuum pumps to pull the air out and speed up steam distribution.

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Jim_64

so, there's no reason

to use a compound gauge on modern boilers?

Steamhead (in transit)

It would be useful

as a troubleshooting aid. If it reads vacuum, find the problem and fix it.

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