cleaning low water cutoff probe

Bigtim

I'm glad I found this site, it has been really helpful.  I have a two year old Burnham Megasteam boiler.  It suggests that the low water cutoff probe be removed and cleaned yearly.  Procedure sounds simple enough until you get to the reassembly.  It says "Add water boiler treatment compound as needed".  It then refers to a very complicated procedure to clean out the boiler.  Is this necessary ? Is the reason because you use pipe dope to reinsert the probe ? Also, they say not to use teflon tape. Why not ?  My system is working perfectly but I want to service the probe without having to do a complete cleaning cycle on the boiler. 

By the way, Burnham will not answer questions from a homeowner directly.  They refer you to the installer.  I had some issues with my installer so I don't want to call them.  Thanks again for the help. 

Jean-David Beyer

Teflon tape

The LWCO is an electrical device that measures the conductivity of the water between the probe and the pipe or boiler shell. If you use teflon tape, there is a risk that the conductivity between the unit and the pipe or boiler shell will be impaired, and presumably there is no problem with pipe dope because it squeezes out.

Unknown

Cleaning the Probe

There are some things that are better left to a professional and I put probes in that category. I have a burner man clean and check my boiler's burner once a year. He has the proper equipment for combustion testing and the experience to sense if something isn't quite right. He catches things and fixes them before they become a problem where as i catch them when my heating system breaks down.. While he's at it I get him to clean/ test the safety equipment which includes the probe.  We have an agreement - I do the steamside and he does the burner and control side.  It's not that i couldn't do some of it myself I just look at it as a good check and balance arrangement.