17 year old pigtail

steam-rookie

The pigtail that is currently under my pressuretrol is 17 years old. It has never been cleaned or replaced in that time.



The pressuretrol seems to work correctly. The burner cuts in at .5psi and out at 1.8  

 

When the pressuretrol reaches the .5 level I can hear an audible hiss coming from the pressuretrol. This hiss continues until the boiler pressures down.



Is this a normal sound for it to make?

What would the symtons be for a clogged pigtail?

jpf321

AFAIK p-trols don't hiss...

they should only click.



bad pigtail symptoms would include inconsistent/unbelievable pressure readings, or pressure readings much lower or higher than accurate gauge on different pigtail location.



what type of gauge are you using right now? is it new and low pressure?

steam-rookie

17 year old pigtail

Brand new low pressure gauge from gauge-store.com on a brand new pigtail.

The new gauge and pigtail is independent of the pressuretrol

Like I said before, when the boiler is cycling, it cuts in at .5psi and out at 1.8psi

Should I just leave the old pigtail alone?

Is it possible that its not clogged up after 17 years?

steam-rookie

17 year old pigtail

From what I have described, is it safe to assume that the 17 year old pigtail is fine as is? No need to change it?

Big Ed_4

Plugged Pigtail

Most of the time a plugged pigtail will shut down the burner .. The high pressure pushes against the muck plug disengaging the pressuretrol and hanging it up .. But your getting a hissing sound ? Sounds like a steam leak ...

steam-rookie

old pigtail

The p trol seams to be working fine. I have no idea why its making a hissing sound. I agree that it sounds like a steam leak but it must be only a very tiny one. Just enough that I can hear it,  if I get up close and personal with it.



I should probably change it out for a new one but I would have to disconnect the electric connection on the p trol first. When and if I do this I will reassemble the thing with a union for future servicing. I noticed that the old pigtail under this p trol, has a normal 1/4 inch thread on both sides. The tap on the boiler that it screws into appears to be 3/8. It is connected there now with a 3/8 to 1/4 inch fitting.



Is this typical?

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

Hiss

The hiss is not a normal sound coming from the P-trol, but it seems to be operating fine.  Even so, it the trap seal has been lost in the pigtail because of a leak in the P-trol, the life of the P-trol is shortened. I'd repalce the P-trol and the pigtail; make sure the pigtail is brass; it will last longer.  The electrical connections are easy; just 2 wires.  I've had a leaky P-trol straight out of the box.



The 3/8" x 1/4" bushing or reducer is not normal, but is not necessarily wrong.

steam-rookie

hissin noise

I got my ear up to that p trol and it is not making the hissing sound. The sound is coming from the thing that's next to it. I think its some kind of safety valve.

I would like to replace it but I don't know exactly what its called or where I would get one. Anyone have any ideas?

steam-rookie

safety valve?

anybody know what the replacement of that thing should look like or where to get one?

jpf321

i believe...

you can replace it with a standard pressure relief safety valve .. bring it in to a plumbing supply houseso they can match the threads .. and maybe it says on there what PSI it's rated for? while you have the valve off and are shopping around for a new one, make sure your boiler is turned off.



fyi, the new valves are going to be a bit different from that and will require that you pipe it "down to the floor" .. ask the plumbing supply guy to provide the proper pipe lengths and elbow to accomplish this. you also want to measure the distance from the boiler edge to the current valve (1 piece of pipe will need to be a few inches longer than this) and the distance from the current valve to the floor minus about 6inches (the other piece of pipe) + 1 elbow to join the 2 pieces.