50+ year old oil fired boiler question

livewire94

I bought a house 2 years ago with a very old Weil Mclain oil fired boiler. The oil burner isn't that old but the boiler system is. My problem is that after it circulates and shuts off, it seems like the Thrush Flow control Valve sticks open. Here is a link to what valve I have: <a href="http://www.heatinghelp.com/files/articles/1229/221.pdf">http://www.heatinghelp.com/files/articles/1229/221.pdf</a>



Anyway it seems to stick open and gravity feeds to a few of the cast iron radiators upstairs and gets very hot. I then have to open and close the lever on the valve a few times, I hear something drop inside of it when I do that. Then it stops gravity feeding until heat is called and the circulator runs and stops again.



Question is, do you think my Thrush Flow control valve is bad and needs replaced or is it something else causing it not to close by itself? Also, where can I buy a new similar valve like that? It has a copper pipe attached to the back side of it for the old steel expansion tank so I would need a valve that I can attach that to it too.



I would just like to replace the whole thing with a new one but its not in my budget right now so I have to keep this one going for now. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you

Charlie from wmass

any photos of the system?

If it is a thrush and you know the pump is stopping a new flow control is needed. You may be able to replace the circulator with one that has an internal spring check if changing the thrush is too involved. do you have any manual shut off valves? If you close one does the water stop flowing by gravity?

Steamhead

Another thing that can cause it

is if the boiler is getting too hot. Might be time to have a pro double-check this.



Also, if the boiler maintains temperature all the time because it has an internal coil hooked up to provide hot faucet water, the control for this might be set too high. If the coil is no longer in use, the control system should be modified to keep the burner from running unless there is a call for heat. This will save a lot of fuel.

livewire94

50+ year old oil fired boiler question

Here is an attached file of what my boiler system looks like. The circulator only turns on if it calls for heat. The boiler heats the water up to a set temp and then shuts off when it reaches that temp. The temp gauge to the boiler does not work but the last tech that was here said the boxes that set the temp on the pipes work. For some reason it is connected to my electric hot water heater, I'm guessing it just preheats the water for the water heater when I use the boiler in the winter.

Steamhead

That's pretty much

what I thought it would be, except it has an external coil.



Time to think about upgrading this system. You're keeping a lot of metal and water hot all winter whether you need it or not. This is busting your budget. A newer boiler with an indirect tank will give you more hot water at less operating cost.



If you can't afford a new system now, at least get a working gauge on your present boiler so you can tell exactly what's going on.



Where are you located? Have you tried the Find a Professional page of this site?

livewire94

my antique

I'm located in PA. I am having a professional look at it when I get it cleaned before winter. I may check into a new system next year. I just need to fix that flow control valve first.



Thanks for all the replys.