Advice on vaporstat?

davidsorkin

Hi,

  This morning my steam boiler was not firing despite a call for heat. The radiators were slightly warm. After some head scratching I tapped on the pressuretrol with my finger and it started right up. The control is very old and is probably the same age as the boiler from 1979. I would like to replace it with a vaporstat and also get a 0-3 PSI gauge.



I've read on the forum to use a 0-16oz vaporstat - is there any downside to a 0-4 lbs control instead? Since I have never run the system at 16oz I do not know if it would be sufficient. I am looking at the Honeywell models L408J1009 & L408J1017. Does anyone have experiences with these to share?



Also I've been searching the Internet for a 0-3 PSI gauge but have not found many options. I did find Low Pressure Gauges made by Wika and alternatively Ashcroft but I am not sure if they are ideal for steam applications. Does anyone know about these or have another favorite that I might be able to find on the Internet?



Thanks!



David Sorkin, North Plainfield NJ

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

Vaporstat

Hi David:



You might want to search the Steam forum for answers to your questions.  I think I've seen them discussed there before.

davidsorkin

Vaporstat?

Thanks Alan - actually I did a lot of reading but haven't found the answers to my specific questions. I did read one additional post though that makes me question using a Honeywell vaporstat at all.



http://www.heatinghelp.com/forum-thread/128249/why-do-Honeywell-vaporstats-suck-so-badly.



What better alternatives are there?



Also - why would a pressure control be used in conjunction with a vaporstat? There's a photo of this setup here:



http://www.heatinghelp.com/forum-thread/129949/Temperature-based-cut-in-for-a-Vaporstat



For the low pressure gauge I found this one http://www.coleparmer.com/catalog/product_view.asp?sku=6893010 but seems a little pricey at $46



Thanks

Charlie from wmass

Clean the pig tail

drop it to 0.5 cut in and 1 differential.

davidsorkin

Low Pressure Gauge

I finally got all my plumbing parts and installed the 0-3 PSI Wika low pressure gauge the other night.  It took pexsupply a long time to send me all the little brass nipples. The gauge is fantastic and has vindicated the pressure control. I was able to very precisely set the control to cut in at .5 and cut out at 2 lbs. It's strange that the original gauge is 0-30 PSI, it be would like my car having a speedometer that went up to 1,200 miles per hour!

Charlie from wmass

David you need to keep the old gauge

Insurance requires a gauge that is rated twice the relief valve rating of the boiler.