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Intermittent Boiler

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Dan_Went
Dan_Went Member Posts: 11
in Strictly Steam
I have a Weil-Mclain EG Series 4 with a LWCO Float Type, it is about 13 years old.  My wife and I purchased the home in May of 2011 and we just now had the system "cleaned", this was prior to me purchasing Dan's book We Got Steam Heat.  Guess what the contractor that came was a "Knucklehead", and didn't have a clue about Steam.  Ever since then we have been having a few issues with the system:

1)  The water in the sight glass is dirty, it wasn't before, I assume this is due to the cleaning?

2)  The system isn't running properly, we keep our thermostat at 72 (yes my wife likes it warm) and it will stay around 72 for a few days then for a day or so it will only keep the house around 67 or 68.  They system will fire and run for about 2 minutes then shutoff, after it shuts off it will make a buzzing noise for a around 10 seconds.  It also makes this noise sometimes when it is trying to fire up and then it won't start up.

Thank you.

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  • Jean-David Beyer
    Jean-David Beyer Member Posts: 2,666
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    Information may help.

    I am not a heating contractor, and all I know about steam I learned here.



    It appears to me that whoever installed your system did know steam, or at least knew how to follow the directions in the installation manual. So perhaps you should try to find who it was.



    You might indicate where you live here. Someone near you must have installed your system and is is probably a good one to consult.
  • Dan_Went
    Dan_Went Member Posts: 11
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    Installer

    Iron Mountain, MI (U.P. 100 miles north of Green Bay), the contractor who installed is around 150 miles from here, but that is a possibility.  Thanks.
  • Alan (California Radiant) Forbes
    Alan (California Radiant) Forbes Member Posts: 4,017
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    Pressuretrol

    The last picture shows the pressuretrol (grey box) at the bottom of the riser.  Can you tell us what it is set at?  It would also help to know if it's additive or subtractive.  You will have to read the inside cover for this information.
    8.33 lbs./gal. x 60 min./hr. x 20°ΔT = 10,000 BTU's/hour

    Two btu per sq ft for degree difference for a slab
  • Hap_Hazzard
    Hap_Hazzard Member Posts: 2,846
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    Well, maybe not.

    Either my eyeballs need re-calibrating or that header is smaller than the risers. The risers look like 2" pipe and the header looks like 1 1/2". Am I wrong?



    Normally the IOMs say the header should be a half inch larger than the risers, but the best guys seem to go a full inch bigger if they can, from what I've seen. But I don't think anybody would say it's ever a good idea to go with a header that's smaller than the risers.
    Just another DIYer | King of Prussia, PA
    1983(?) Peerless G-561-W-S | 3" drop header, CG400-1090, VXT-24
  • Dan_Went
    Dan_Went Member Posts: 11
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    Pressuretrol

    It is set at 2.
  • Dan_Went
    Dan_Went Member Posts: 11
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    Pressuretrol

    Additive differential
  • Alan (California Radiant) Forbes
    Alan (California Radiant) Forbes Member Posts: 4,017
    edited December 2012
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    Pressuretrol set too high.

    If it's an additive pressuretrol, it should be set to .5 psi with a differential of 1. The small white wheel inside the pressuretrol sets the differential. At this setting, the boiler will start heating the water when the pressure hits. 5 psi and turns off when the pressure reaches 1.5 psi.



    The near-boiler piping looks fine, but your pipes should be insulated with good quality fiberglass.



    As far as the buzzing sound, I don't know, but maybe someone else here knows.
    8.33 lbs./gal. x 60 min./hr. x 20°ΔT = 10,000 BTU's/hour

    Two btu per sq ft for degree difference for a slab
  • Dan_Went
    Dan_Went Member Posts: 11
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    Warm

    Alan, thanks adjusted the pressuretrol and so far running fine, that's good since its 17 degrees here today. I have thought about insulation, after Christmas project!
  • Dan_Went
    Dan_Went Member Posts: 11
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    Warm

    Alan, thanks adjusted the pressuretrol and so far running fine, that's good since its 17 degrees here today. I have thought about insulation, after Christmas project!
  • Dan_Went
    Dan_Went Member Posts: 11
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    Buzzing noise

    The boiler makes a buzzing noise and won't turn on, it may do this for a few hours up to a day, then all of a sudden it will fire up and work fine.  Sometimes it will run for 2 minutes or so then turn off and make that same noise.  The thermostat is set at 72 and it will only heat up to around 68 when it is doing this.  Any thoughts?
  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,479
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    Could be many things

    Maybe that noise is your igniter trying to light the fuel or it's a gas valve chattering. It could be a flame sensor, it really has to be looked at by a pro.



    Does the water in the glass bounce up and down a lot and does it have an automatic water feeder? It looks like the water in the boiler is not very clean, do you blow it down weekly? The boiler could probably use a skimming and perhaps a flushing too. If you can find someone who knows what they are doing have them add a skim port after they fix your current problem.



    Bob
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
  • Dan_Went
    Dan_Went Member Posts: 11
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    Skim Port

    Yes the water does bounce up and down in the sight glass when I flush out the LWCO weekly.  It is a LWCO Float Type, from the pictures above the port next to the sight glass is that a skim port?  It does not have a automatic water feed, I do that manually.  Unfortunately we do not have any professionals in our area, I have been searching.  Thank you.
  • Dan_Went
    Dan_Went Member Posts: 11
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    Skim Port

    Yes the water does bounce up and down in the sight glass when I flush out the LWCO weekly.  It is a LWCO Float Type, from the pictures above the port next to the sight glass is that a skim port?  It does not have a automatic water feed, I do that manually.  Unfortunately we do not have any professionals in our area, I have been searching.  Thank you.
  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,479
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    That port would work

    just be warned getting that plug out will be pretty tough.



    Good luck finding someone, i assure you've tried the find a professional on this site? Don't use the zip feature, search by state and see where they are.



    Bob
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
  • Telcoguru
    Telcoguru Member Posts: 2
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    Buzzing noise

    It is possible that you might need a new thermocouple. My boiler was doing something similar and that corrected it.

    There was an error rendering this rich post.

  • nicholas bonham-carter
    nicholas bonham-carter Member Posts: 8,578
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    Buzzing transformer

    There could be a transformer next to the switch for the boiler supplying 24 volts for the control circuit to the gas valve. Sometimes the plates can become unstuck and the magnetic field will cause them to vibrate. If you hold a short non-conductive stick against it, while it's buzzing, you may find it to be the culprit.--NBC
  • Dan_Went
    Dan_Went Member Posts: 11
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    Gas Valve

    I assume this is the gas valve; when the boiler wants to fire this is where the buzzing sound comes from it last about 10 seconds and then it stops (the boiler sometimes fires sometimes doesn't).  It will also make the buzzing noise after the boiler shuts down.  Another question, sometimes when the thermostat reads the correct temperature the boiler will try to fire and will make that buzzing noise?
  • Dan_Went
    Dan_Went Member Posts: 11
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    Picture

    Here is the picture!
This discussion has been closed.

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