Pressuretrol Replacement - Steam Boiler

Matt223

I recently bought this house and had the boiler serviced (HB Smith unit). I was told by the tech that the pressuretrol is not working correctly. I bought an identical replacement Honeywell and was hoping to install it myself to save a few bucks.

It seems easy enough, just some simple wiring and a threaded connection. Is this something that can be easily completed by the average guy, or is a pro-install a better idea? (I have done plenty of simple plumbing and wiring in the past)



And is putting water in the pigtail as simple as just pouring some in before I put the pressuretrol on the top?

Matt223

Part#

I forgot to mention its a Honeywell PA404A 1009-2 Gauge

BobC

15 minute job

It is a simple job but take the pigtail off and make sure it is clean all the way through. Also kill the circuit breaker that feeds the boiler and check to be sure there is no power.



Bob

Matt223

Great!

Thanks Bob, the tech cleaned out the pigtail so that should be all set.

Do i just pour some water in there before the re-install?

BobC

Your all set

Add a couple of ounces of water to the pigtail and put the new pressuretrol on.



Bob

Matt223

Thanks

Great Bob, thanks for your time!

JD424

Pressuretrol replacement

Hi Matt

Im no pro but I am a handy person just like yourself. Coincidently I replaced by pressuretrol today and I learned quite a bit from my local heating supply guy. Here was his advise and all of it was spot on.



Replace the pressuretrol, the gauge, the pigtail and all the fittings associated. This will ensure there are no blockages, crud or a broken PSI gauge. The pressuretrol should run you about $100-$120 bucks the gauge and the fittings about another $30. All well worth it since a service call would be about $150.



Im not sure about the water in the pigtail, Can anyone else answer this ? I did not add water and the boiler seemed to cycle fine when I tested it.



PS make sure the Pigtail is brass and it should have the curve front to back (not sideways) where you would see the hole. Use teflon tape in all the joints. Be sure to make sure there is no sludge or blockage on the tap that lead to the pigtail.



Good Luck !



BTW this is a great forum a lot of knowledge available here.



Pro's correct me if Im wrong on the water in the Pigtail.



J

BobC

New pressuretrol

Good luck with the new pressuretrol but be aware they are not known to be accurate. Watch it go through it's first steaming cycle to make sure the pressure setting is where you want it.



Bob

JohnNY

A couple of advice corrections:

Water will collect in the pigtail by itself via condensing steam within a few cycles. You don't need to add any more water.

The control mounting position on the pigtail is only if you're using the old style mercury bulb units which I haven't seen on a shelf in many years. It doesn't apply to modern pressuretrols.

VA_Bear

Water in the pigtail

John is right about the water condensing in the pigtail from use, but I still add some after i replace the pigtail to prevent the steam from reaching the gauge and the control on first time start up. It might be overkill, but I prefer to get every bit of life from a control I can and it only takes a second and bottle of water that is usually in my tool bucket. I replace the pigtail when I replace the control (as Dan has said, the pigtail has two jobs; to protect the control and to clog) as cheap insurance. Just my $0.02 worth...