Forgot to put water in the pigtail

Clank Clank

Well, more accurately, i didn't know i was supposed to put water in there before reconnecting it. Seems as if the gauge (not the low pressure one yet) is working as before as is the pressuretrol (which is to say not working accurately, .....just as before).



Do i need to take it apart again and put some water in there or would that happen naturally over time?

Jamie Hall

oops...

Well, you are not the first one to do that!



Probably no real harm, as the components are probably rated for steam.  If you feel like fiddling, though, it would be better...

[Deleted User]

Gauges may not like steam

I'm sure there are gauges rated for steam, but the low-pressure gauges I've looked at all say maximum temperature of 140-160 F.  So might be good to have water in there.

But I wonder if it could fill up just by condensation, on its own?

Jamie Hall

It will

fill on its own, but it will take awhile.  If you are at all concerned -- and perhaps rightly so! -- the best solution is to take it off again, put water in it, and put it back.  Won't take that long.

Pumpguy

In my experience.....

the fluid that the gauge sees doesn't matter.  I've had this discussion in the past with customers concerned about weather the gauge was seeing air pressure or water pressure. 



To confirm my opinion, I just had a phone conversation with a tech rep at Ashcroft Gauge.  His info was as I suspected, the fluid doesn't matter.  Standard Bouirdon tube gauges are good for temperatures up to 250 degrees F., although there is a slight accuracy loss at the high end of this temperature range. 

Hap_Hazzard

Ashcroft vs. Wika

The Wika gauges that a lot of us got from gaugestore.com are capsule gauges. They're a little more prone to metal fatigue and temperature distortion. I wish I'd looked at the Ashcroft gauges first. They're more expensive, but you get what you pay for.

rrg

Pigtail at water level

With my pigtail at water level I can feel the temperature difference going around the loop.



The loop section toward the boiler is warm and the loop section after the water is cool to the touch.



If you haven't taken it apart you can feel the pigtail loop and see if you feel a temperature difference from one end to another.



If it's warm or hot all the way around, then there is no water or condensation built up.



my2cents.

ChrisJ

Steam

We also need to remember unless the gauge is screwed directly into the boiler it is doubtful steam ever makes it to the gauge or pressuretrol even with an empty pigtail.   The piping is full of air which isn't leaving any time soon.  Sure, over a few cycles it will probably work its way out but I doubt before the pigtail fills with water.



I filled mine first, but I really doubt it matters.

BobC

Not a problem

When I installed my 0-3 Wika on the old Burnham v75 I forgot to fill the pigtail before mounting the gauge. I remembered it a few days later and checked the pigtail and it never gets all that hot. The area screwed into the boiler is very hot but the part near the T that feeds the gauge and vaporstat is just warm



The gauge and vaporstat have been moved to my Sith boiler and are both doing fine after four years of faithful service.



Bob

JohnNY

pigtail

If I had to ballpark it, I'd say I myself have installed about 100 residential, well-functioning, steam boilers in the last 20 years. My company's installers, who've learned from me and barely deviate from my methods in the least bit, have about another 500 under their collective belt.



I've never once put water in a pigtail.



Don't invent things to worry about. Water will get there on its own and it's not going to make a bit of difference.