burnahm v8 10 min on, 1 min off, 10 min on, 1 min off

Nexus5

Hi,

We have purchased a house with an oil fired steam heating system. Here are the specs:

Burnham v8 rated at 283 edr, 219 edr connected, two main loops, 7 radiators total, 250 gal tank.

Mains are very well vented. I'll work on insulating them this week. Pig tail clean with low pressure gauge attached. Old school pressuretrol set at 2 psi max and 1.5 psi diff. Boiler has been serviced in November, efficiency ~ 83%. T87 thermostat, anticipator setting 1.1.

The problem:

Boiler cycles 10 min on and 1 min off until thermostat gets satisfied. System is nicely balanced and all rads heat evenly. No bangs, no hissing. Water in a glass doesn't bounce. Pressure doesn't build up at all (is it possible?), low pressure gauge is working. I took it with me from our old house.

Would you be able to tell me what to check in order to eliminate cycling on and off? Is it some kind of a safety device?

Thanks.

Nexus5

Steamhead

The low-water cutoff

is probably a "Cycle-Guard". It shuts off every 10-20 minutes to make sure it's getting a good reading even if the water is foaming (which it should not be). Take the white piece of paper off the unit (black box mounted to front of boiler) and you'll probably see the Cycle-Guard name. 

Nexus5

Cycle Guard

Thank you, I found a different thread about this device and did the research.