***UPDATE...UPDATE....Pressuretrol,Pigtail,Boiler Satisfying heat call vs pressure...ISSUE RESOLVED!

ww

Have a pressuretrol and gauge hooked up to old Arcoliner Steam Boiler without the normal type pigtail before the Pressuretrol and gauge. Instead take a look at the photo. I have to hook up a low pressure gauge with valve to truly test if the Pressuretrol is working and the boiler pressure is too high.

Will hooking up a pigtail change anything here?..I know the water in the loop protects the gauge and pressuretrol.

What is the purpose of this ball on the boiler..a steam trap of sorts?..do i leave that there when hooking up a pig tail or just leave it all alone and get a low pressure gauge..or take the ball off and hook up pigtail to boiler?

I just want to find out if the boiler pressure is too high..causing waste of fuel. I cleaned out all the pipes and the ball and no restrictions. I will lower the differential to less than two on the pressuretrol..I was just testing the position of the mercury switch. Will set to 1/2 lb on cut in and maybe 1 lb or less on differential causing cut out to be 1 1/2 lbs or less after testing.

Am I correct in saying that if the thermostat calls for heat and the cut out pressure is not reached the boiler will run until the thermostat is satisfied...as is if the pressure should go above the cut out it should go off until the boiler pressure lowers to the cut in and goes on again?

The real question is how do I know if the pressuretrol is really working when the boiler is on in the absence of a low pressure gauge...the large ones usually don't even register anything at all.

Once all the vents closed up I 'd figure the pressure would have to rise somewhat if the boiler was still on. Is the pressure in the radiators low..for example if you were to remove a radiator vent would the steam gush out at high pressure?

Fred

Am I correct in saying that if the thermostat calls for heat and the cut out pressure is not reached the boiler will run until the thermostat is satisfied...as is if the pressure should go above the cut out it should go off until the boiler pressure lowers to the cut in and goes on again?

Yes, your assumptions here are correct. If the boiler cuts off on pressure, and the thermostat is not satisfied, it will refire in probably a minute or so and continue to do that until the thermostat is satisfied. That ball probably holds some condensate in some fashion to prevent steam from getting to the gauge and Pressuretrol. Set the Pressure Cut-in and Differential as you suggested above. I doubt you need a pigtail with that ball.
What's the age of that boiler? We'd love to see a full shot of it!

ww

Ok..thanks Fred..

See photo below..

Installed a pigtail today and poured some water in from the top of pigtail. Reassembled and set the Pressuretrol to 1/2 cut in and 1 differential.

I used an old boiler gauge that showed smaller increments. Saw the pressure rise and boiler cut out at approximate setting. Will fine tune it when I get a chance.

Made sure pigtail was perpendicular to the mercury switch to prevent leveling problems. Once the pressure without the intense heat passes through the pigtail where the water is that water must act as sort of a cushion.

This enables the pressuretrol bellows to rise and cut the boiler off and having the mercury switch point down and to the left turning burner off.

The burner fired up in a bit when the pressure dropped to 1/2 lb.

I also believe in low pressure for steam..after all..the Empire State Building uses very low pressure to heat the top floor. You save fuel, put less strain on equipment and it's safer too. I will try to make it even lower and see what happens with my experiments.

I'm wondering if anyone building a new house puts in steam..or this is just for old systems...Probably for the most part they use something else I guess..curious.

Fred

Good for You!

Abracadabra

Nice ancient pressuretrol. You need a better gauge though.

ww

I do have a new gauge but put that old one on for test since it seemed to show the lower pressures better. Was looking at a newer pressuretrol and also a vaporstat up to 16 oz but still making tests...and this pressuretrol works nice..had to recalibrate it a bit and will monitor.

Abracadabra

Use a gauge that goes 0-3 psi instead of 0-30 psi

JUGHNE

That gauge is a few steps up from what we usually see here.

Is your basement warm or could you call it hot, just looking at those bare CI sections, looks like a real high EDR rated radiator.
(actually the newer ones might only have 1" of FG insulation with a jacket to contain any convection)

ww

thanks...glad you mentioned that..have been looking for some insulation to put on the boiler. i cleaned it up and am looking to seal the sections with hi temp sealer. any suggestions for that...does the insulation really work much on the boiler at all...also have a hot water boiler to insulate.

i have all the pipes insulated and basement is warm down there..i know..with the giant radiator. also looking for a nice boiler vacuum that doesn't blow the soot around and contains it.

ww

also..seems those low pressure gauges are kind of pricey and hard to find..and the gauges i have show the smaller amount and if you look close enough you will see it and the boiler shuts off thru the pressuretrol like clockwork.

JUGHNE

www.valworx.com WIKA 0-3 PSI w/ups is $54.10....2.5" bottom connected. Will let you know what is really going on, accuracy of control settings may not be true, but new gauge would be the best investment.

Somewhere there is some commercial heavy duty 1" fiberglass blanket designed for boiler wrap.