burnham KIN8LNC-LE2 pressuretrol setting issue

maknyc

Hi All! i have a burnham kin8lnc-le2 gas steam boiler, my pressuretrol keep resetting and i notice the pressure is around 7-9psi on the guage, is this normal for a low pressure boiler?

i have two pressuretrol, the front unit is a 129204E and the back one is a 129204F (reset switch).

My thermal coupler is new, the AWF is new, my LWCO tested and works, i also clean out the pigtails and fittings.

i did drain the water and refill it, should i skimmed it?

i want to adjust the setting on both pressuretrols, i attached pictures and by the look of it, it seem a little high.. can any guru here confirm?

My boiler is outta wack....

Thanks for your time!

Jamie Hall

Both pressuretrols are set much too high. The automatic one should be set to cutout at 1.5 psi and a differential of 1; the manual reset one should cutout at 5 psi.

Now having said that... it's clear that the automatic one isn't seeing the pressure, and it's likely the manual one really isn't either. I would take both of them off and make sure that the pigtails are really and truly clear, all the way into the boiler. You say you've done that, but... wouldn't hurt to do it again.

I wouldn't trust that pressure gauge. You do need it, for insurance and building code, but to really see what the boiler s doing you need a low pressure gauge as well. This can be teed into either of the pigtails for the pressuretrols.

Then if you still find the manual pressuretrol needs to be reset, double check all the wiring. It's not unheard of for the wiring to be incorrect.

EBEBRATT-Ed

@maknyc

And on the manual reset. PLEASE kill the power (make sure it's dead) take the wires off and restrip them and wind the wire around the screw 3/4 of the way in a clockwise direction.

It's driving me nuts

maknyc

Hi Jamie, thank you for the advise.
I turn it down like you said, and now the boiler stay on for less than a
hour and shuts off and i have to reset.
my thermostat is set at 72 deg from 7am to 4pm daily, There one hoffman 75 on the main line.
I double checked both pigtails and use compressed air and cleaner to clean it out,
i also cleaned out the piping connected to the pigtail.
should i turn up the both pressuretrol up a little and test?
I installed a gauge and is showing around 7-9 psi before the cut out
any advise on what to look for or test?

Thanks in advance.

Jamie Hall

The problem would appear to be that your low pressure pressuretrol is not functioning. It should turn the boiler off at just below 2 psi, and turn it back on at a very low pressure (I would reset it's differential to 0.5 psi, rather than 1 -- you're very close, the way you have it set, to the repeatability of the pressuretrol).

So the question is... why? It could be the low pressure pressuretrol itself is faulty, and not tripping as the pressure increases. It could be that its pigtail -- or the port in the boiler or the port in the bottom of the pressuretrol -- is clogged. It could be that overenthusiastic cleaning of the port in the bottom has damaged the diaphragm. Or it could be that the two pressuretrols are wired in parallel rather than in series.

maknyc

Hi Jamie, Did what you said and now the is cutting out even earlier. when it was set high, the boiler with run for longer...
I'm going to take both pigtail off and inspect again and the tube coming from the boiler.
I checked the wiring on both pressuretrol and it is series setup.

thx jamie!

Jamie Hall

Is the boiler cutting out on pressure on the automatic reset pressuretrol, or the manual one? I'm not sure I'm clear on that.

And remember that you really don't want pressure -- anything over 2 psi in a conventional residential steam system is too high.

maknyc

Hi, the manual reset keep cutting out. i have to hit the red button to reset.
I'll double check all the piping again tomorrow.

Jamie Hall

If it's the manual reset that's cutting it out, the automatic pressuretrol simply isn't working or sensing pressure. If it really is wired correctly (you can test that: simply lift one of the wire connections off the switch -- the burner shouldn't fire) then it's either the pressuretrol is faulty or the pigtail connection is clogged so it can't see the pressure. No other options.