Wiley Boiler Trap question

takoateli

We have a customer with a two pipe steam system. The first floor is not working at all. The second floor is working properly.

We replaced the boiler and replaced one broken steam trap at one of the radiators. There is one more radiator which we suspect has a bad trap but we haven't been able to get it apart.

The system has a Wiley Boiler Trap. Yesterday I took off the fittings on the top and under that there are two valve devices. I freed them up and cleaned them. My understanding is when the trap fills with condensate it rises which lifts the valves which then allows steam to drive the condensate down into the boiler. Is that correct?

Is there some way to verify the condition or operation of this trap?

I verified I do have steam coming to the boiler trap, but I believe it's not activating to allow steam into the trap, possibly because the condensate is not getting high enough.

Does that system need a Hartford loop high enough to allow the condensate to back up into the trap?

I believe the 1st floor and 2nd floor have separate returns. I think that's the clue to why one floor isn't working.

Any ideas on why this system is not be working properly? Should we check pressure in the return?

mattmia2

What pressure are you running the boiler at? Usually systems like that need to keep the pressure under 8 oz. or so. Usually it returns without the steam assist if the pressure is low. A vaporstst and properly sized boiler will do that.

Others may know this specific system.

EBEBRATT-Ed

The water should return by gravity until the steam pressure gets high. Then the water rises up in the return trap lifting the float and using steam pressure to assist driving the return water into the boiler. There should be a vent on the trap that works. Do you have crossover traps and are they working?

mattmia2

Also if there are water seals where the mains connect to the returns, make sure those are below the water line of the new boiler.

Steamhead

It's a Boiler Return Trap, as discussed in chapter 15 of Lost Art.

@takoateli , how does the air get vented from that system?

takoateli

mattmia2 said:

What pressure are you running the boiler at? Usually systems like that need to keep the pressure under 8 oz. or so. Usually it returns without the steam assist if the pressure is low. A vaporstst and properly sized boiler will do that.

Others may know this specific system.

Our pressure gauge is a 0 to 30 psi so it's hard to read very accurately, but we are running it at very low pressure. It's a gas boiler and we took out a couple of orifices to slow it down. If we put an orifice back in and start cycling on pressure.

takoateli

EBEBRATT-Ed said:

The water should return by gravity until the steam pressure gets high. Then the water rises up in the return trap lifting the float and using steam pressure to assist driving the return water into the boiler. There should be a vent on the trap that works. Do you have crossover traps and are they working?

Thanks. I don't know what crossover traps are. It would appear that we only have traps at each radiator and then the boiler trap.

takoateli

Steamhead said:

It's a Boiler Return Trap, as discussed in chapter 15 of Lost Art.

@takoateli , how does the air get vented from that system?

There is a main vent at the far end of the supply just before it attaches to the return.

takoateli

mattmia2 said:

Also if there are water seals where the mains connect to the returns, make sure those are below the water line of the new boiler.

What is a water seal?