Gage Description..

joe143

joe143

Do the settings seem right ?..This is an ancient Thatcher from when dinosaurs roam the earth 

Mad Dog_2

Very old pressuretrol .  Mad Dog 🐕 

Mad Dog_2

It depends...is there a working steam pressure Guage on that boiler?   Can you give us some pictures from about 5 feet back and all the piping?   Mad Dog 🐕 

EBEBRATT-Ed

Settings look ok. Is that a steam vapor system?

neilc

looks like you're cutting in at 3 psi, and out at 4,
too high for residential steam,
dial the left scale down to 1, or just under,
you will cut in at 1, and out at 2,
what's your gage show?

post a more general picture, floor to ceiling showing the boiler, and connected piping above, and all controls and sightglass,

Have you serviced the pigtail ?

EBEBRATT-Ed

@neil your right I was looking at the scale wrong

joe143

What about the 2nd pic??

HVACNUT

The second pic has an aquastat set to about 140° for domestic hot water purposes. Is there a tankless coil in the boiler?
The other control with the valve is the low water cut off. You should run the boiler, then drain the boiler  through the LWCO valve while the burner is on to make sure it shuts off the burner when it reaches low level.
Quid pro quo. Where's the pics?

ethicalpaul

Kilograms per square centimeter! Well we know the boiler is newer than 1850 or so!

joe143

Yes it has a coil and it does shut off when I open the LWCO..  
should the aquastat be left like at 140 ?? .. water is super hot especially when heat is on.. Also some mentioned Cleaning the pigtail.. but it doesn't have one..
Thanks again 

joe143

pics of  theof te

joe143

Pics of the Dinosaur..  As a retired older man converting to gas is way out of my budget.. I couldn't believe what I was qouted on a boiler and water heater install... Sorry for ranting 

mattmia2

When the boiler is steaming the water in the boiler is going to be a lot hotter than the aquastat setting. There should be a mixing valve on the dhw to keep it a a safe and constant temp.

The aquastat is just a low limit to keep the boiler hot enough to make dhw when there isn't a call for domestic heating.

That asbestos that is falling off is also an issue.

neilc

does that gage drop back to 0 when the boiler is off?

joe143

it's always around that 3 mark..

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

Thatcher Furnace Company. So, a furnace company made boilers? Or did boilers used to be called furnaces?

mattmia2

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes said:

Thatcher Furnace Company. So, a furnace company made boilers? Or did boilers used to be called furnaces?

maybe they made roofs

joe143

I set it at 1 now.. Gage reads

neilc

joe143 said:

Gage reads

??

joe143

joe143

looks like it's at 1 now.. what about scale on right side??

neilc

the scale on the right, that's your differential, leave it at 1,
left scale is cut in, set to 1, the Ptrol turns boiler burner back on, (cut in), as pressure gets to or below 1psi,
Ptrol shuts boiler off(cut out), at the addition of Cut In, and Differential,
so,
1 cut in, plus 1 differential = 2 cut out(burner off)

the 1 on the gage, that's with boiler/burner off? for a while?

neilc

you should add another gage,
a lower pressure gage,
and lucky you, I got an easy spot for you,
there is a misplaced vent right next to your Ptrol,
remove that, you don't vent air from steam boilers, at the boiler,
add nipples and a ball valve, and top it with a brandsy new working gage, right there,

and sinse your hooked,
go to the store here, and buy,
We Got Steam,
https://www.heatinghelp.com/store/detail/we-got-steam-heat-a-homeowners-guide-to-peaceful-coexistence
it's a great primer, easy read, with lots on knowledge inside

joe143

gage moved to the 2 position now..boiler off. it's been off for about an hour 

neilc

can you post a picture, more distant, of where that gage is,
and of your sightglass,

if you tap on that gage, does it jump around a bit?
I wouldn't put a lot of trust in that old 30 psi gage,
add another where the vent is,

and I would unwire and remove your Ptrol, and check those nipples and 90 and into the tee to be sure that's all free breathing back into the boiler,
take the Ptrol off and blow down into that assembly, it should be free breathing, or you need to clean and or replace those fittings,

neilc

is the boiler off because the thermostat is satisfied?
or,
is the Ptrol not responding/restarting the boiler?

joe143

Boiler is back on had it off because I was changing filter. I put heat on and gage is at almost 6 now..I'll be ordering the book today thanks 

mattmia2

neilc said:

and lucky you, I got an easy spot for you,
there is a misplaced vent right next to your Ptrol,
remove that, you don't vent air from steam boilers, at the boiler,
add nipples and a ball valve, and top it with a brandsy new working gage, right there,

I think that is an ancient relief valve.

joe143

Gage after running for about 45 minutes.  it hasn't reached the thermostat temperature yetbut it has turn off 2 times  and restarted. is that normal.  Turns on runs for about 10 minutes a d shuts.. radiators are hot.

neilc

mattmia2 said:

neilc said:

and lucky you, I got an easy spot for you,
there is a misplaced vent right next to your Ptrol,
remove that, you don't vent air from steam boilers, at the boiler,
add nipples and a ball valve, and top it with a brandsy new working gage, right there,

I think that is an ancient relief valve.

boogers,
(1 ah sh!t = 10 atta boys)
and I messed up,
upon closer inspection, that does look like a safety valve,
good call

when the Ptrol nipps come apart,
(because now we're at 6 psi, )
an extra tee and nips can be added to allow for a secondary gage,

neilc

joe143 said:

Boiler is back on had it off because I was changing filter. I put heat on and gage is at almost 6 now..

I think you should check that piping leading to your Ptrol

joe143

would that cause it to keep coming on for like 5 minutes and turn off  its  done like 4 times..thermostat hasn't reached its point yet..

mattmia2

joe143 said:

would that cause it to keep coming on for like 5 minutes and turn off  its  done like 4 times..thermostat hasn't reached its point yet..

The short answer is the boiler is oversized. The somewhat longer answer is that the pressuretrol is working as intended, the system reaches the pressure set on the pressuretrol and it turns the burner off. The radiators consume the steam that is already in the system and the pressure drops then the pressurtrol closes and fires the boiler again. The boiler is bigger than the system it is connected to so it is producing more steam than the system can consume.

joe143

So that's reason.. I'm burning my life savings away..on oil..ugh..I think it's time to let it go.. You guys have any preference on brand..Everyone says mclain but I believe they're the most expensive..

Thanks so much guys..you guys are a blessing to the old guys on here.. I'm sure to the younger ones too..lol 

neilc

joe143 said:

would that cause it to keep coming on for like 5 minutes and turn off  its  done like 4 times..thermostat hasn't reached its point yet..

ok, so, it IS cycling on pressure, not desirable, but not terrible either, 95% of steamers on here are oversized, and cycle on pressure,

joe143 said:

So that's reason.. I'm burning my life savings away..on oil..ugh..I think it's time to let it go.. You guys have any preference on brand..Everyone says mclain but I believe they're the most expensive..

Thanks so much guys..you guys are a blessing to the old guys on here.. I'm sure to the younger ones too..lol 

it is safe to say a modern, right sized boiler will be more efficient than yours,
a lot, no, but more efficient, yes.
and as far as McClain being expensive, ya get what you pay for,
but don't buy a boiler name, buy an installer contractor, preferably from this site,
https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/

I just wrote this in another thread, but applies here now also,
if you're entertaining quotes/proposals,

make sure the contractor(s) measure all your radiators.
this is the only way to be sure you're getting the appropriately sized steam boiler,
Do not accept a boiler proposal sized to your existing boiler unless a radiator survey is done and proves the existing is right sized, (it won't be)

this is a good 1st disqualifier for any contractor,
ask your current company for a proposal,
see if they need to survey your radiators,

then from any proposing company,
ask them for pictures of their last 2 or 3 steam installs, digitally,
you will post them here, and get responses to appropriateness of the prior installs as 2nd qualifiers,

Mad Dog_2

All the Major boiler manufacturers are within reach of eachother.  WM is a great company, Peerless, Crown, Utica, but I'm partial to Burnham..Mad Dog 🐕