Boiler Pressure

Have a very old Bryant couple pilot hot water boiler. I’ve managed to keep it running for decades. I have a pressure problem that releases water as pressure gets too high. I’m retired & can’t afford a new system. Would just like to find a boiler person who could check the unit & do needed repairs. Thx
Comments
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Ah… where are you? Have you checked "Find a Contractor" tab above?
We may know someone…
In the meantime, odds are that it is either your expansion tank or, if there is one, the pressure reducing feed valve…
Br. Jamie, osb
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England2 -
Can you post pictures of boiler and piping….floor to ceiling?
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@Meryldrive post your city we may know someone who can help.
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Waterlogged expansion tank gives no place for expanded (heated) water to go except out the pressure relief valve. My friend had 3 different techs come out to her house, she even said "I think the expansion tank is waterlogged". They tapped on it and said it was fine. This is the old style tank strapped in a floor joist bay above the boiler.
They made her give her credit card number before they'd even come out, guaranteeing their getting paid, but unfortunately there was no guarantee that they'd leave with her problem fixed.
It wasn't fine, it was full of 16 gallons of water. She and I drained it and then everything was great again. I probably broke the law by helping her.
NJ Steam Homeowner.
Free NJ and remote steam advice: https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/new-jersey-steam-help/
See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el2 -
It's no wonder HOs don't like contractors.
Paying a price even an exorbitant one can be debated when the job is fixed right.
Getting scalped by a no nothing company or technician is more like fraud especially when it is a simple problem.
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I think HOs do want to like them but are scared, with some justification as you describe.
We all love the good ones. Hell I don’t even care if they make some mistakes, we’re all human.
I even tried to find her someone from HH but couldn’t. She was down near Wall NJ
NJ Steam Homeowner.
Free NJ and remote steam advice: https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/new-jersey-steam-help/
See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el0 -
Hey Paul, Call that person on the phone and tell them to dispute the charge on her credit card. The company that charged her card and didn't fix the problem did not earn the cost of the service call they charged to her card. Especially when the customer asked if the expansion tank was the cause of the problem and the company's technician dismissed that being the problem when it actually was the problem.
Give her my info and I'll help her drafr the complaint to the credit card company.
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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oh, credit cards are the easiest things to reverse the charges on
btw that type of expansion tank is called a compression tank.
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Back to the OP's problem. As others mentioned, the expansion or compression tank being waterlogged or failed is the most common problem. The pressure reducing valve or fill valve leaking is the second. There is a 3rd possibility if it also supplies domestic hot water. The coil could be leaking for the domestic hot water if it does.
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And yet there is one more, however rare. The leaking by, fast feed/manual feed valve. I learned that one the hard way.
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Actually I have fun disputing charges on my credit card by first requesting the company do the right thing. Now that I'm retired, I got nothing better to do with my time so I like to waste other people's time getting then to waive or reduce charges when I don't feel like the vendor gave me a fair shake.
I was on the phone with Comcast for 6 hours one day because they talked my son's wife into swapping out a really cherry deal that I got over 16 years ago "To save money" and keep all the channels. It turned out that the new contract did not have the sweet package I had when I lived there. Half the channels like showtime and ESPN and HBO were not part of the new lower price package and to add those to the package ended up costing more.
I would not let the CSR go home until I got satisfaction. I think they were on the phone with me for about 90 minutes after their shift ended. But I got my son the best deal available. Turns out that my grandfathered package I had was on longer available once the contract changed.
After 6 months of that deal, I was on the phone again to get the package again when the bill went up after the "Special" rate I got for him expired. It's about time for that rate to go up again, so I'll be calling Comcast again soon!
I just tell the CSR that I will hold when they tell me that someone else will get back to me. Staying on hold while typing help to HeatingHelp.com wallies is great fun for me. I also record the calls and have the transcript emailed to 6 of the executive officers of Comcast just to let them know that this customer of over 35 years will not back down when I feel like I have been taken advantage of.
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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But they also want to go home at the end of the day. Keeping them on the phone after quitting time, not so much fun for them. some of my favorite lines:
"Don't worry, I'll stay on the line until this gets resolved. You will need to find a way to get me what I had before you cancelled it".
"Talk to your supervisor and get it done."
"I don't want to hear what you can't do for me, I want to hear what you can do for me"
"How would you feel if I was repairing your heat or AC and I did this same thing to you? Would you still be my customer? I think not"
"Now lets all work together to get this problem solved to the customer's satisfaction, that is what we all want, Right? Satisfied customers!"
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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@EdTheHeaterMan It's time for you to write a book. No BS, really, you should write a book. From customer service to customer and back again.
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I might just do that!
Here is another quote, I learned from my brother after he attended a seminar about customers and credit offered by the credit bureau that the family business was using to check customer's credit score in order to offer them charge accounts to purchase fuel oil and service.
In stead of telling a customer they just lied to you, You state that they previously said they would yada yada yada, You were sincere, weren't you?
There, you just said they lied to you, and it was so polite.
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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