How do you know if your blow off valve is working? Should you ch

Joe.G

I was wondering if there is anyway to make sure the blow off vavle for teh boiler is working? is there anything i should do to it once in a while to make sure it works and stays working? It is a old green blow vavle with a relewase vavle on the top. Thanks

Al Letellier

safety valve

Don't mess with it Joe, if your not a heating pro. You can get scalded very easily. From your description, it's an old one. Get a good heating guy or your burner service company to check it out, better yet, replace it if in doubt. It's too critical to your safety to mess with it or leave it in if it's as old as it sounds.

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Joe.G

So there is no way to check that it works? with out raiseing the boiler pressure to see if it pops?

Joe.G

So there is no way to check that it works? with out raiseing the boiler pressure to see if it pops?

Glenn Harrison

There are two tests for a relief valve,

One is to lift/pull the handle on the end of the valve. This will tell you if the valve will open at all or if it is sealed shut due to corrosion. Second is to raise the boiler just above the pressure rating of the relief valve and force it to pop automatically. Keep in mind both of these test will most likely cause the relief valve to leak after the test, if the valve has not been opened in a while. Also if either of these tests is done while the boiler is hot, you will get burned if the water touches you.

Personally, as a professional I test the relief valves every year because I have come accross a couple that would not open by hand and had to be replaced. Since you are a homeowner, I cannot recomend under any circumstances that you do these tests yourself. In your case, judging by previous posts of yours, the trick for you is to find a competent contractor to do it for you.

Good luck.

Glenn Harrison, Residential Service Techician

Althoff Industries, Crystal Lake, Illinois

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Al Letellier

safety test



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Al Letellier

safety test

No, Joe there is no way other than raising the boiler pressure. If it has any age to it, Joe, replace it. It probably won't reseat and will leak if you "pop" it. But again, be safe. If you don't know how to do it properly and safely, call a pro.

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Marty_2

And hope it does not look like this one. second winter they must have never skimmed it on startup.