High Steam Pressure

brian_14

I have a fairly new Burnham that regularly runs upwards of 20 psi of steam pressure and seems to be causing the pressuretrol to cut out often. It's not enough to cause short cycling, per se, but it does take a few cycles for the system to heat the house to the selected heat on the thermostat. I've replaced many of the air vents and they seem to all be functioning now....Any other ideas?

-Brian

gehring

Do you mean 2 PSI instead of 20??? The boiler is only rated for 15 PSI so I hope you had your decimal point in the wrong spot.

Weezbo

Yikes!

good thing you stopped by for a chat!

brian_14

Sorry I didn't check back in for a bit.....

> Do you mean 2 PSI instead of 20??? The boiler is

> only rated for 15 PSI so I hope you had your

> decimal point in the wrong spot.

brian_14

Sorry I didn't check back in for a bit.....

well, it's a 2 family house with 2 completely separate systems. On one side of the cellar is the Burnham and on the other side is an older Peerless. The Peerless runs flawlessly and needs make-up water only about once a month. The Burnham, however has had a number of small problems and takes make-up water at least once a week or more, in the coldest months. anyway, the Peerless runs at just about dead zero for pressure, but the gauge on the Burnham is regularly somewhere between 15 psi and pegged!
I don't know if the gauge is just loopy, or what. But when the system is down in the summer, the gauge does return to zero, so I know it's not stuck... could the gauge just be faulty????

Billy_3

what is the pressuretrol set at?

Steamhead

You need a good steam man NOW!

there are several possible causes for the boiler to act like that, all of which need professional help. Try the Find a Professional page of this site to locate one near you. If you're in the Baltimore area, e-mail me!

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

brian_14

I have the cut out down aroud 3 psi, which leads me to believe the gauge is tweaked.

With the warm weather coming, I think I'll pull the pigtail off to see if it might be clogged, and try a new gauge too. What say ya?

brian_14

Professional

Sorry,

I'm in Boston. The last "professional" I had look at it did a bunch of stuff and left me with leaks I had to fix myself and a $150 invoice!!
I wish I felt confident enough to let another pro look at it, but it seems that steam is a lost art that only a few guys really know about any more.
I did a better job with the leaks than the plumber, and I'm just a stinkin' auto mechanic!!
Last summer I took apart the low water cutoff system and cleaned out a ton of sludge, replaced the old gate valve with a new dirt pocket cap and a ball valve, put in a new sight glass and o-rings. The boiler must have been pretty neglected by the previous owner 'cause the rust buildup was really heavy, like it had never been flushed. I had to push a steel rod through the little valves at the top and bottom of the sight glass to unclog them and get things moving again. This stopped the water line from bouncing up and down nicely. Anyway, it's been leak free since, but I still have this high pressure reading....

I think this summer I'll pull the pigtail off and see if it's clogged too. What say yee?

Mark Hunt

Wanna' see what a \"professional\" did


to the clutch on my 89' S-10?

Whoooooooooo boy!!!! If you're half as good as you say you are, you would have been twice as pi$%ed as I was.

Look harder and do some research.

You WILL find a REAL pro, I am sure.

Mark H

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"