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stay with gravity?

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Comments

  • greg_7
    greg_7 Member Posts: 71


    The firing of the large burner heats up the boiler water quite a bit, while the rest of the system is cold. This causes a surge in pressure as the boiler water heats up and starts to flow up into the rest of the system.

    It's a physics thing.
  • Joe Constable
    Joe Constable Member Posts: 4
    Gravity Heating

    I heat my old 1928 house with a gravity hot water system with a 1930's vintage Gurney boiler. In the many years I've lived here I have no problems with the system except to change the self generating thermopile damaged in a flood. Recently the water height gauge and thermometer, both original Gurney equipment, failed. Does anyone know where I can get replacement for these parts? My water height is about 20 feet (less than 10 PSI) and the only gauges I can find have scales in PSI from 0 to 100 - enough for a high rise apartment building! My old Gurney gauge had readout in feet of water from 0 to 50. The available gauges with the 0 - 100 PSI scale are hard to read when I need only to measure about 10 PSI. Besides I'd like to read it in feet instead of PSI.As for the thermometer, I have found nothing suitable as a replacement for the Gurney thermometer that came with the original 1930 boiler.

    Does anyone know where I can get replacement parts? Also, can I get rid of the overflow tank by placing an expansion tank near the boiler in the basement? Another oddity of my system is that there is a large radiator in an attic room about 8 feet above the overflow tank. Why? It does not provide any heat, but I have noted that on occasions when I overfill the system that some water does enter that radiator even though the overflow pipe is well above the radiator. My heating man laughs every time he sees my system and insists I need to get rid of it. But I like the system and also cannot afford the $10K or more to replace the boiler and its piping and some very heavy radiators. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Joe Constable (cnsjjc@aol.com)
  • Joe Constable
    Joe Constable Member Posts: 4
    Correction

    Why? It does not provide any heat, but I have noted that on occasions when I overfill the system that some water does enter that radiator even though the overflow pipe is well above (SORRY, I MEANT BELOW) the radiator.
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