Homeowner Question-Pressure Gauge

Big Ed

Does the gauge drop back to zero at boiler idle ?Does it read in pounds or ounces ? I have not seen trouble with gauges as explained..... The extra pressure cost you more to produce if it's running up that high... I would check the gauge and replace it if need be.....

Mark K

Pressure Gauge-Does this sound correct to you

Hi everyone,

I have a 1 pipe steam system, with a 10 year old Burnham Independence gas boiler.

I made a service call to my gas company, because the pressure gauge was reading 6 psi during the boiler cycle, eventhough the pressuretrol was set for .5 cut in and 1 diff.

The tech checked the pigtail, and cleaned it out, checked the pressuretrol and said that it was working properly. He told me that he sees this all the time; that the gauge sits right against the boiler and gets "fried" by the heat, and loses calibration. He told me that he finds that the gauges all seem to die within a couple of months of being installed.

My system seems to be running ok. I get heat fairly quickly, and there's no water hammer noise, so should this be a concern? Does the pressure gauge actually do anything important, I mean as long as the pressuretrol is working properly?

Unknown

I've seen the same problem

many times with a gage connected right into a steam boiler . A few years ago I started installing them after the pigtail for the pressuretrol , on a 1/4 inch tee . They hold up alot longer this way .

Mark K

Yes, it does drop to zero

The gauge is calibrated in pounds, and it does drop back to zero when the boiler is off. During the firing time, it is reading between 5-6 psi, but the tech told me that that is not correct. He assured me that the system is not actually running at that pressure, that the pressuretrol is working properly and the gauge is just bad.

I guess if it is a known problem, my only question would be, is is ok to leave it as is, or do I need to replace it and re-mount it off the pigtail, as suggested?

Glenn Harrison_2

Mark

Just out of curiosity, do you have a contractwith your gas company, where you pay a fee, and the gas co. sends out a "preferred" contractor at no charge? If so, I would be leary of his opinion, as the gas co. usually does not pay it's subs very much, and they/you wind up getting what you pay for.

It's best that the pressure guage and the pressuretrol be mounted on the pigtail preferable the same one so the gauge tells you what the pressuretrol is seing. The gauge is needed to tell you not only if the pressure is higher than normal, but if it achives a higher than safe pressure. As in if you saw 20 psi on your boiler, your in trouble because the relief valve should have opened at 15 psi and released the excess pressure. You would also need to find out why the pressure got so high in the first place.

I would replace the gauge and mount it on the pressuretrol pigtail, and then see what happens. If the pressure climbs back to 5-6 psi, then you need a new pressuretrol.