swapping pressuretrol for vaporstat???

soot_seeker_2

Jack,

Shouldn't be difficult if you can replace an electric outlet.

Beware -- have a plan B if the thing should break off when you unscrew it. Check that the pigtail isn't clogged by blowing through it. The loop shoud be facing foward and back (referenced to the control), not side to side. If it's not and you try to unscrew the pigtail, it may break off in the boiler.

A simple job, but as you see, a professional is prepared to deal with the crap that my come his way. Knowing what can go wrong comes from experience.

Good luck.

Ed

Joe_39

how difficult would it be to switch the current

honeywell pressuretrol that I have now and replace that with a pressuretrol?

Do they both have the same electrical connections?

It "looks" like it should be a simple job, akin to replacing an electric outlet.. any thoughts appreciated?

Gene_3

well, it's not hard

like you said, it's is still a control with a normally closed switch.

I am assuming you are going to a vaporstat to gain precise control?? Pounds verses Ounces??

You do not need a lot of steam pressure on the average system, in fact, I have seen units with pressuretrols and one of the guru's I used to work with would swear that it probably had a vaporstat originally, when we switched it, it worked great.

The lower you can have your steam pressure and still heat the building completely the more efficient you are.

Make sure the system and the pig tail are clean.

Switching to a Vaporstat can also help keep the boiler from overheating the home, because if you have 2lbs of steam up and don't need it you will continue heating past set point.

I say the above to help tech's.

From your post I sense that you are a DYI, please, if you do not know what you are doing or if you are having a strange problem and you think this will fix it, CALL A PRO.

A STEAM BOILER CAN A VERY DANGEROUS THING, the pressuretrol is what keeps the boiler from leveling your home. YOU don't believe me??

In your search engine type "steam boiler disasters" and press enter.

No offense, we get paid the big bucks for a reason.

We had a retired teacher come to the school for advice on his steam boiler, after talking to him and finding out that he had put in a switch to BYPASS the pressuretrol to get heat we decided to go there.

we found.....

1940's converted coal boiler

carlin burner w/ stack relay & no safety

no auto feed

no hartford loop

pig tail plugged with mud and pressuretrol not working

no low water cut off--never had one

water so muddy it would not turn to steam until it was superheated

we had them shut it down and get new

I feel we saved their lives

Joe_39

I agree wholely, A pro is a pro because he can

deal with a situation should it pop up...

I wanted to do this to gain precise control, but

I would wait until the heating season is over before I attempt that!! No need to jam myself up now when everyone is busy with no heat calls!

BTW what ballpark would a vaporstat go for now a days?

Dave Gray

vaporstat

I switched mine myself. set to 2 oz and some rads got hot, set to 3 oz and all were hot, so I set it to 4 oz (1/4 psi) for a little margin of safety. I save 100 a heating season. Not tremendous, but the digital stat keeps me on the money.
If you have a powerpile, pilot light generates the electricity to open the gas valve, you have to blow out the pilot light to work without any juice. Otherwise if you have a transformer, kill the 120 volts to it.

Bob W._3

Here is a link to a supply house. Type in vaporstat on their search function and you will get a whole page of them. I tried to post that link but it doesn't work.

http://www.statesupply.com/

I believe the Honeywell vaporstats with mercury are going bye-bye this year. The prices are already starting to rise. Not sure what will replace them.

My system uses the L408A1132. The A models break on pressure rise, I think. 4-16 oz. should do it.

Joe_39

not sure of which vaporstat to buy

I see 6 of em on statesupply, some are 0 to 4lbs ,some 0 to 16 ounces...

any suggestions for a 1 pipe gas steamer?

Bob W._3

Well, only the 1157 or 1132 break on pressure rise. I suppose if your system needs to generate more than 1 lb. pressure you could get the 1157.

Gene_3

that's excellent

100 gallons or $100?

There is proof positive that less is more.

Please take no offense, but in my book if you are barely capable of changing an outlet you should not be doing control work, it is more that 2 wires, it is setting it up properly AND testing it out to be sure it shuts the boiler down should pressure rise.

Please be sure to test it more than once, in canada they require 2 pressurecontrols on steam systems for good reason.

Joe_39

Gene,

If you are handy with the tools, and the pressuretrol was installed by a pro -could it be a simple swap??

I dont know b/c I dont that for a living...

But if it is a matter of removing the wires from the same terminals as the honeywell ptrol and placing them on the same terminals as a honeywell vaporstat and replacing it on the top of the existing pig tail, it shouldnt be too hard for a handy person..

Basically the question Im asking is: is this job a simple "parts changer" job

you know the difference between a "parts changer" and a mechanic..

Ive had both in my home.. and if I can do the "parts changer" work then I will, and I leave the real work to the mechanics

While I have changed outlets, switches, GFCI and installed ceiling fans, ran bx and conduit ,I would never consider myself an 'electrician' b/c there is a lot more to electricty then the above but at the same time if I can do the "simple" end of electrical work -I will -or I will wind up paying an electrician a hefty amount to do that work.

On the same note, if I can do the parts changing on my heating system ,like change a leaky blow down valve on my LWCO (4 screws-ive done it) then I will- thats no brainer stuff.. but for more complex repairs/adjustments then its a pro- hands down no questions



no offense taken and none meant!

Gene_3

it's your call to make

you know your limits, I just want to stress that this is serious, a malfuntioning steam boiler, or any unit for that matter is a bomb, ooops I said the B word. So be sure you check it's operation, it is a safety device and must work for you to sleep at night.

These days, with electric and fuel prices jumping 30%+++ and raises coming in between 0-2% we are going to have to do as much of our own repairs to survive, just be safe.

Long Beach Ed

Should be...

a direct replacement. If you can figure out how to effectively test your work and make sure the pigtail is clear you can do it.

Joe_39

I understand fully about the

seriousness of a boiler not shutting off and building to much pressure... If I decide to do it ,I will watch for that... right now the existing pressuretrol stays!!

Amen to that (bout the raises and fuel prices) ,we are all in this vicous circle of rising prices and rising rates..as a biz man you need to cover expenses and as a HO you need to control expenses...someones got to pay!

Joe_39

Yes the pig tail is clear

and I got a working pressuretrol in there right now..

Looked closely at it again and its 2 spade tip connections on the incoming electrical cable and I looked at the vaporstat online and its the same thing

Steve Garson_2

I replaced my pressuretrol with a vaporstat a month ago. It took five minutes. But as the pros said, you can always run into problems with a pig tail breaking. Be sure to kill the power:)

My one-pipe steamer runs fine with five ounces, versus the 2 lbs which was what the 1.5 lb pressuretrol was really cutting off on. This reduced each steam cycle from 15 minutes to 13 minutes, which is a savings of 13%.

Joe_39

did you shut off on pressure

or only when tstat was satisified?

Steve Garson_2

My shut-off has always been on pressure. The radiators get hot real fast.