No steam

some obvious questions that may help diagnose...

If you are getting steam to 1st floor but not above first, I would check all rad vents where steam is NOT. The may be water logged. Unscrew them and drain them out then try again. DO NOT UNSCREW WITH STEAM IN SYSTEM/SYSTEM ON .. WAIT UNTIL 1st Flr RADS ARE COOL.



If you have been running on such a high pressure, perhaps you damaged

the rad vents and they are stuck closed, this would prevent steam from

entering pipes without working vents.



Also check your rad pitch and rad valves while you are checking all rad vents.



As I understand it, rad vents should be replaced every 5yrs or so..maybe a new set of Gorton Vents all around would be useful. And while you are at it, you can balance your system by properly venting based on EDR and Piping of each rad. The only place to order Gorton Vents online is www.pexsupply.com.



My 1-30psi gauge never moves. Steam should be at 2psi MAX for domestic (not normally but at MAX) and the lower PSI the better, I now operate below 1psi (4oz-12oz) so my 1-30psi gauge does not move .. but my new 0-3psi gauge moves :-)



How long is the burner running before you determine 0 pressure exists?

To check for boiler leak, when not running, flood boiler to top of sight gauge and see if any water spills out where it shouldn't be. DO NOT RE-FIRE UNTIL YOU BRING WATER LEVEL BACK DOWN TO NORMAL.



I hope this helps.

If you are getting heat

in your first floor radiators, your boiler is producing steam.  That's the only way the heat can get from the boiler up there, after all!



The pressure differential to make a steam system work at all is very small -- the dead men often figured on half a psi for all the piping losses, plus half a psi as a margin.  So all you need is a maximum of 1 psi -- and it is unlikely that you will see a 0 -30 gauge move (but that gauge is required by code; it has to be there).  The pressure loss going to additional floors with steam is negligible, unlike water.



Therefore... your problem with no heat on the upper floors is neither the boiler (unless it is radically undersized or underfired -- not likely, particularly if it ever worked) not the current pressure.  It is not immediately clear whether this is a one pipe system or a two pipe system.  If it is a one pipe system, I agree with jpf -- step one is to check the vents on the radiators which are not working.  They may well be stuck shut, particularly if you ever ran over 3 psi.  Not hard to replace -- but as he said, do it when the system is cold.  Steam burns -- very very badly.  If it is a two pipe system, there are other possibilities -- so can you enlighten us on the type of system?



And in the meantime, if you have a pressuretrol set the thing to half a psi cutin, and a 1 psi (additive) differential.  That will be ample.

a plug would over-pressure

I would imagine that a steam system PLUG (as well as clogged vents) would lead to an over-pressure event. Perhaps, as Jamie Mentioned, you are underfiring..perhaps plugged gas jets? Maybe you need new igniters or something else having to do with the fire. I once had a gas oven that barely got over 150degF even though it was on (blue flame and all) because I needed to replace the igniters which limited the flow of the gas.



You never provided provide a time of burner run before you decided that there is no heat. Is it running 30mins? 2hrs? Certainly it is different than you are used to but giving an indication of how long it is running without results may help.



Did you try a flood test on the boiler to check for leaks above the Water Line?

I'm no expert,

but as others have said, 0 reading on a 30psi gauge might be "normal". The only time my system shuts off on the pressuretrol (set at .5-1.5) is when I'm recovering from a large setback and it is cold.



I think I have a problem similar to yours every fall. Especially in a "mild" fall like we have had so far this year. I think it is the way my piping is layed out, and perhaps due to not having properly balanced venting (or perhaps not enough main venting). Here is my theory, FWIW: The thermostat calls for heat, the boiler starts delivering, but before the upstairs radiators can see much steam the first floor thermostat is satisfied and shuts off. I haven't figured out a solution to this, which is in part why I'm visiting this site. I'd put bigger vents on the upstairs radiators, but then they overheat when it is COLD outside and I'm recovering for the nighttime setback (which I happen to like - I run 60 deg night and 68 deg day - some say this is too much for a steam system, and they might be right). I wonder sometimes if this is because steam systems are designed to run all the time on a fire that would naturally die down at night, but never go off - maybe an intermittent fire just does not work (well) for steam if you like to use a nighttime setback?



I think the problem is that the pipes to upstairs never really get hot when the weather is mild, and the burner is intermittent, so they condense the steam before it reaches the upstairs radiators.



One thing you might try is setting the thermostat several degrees warmer than normal, does that get steam upstairs? If so, you know your boiler can deliver the steam. . .

It is nice

to have an ace up your sleeve



Please let us know what you find out. It might be helpful to others. Thanks.