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Weil Mclain Gauge/Control Replacment.

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Toymotorhead
Toymotorhead Member Posts: 54
in Strictly Steam
So. The 0-30PSI Gauge on my Weil Mclain Steam Boiler (EG-40) is does not work. I need to replace it with one that does and add a second gauge with a more useful scale. At some point I may want to upgrade the control. This boiler as far as I can tell only has one useful tap on it, which currently has a three quarter turn pigtail siphon on it with the 30 PSI gauge and the control off of it.



How lucky do you think I am going to be if I try to break that brass pigtail free from the boiler jacket? I want to replace it with a multiple pigtail setup so I can add what I want and be future proof.



Do you think I should leave it in place and build up from there. Or pull it out and start with a nipple and build a new manifold.



Thanks

Richard.

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  • Rod
    Rod Posts: 2,067
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    Gauges & Controls

    Hi Richard -   

     Gauges-  You need a working 0-30 PSI Gauge.  Pex Supply has them available

    http://www.pexsupply.com/Burnham-100325-01-Steam-Pressure-Gauge-for-IN-INPV-Boilers

    The sku number is:  100325-01



    A low pressure gauges are available from The Gauge Store. http://www.gaugestore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=33020

    Most people are using the 0-3 PSI   # 33020 gauge.



    Being brass your pigtail should be fairly easy to loosen. The steel types are the hard ones to remove as they rust in. Attached below is a picture of a typical multi gauge setup.   This gauge setup was done by Chris J . Note the shut off valve which isolates the low pressure gauge during a higher pressure blow down.



    Controls- I imagine that you now have a Pressuretrol. Some time in the future after you get other items straightened out you might want to replace the Pressuretrol with a Vaporstat which is more accurate at low pressures. Residential steam systems operate better at lower pressures. The maximum pressure of a residential steam system should be under 2 PSI and a lot operate at much lower than that.



    Could you post another  picture of your boiler which includes the piping attached to it? Take it from farther back so we can trace out the piping. (We can blow the picture up if we need to see more detail) The fact that your steam riser coming out of the boiler is reduced is probably a concern.

    What is the maximum pressure at which your boiler now normally operates? ( I realize of course that without a working pressure gauge you may not be able to determine this! :)



    If you don't have a copy yet I would highly recommend that you get a book called "We Got Steam Heat!" which is available in the Shop section of this website. It's easy reading and written for the homeowner new to steam.

    - Rod

    http://www.heatinghelp.com/products/Steam-Heating-Books/25/61/We-Got-Steam-Heat-A-Homeowners-Guide-to-Peaceful-Coexistence
  • Toymotorhead
    Toymotorhead Member Posts: 54
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    Okey dokey

    Yea, I have been reading about all the different ways of doing the

    controls and gauges, I was mostly asking to make sure there I was not

    crazy for trying to remove the old gauge pigtail from the boiler jacket

    and relocate it as part of the upgrade.



    Right now the pressuretrol and the gauge are in a really akward place so I want to move them and make it easier to upgrade in the future.



    I am going to add a second gauge  and replace

    the 0-30PSI Right now my control is set at almost 2 psi cut out. Which

    is where it was when I bought the house. Even then you cannot see

    anything on the 0-30 PSI gauge.



    So the plan is get some gauges, add some

    better main line vents, (questions asked in other thread) order up the

    books, and see what we can do to make this one work better.



    Thanks

    Richard.

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