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Is water in pressure gauge normal even with pigtail?

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agurkas
agurkas Member Posts: 238
in Strictly Steam
So I was looking forward to adding low pressure gauge, but when I unscrewed the 30PSI one, there was water in it. I thought it wasn't supposed to happen. Do I need new pigtail or something else failed?

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  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 23,283
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    One could have a small amount of water in the gauge -- after all, this is an environment with 100 percent relative humidity. It shouldn't have been full of water, though -- but that's a little hard to tell. The only way, though, that it could be full of water would be if the sensing element had a leak -- in which case there should also be water or signs of it.

    You need that 30 psi gauge, though. The insurance company, if no one else, requires it. There are several ways to pipe after the pigtail to add the low pressure gauge, depending on the rest of your setup.
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • agurkas
    agurkas Member Posts: 238
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    30 PSI gauge will stay. I just unscrewed it to put in an elbow etc. Lots to learn for me...
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 15,673
    edited October 2014
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    What had water in it, the gauge face or the back of the gauge that senses the pressure?

    Both of my gauges, the 30psi and 3psi always end up with water in the inlet. The pigtail prevents steam from reaching the gauge but water vapor still gets to it which should be harmless. The gauge face should never have water in it.
    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment
  • agurkas
    agurkas Member Posts: 238
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    It was just on the back, not on the face. So everything is fine then.
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 15,673
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    Yep, I wouldn't worry.
    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment

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