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Boiler doesnt seem to be working at full capacity

JodiMe
JodiMe Member Posts: 70
I noticed yesterday that our temp was taking an awful long time to come up. When I went down in our basement to do laundry, it seemed our boiler was running quieter than usual, as if it wasn’t working as hard. It’s on, but it doesn’t seem to be pushing steam as hard as usual. I’m in NJ so there’s no big change of outside temp. Thoughts before I but a call in to our guys?

Comments

  • EzzyT
    EzzyT Member Posts: 1,294
    Boiler oil or gas?
    E-Travis Mechanical LLC
    Etravismechanical@gmail.com
    201-887-8856
  • JodiMe
    JodiMe Member Posts: 70
    Gas
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 23,171
    How's the gas pressure down your way, @EzzyT ?
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • EzzyT
    EzzyT Member Posts: 1,294
    Could have a issue with gas pressure and volume.
    Where in NJ are you located?
    E-Travis Mechanical LLC
    Etravismechanical@gmail.com
    201-887-8856
  • JodiMe
    JodiMe Member Posts: 70
    edited March 2019
    Would my other gas appliances be affected? Stove and dryer seem to be fine.

    I’m in Cranford.
  • EzzyT
    EzzyT Member Posts: 1,294
    @Jamie Hall some areas are really low. During the winter months in low pressure areas PSEG only guarantees 3”-4” of pressure. I know all the utility companies in the area are trying upgrade the gas piping out in the streets.
    E-Travis Mechanical LLC
    Etravismechanical@gmail.com
    201-887-8856
  • JodiMe
    JodiMe Member Posts: 70
    Would gas pressure have a sudden drop? It was working normally on Thursday. At least I didn’t notice a difference until yesterday.
  • EzzyT
    EzzyT Member Posts: 1,294
    @JodiMe yes they could be depending on the situation if it’s a gas pressure or volume issue. A lot of the times in low pressure areas the smaller gas appliance won’t be affected as much as the larger gas appliances.
    E-Travis Mechanical LLC
    Etravismechanical@gmail.com
    201-887-8856
  • EzzyT
    EzzyT Member Posts: 1,294
    @JodiMe do you if you have high pressure coming into the house or low pressure? You can tell by seeing if there is a regulator by the gas meter.
    E-Travis Mechanical LLC
    Etravismechanical@gmail.com
    201-887-8856
  • JodiMe
    JodiMe Member Posts: 70
    I don’t think I see a regulator. Where would it be attached?
  • EzzyT
    EzzyT Member Posts: 1,294
    Before the gas meter.
    E-Travis Mechanical LLC
    Etravismechanical@gmail.com
    201-887-8856
  • JodiMe
    JodiMe Member Posts: 70
    Ok no regulator. I know PSE&G was mentioned but we have Elizabethtown for gas. Guessing it doesn’t make a difference in operations tho...
  • mikeg2015
    mikeg2015 Member Posts: 1,194
    EzzyT said:

    Before the gas meter.

    It’s a big round chapped thing.

    IF you house is high pressure, there’s regulators at each appliance... smaller round things. Look like what’s attached to a propane tank for your BBQ grill. Also similar to what’s on the air regulator for a scuba tank. That’s a regulator. Maintains constant output pressure.

    Stoves and simple burners like in your clothes dryer are less sensitive to pressure change. In shot burners on boilers are very sensitive. Low pressure can sometimes actually do the opposite of what’s logical and cause shooting due to reduced draft. Shooting hurts efficiency, causes high CO and will eventually start blocking the burners. Was a huge problem here locally last year when it go really cold. Carrier furnaces in particular all bit the dust.

  • JodiMe
    JodiMe Member Posts: 70
    edited March 2019
    Definitely no regulator then. It’s running right now. Here’s a video. Seems like a smaller flame, not roaring like usual. Sorry, can’t get the video to load, only a rogue pic of my meter. Lol
  • JodiMe
    JodiMe Member Posts: 70
    Turns out there was water in the gas line at the top of our street and it was affecting mutiple homes. It has been flushed and fingers crossed all works normally in the morning.

    Y’all seem to have been right about low gas pressure... That’s why I keep coming back. 👏🏼
  • ethicalpaul
    ethicalpaul Member Posts: 5,695
    Wow, that’s not awesome! We have a leak around the corner from us where we can smell gas as we drive past.

    My friend who works at PSE&G tells me at any given time there are ~1500 known active leaks.
    NJ Steam Homeowner. See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el
    SeanBeans
  • JodiMe
    JodiMe Member Posts: 70
    Wow. That seems concerning.
  • neilc
    neilc Member Posts: 2,692

    Wow, that’s not awesome! We have a leak around the corner from us where we can smell gas as we drive past.

    did you call and report it ?

    known to beat dead horses
  • ethicalpaul
    ethicalpaul Member Posts: 5,695
    I know they’ve been there to check it but I’m going to call it in
    NJ Steam Homeowner. See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el