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CG400 with Hoffman feed tank

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mastmech
mastmech Member Posts: 4
in Strictly Steam

I am replacing a Burnham IN7 with a newer IN7. The steam boiler uses dry returns to a Hoffman feed tank. The old boiler had a LWCO float switch that would interrupt the thermostat signal and trigger a relay to run the pump on the feed tank. The new boiler came with a probe style CG400 LWCO. I wired the 24v relay for the feed pump to terminals 2 and A on the CycleGard. Based on some things I have read on this forum, it seems I might need to add a delay to the feed pump relay. Would this set up be appropriate, or am I missing something?

Comments

  • ethicalpaul
    ethicalpaul Member Posts: 8,177

    Do you need the tank? Someone might have added it in a misguided attempt to solve some other problem. You will be in a much easier situation if you can just let the water return on its own.

    PS: just a curious question that you can ignore: how long did the old one last?

    NJ Steam Homeowner.
    Free NJ and remote steam advice: https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/new-jersey-steam-help/
    See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el

  • EdTheHeaterMan
    EdTheHeaterMan Member Posts: 11,588

    That depends. If you were using a feed valve without a tank, many of those valves are equipped with the delay feature. Your A terminal wire from the LWCO will power the pump motor right away when the LWCO sense a low water condition. Since the actual condensate does not return directly to the boiler, you may not have the flooding problem that may happen with condensate that returns to the boiler directly. I would try it without the delay.

    Edward Young Retired

    After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?

  • mastmech
    mastmech Member Posts: 4

    I’m going to leave the feed tank in place for now since I’m not sure what issues the previous installer was trying to solve. The house has 829 sqft of radiators and exposed pipes and is quite sprawling. I’m completely redoing the near boiler pipes. The old setup was missing an equalizer. There will be a spot to hook a Hartford loop in if the feed tank becomes an issue.

    The old boiler only lasted 18 years. I think this is mostly due to leaky radiator shut offs and bad near boiler piping. My concern right now is to get the heat going again, but I will address the leaks later.

    ethicalpaul
  • ethicalpaul
    ethicalpaul Member Posts: 8,177
    edited December 23

    That's pretty good for a Burnham IN boiler around here, but I recommend you keep the pH at 9 and I continue to be surprised that people will replace a boiler that failed young with the same model. Thanks for entertaining my question!

    NJ Steam Homeowner.
    Free NJ and remote steam advice: https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/new-jersey-steam-help/
    See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el

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