Space between pigtail and Pressuretrol?

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I want to get the Pressuretrol out from inside the boiler cabinet. Can I put about a foot or two of brass pipe between it and the pigtail on top of my McDonnell & Miller 67 Low Water cutoff? or should I put the pipe right into the top of the 67 and put the pigtail directly under the Pressuretrol up top outside the cabinet?

IMG_2696.jpeg

Comments

  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Posts: 21,159

    Having the pressure control and the pigtail above the boiler water line is best practice IMHO. I would use brass pipe and a brass pigtail if you can I know its more $$$.

    If you have another spare tapping on top of the boiler that would be even better. Some put a tee between the safety valve and the boiler.

    The reason is the #67 LWCO and sight glass tappings below the water line are prone to partial plugging etc. If you keep them clean then its a non issue.

  • pecmsg
    pecmsg Posts: 7,608

    What's with the bucket of water?

    Unions are not supposed to be inside the cabinet.

    Where is the pressuretrol now?

    Can we get a picture from a little further away?

  • Old_Steam
    Old_Steam Posts: 26

    I drained the boiler to remove the pressuretrol line to get to the stuck float. I had to use a wooden dowel coming in from the top to free it from the rust. Its free now.

  • Old_Steam
    Old_Steam Posts: 26

    I know its an old boiler(1966), but I want to keep it as long as possible, as its a millivolt syustem. When theres a blackout, I still have steam heat in the radiators.

  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Posts: 18,205

    you should really either disassemble and clean or replace the lwco. You could replace it with a probe type although you'd need to add a 24vac transformer to power it. It is a very important safety feature so you want to make sure it isn't packed with muck.

    You could also tap the pressuretrol in to the header somewhere.

  • ethicalpaul
    ethicalpaul Posts: 9,030

    Why not have the union inside the cabinet? They put everything else in there!

    NJ Steam Homeowner.
    See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el

  • pecmsg
    pecmsg Posts: 7,608
    edited 5:03PM

    unions are not allowed inside the cabinet as per the gas code.

    I don’t say it makes sense but it’s the code here

  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Posts: 18,205

    the union in the cabinet is probably the thing that worries me the least about a 60 year boiler.

    JUGHNEethicalpaul
  • JUGHNE
    JUGHNE Posts: 11,644

    And the bucket is obviously for blow down of the LWCO.]

    At least he must be doing it.

  • Old_Steam
    Old_Steam Posts: 26
    edited 6:32PM

    When I bought my house 35 years ago, the old owner had the blowout directed straight down over the right gas tube. you can see how rusty it is. she had a small soup pot from a stove top sitting over the burner tube to catch the water. She must have rarely blown it out, as the previous M&M 67 was completely rusted like it was under the sea for the prior 30 years. I replaced it soon after moving in with the one you see here. I punched a hole in the side of the cabinet and added piping to route the blowdown water away from the burner tube. That tub is full today because i had to drain the boiler to get inside the cutoff to free the float.

  • Old_Steam
    Old_Steam Posts: 26

    This little boiler makes steam to feed ten radiators in the house, a couple 5 feet long. The house stays warm with no cold rooms. I ripped off the asbestos packing on the basement pipes to get more heat in the workshop and laundry room years ago. I know the comments will say I unbalanced the system, but everything works great.

  • Old_Steam
    Old_Steam Posts: 26

    My finished hack job. Note the Wyze Wifi camera on the lower left that I used to keep an eye on the water level since the float was rusted stuck last year. I might go out to the garage and get an old asbestos shingle to slide between the riser and Pressuretrol to protect it from heat. Does anyone think that is overkill? Its about an inch away from the riser.

    IMG_2699.jpeg
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Posts: 17,722
    edited 7:02PM

    After I had to change my gas valve I added a union inside of my cabinet. Some boilers come with a union inside the vestibule which then makes it ok per code. Apparently.


    I've heard others say this isn't allowed by code and I tend to believe them.

    However, I'm curious if anyone can point out where any local code says this?


    Here's AI's "opinion" on it as far as the national fuel gas code goes.

    image.png

    Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.

    ethicalpaul
  • Old_Steam
    Old_Steam Posts: 26

    But it is not a gas union in my case. Its just a way to mount the pressuretrol without having to spin it around and not clearing the header pipe.

  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Posts: 21,159

    @Old_Steam What you did is fine. Looks good

    Maintain the lwco and make sure it cuts off the burner when you drain it. I don't remember how often they should be flushed but I think M/M recommends weekly. Pressure control and the LWCO and pigtail should probably be cleaned yearly especially with an older boiler.

    Gasfitter for 35 years and never heard of any union restriction about being in a cabinet. never read that in any code either.

  • pecmsg
    pecmsg Posts: 7,608

    must be a NYC, Nassau, Suffolk Co thing.

  • ethicalpaul
    ethicalpaul Posts: 9,030

    I will not say that. There is nothing about an uninsulated main that should unbalance or harm the performance of any system. The only thing it does is affect the temperature of the basement, and correspondingly, may slightly affect the fuel usage.

    NJ Steam Homeowner.
    See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el