Econoburn 200 outdoor - fluctuating water psi

[Woodrookie]

First year for the boiler, everything going well (if I use seasoned wood that is), however tonight for reasons unkown the water pressure is not holding consistent. The fire was down and the temp was a little low, so as I built up the fire and the water temp was climbing, i glanced at the psi gauge and it was almost at 30. So I then pulled the release valve to lower the pressure down to 20, and had to keep doing it until the temp reached the target of 180 degrees. Along the way, at one point it dropped down to zero and then back up. It seems to have stabilized around 20 at this point, but it is still worrisome. I thought I would check here to see if anyone has any ideas or has experienced something similar. I will be sending email to Dale tonight...

 

[Singed Eyebrows]

I had no end of grief with my pressure system because of a tiny air leak on the expansion tank drain valve. Is your system sealed up good? Check expansion tank precharge pressure when you are able to, Randy

 

[Nofossil]

Your expansion tank is not doing its job. Either it's waterlogged, lost its charge, or it's isolated from the system by a closed valve or some other failure.

If it's easy enough, remove it from the system and drain the water from it, then check the recharge pressure. I had one that had a slow precharge valve leak so that it gradually filled with water. The precharge pressure was OK, but the tank was eventually 100% full of water. The bladder ended up bonding to itself so that you couldn't get any air into it.

Fix it today - don't wait.

 

[Woodrookie]

thanks to both of you. I appreciate the feedback. I'll look at it today and see what I can do.

 

[in hot water]

Is the tank sized correctly? In rare cases I have heard of the bladder sticking in the tank. Check the air pressure, when the system pressure is at zero, or the tank removed. You don't want to keep adding and removing water, it will lead to scaling and increased corrosion potential.

 

[Woodrookie]

I talked to Dale and he thinks the problem is air in lines. he also said expansion tank is too small. its 3 gal and he thinks i need 4.5. its been operating fine the first 2 months so it is surprising to me the sizing problem would manifest now but what do I know. I am adding water to the system and bleeding out the air, so we'll see how it goes. how do I check the air pressure on the tank? if the system pressure is zero what should the pressure in the tank be? thxs.

 

[Hydronics]

If you have a long loop to the boiler (underground) it is likely too small of a tank. Do you have auto air vents at high points?

 

[Singed Eyebrows]

I talked to Dale and he thinks the problem is air in lines. he also said expansion tank is too small. its 3 gal and he thinks i need 4.5. its been operating fine the first 2 months so it is surprising to me the sizing problem would manifest now but what do I know. I am adding water to the system and bleeding out the air, so we'll see how it goes. how do I check the air pressure on the tank? if the system pressure is zero what should the pressure in the tank be? thxs.

Is your tank 3 gallon or 3 gallon acceptance? Tanks in that range are not too expensive, put in a decent size tank like 5 or 7 gallon. Are you running a feeder valve on your system, this drops city water pressure to about 12 psi? You could start with 12 psi precharge(tank isolated) & your feed pressure set at 12 psi. This is what Amtrol told me to set mine at. If you are starting with 40 degree water you will need more expansion tank than at 100 degree water. You could heat to 100 degrees & disconnect/bleed the water from the tank & that would be your starting point then, Randy

 

[Woodrookie]

If you have a long loop to the boiler (underground) it is likely too small of a tank. Do you have auto air vents at high points?

I only have about 37 ft underground but then another 175 ft looped in the house. No, i don't have air vents at high points, but that sounds like a good idea. How do they work, are they points in the system where you can bleed out the air?

 

[Woodrookie]

I talked to Dale and he thinks the problem is air in lines. he also said expansion tank is too small. its 3 gal and he thinks i need 4.5. its been operating fine the first 2 months so it is surprising to me the sizing problem would manifest now but what do I know. I am adding water to the system and bleeding out the air, so we'll see how it goes. how do I check the air pressure on the tank? if the system pressure is zero what should the pressure in the tank be? thxs.

Is your tank 3 gallon or 3 gallon acceptance? Tanks in that range are not too expensive, put in a decent size tank like 5 or 7 gallon. Are you running a feeder valve on your system, this drops city water pressure to about 12 psi? You could start with 12 psi precharge(tank isolated) & your feed pressure set at 12 psi. This is what Amtrol told me to set mine at. If you are starting with 40 degree water you will need more expansion tank than at 100 degree water. You could heat to 100 degrees & disconnect/bleed the water from the tank & that would be your starting point then, Randy

I looked up my tank - amtrol extrol model 30 - tank volume 4.4 gal; max accepted volume 2.5 gal. what is the difference? i checked the valve - no water leaked out but it was only at 9 psi instead of 12. Is this a big deal? no, i do not have a feeder valve, just a hose attachment at lowest point in system. i like the of disconnecting and bleeding the water from it. I might have to give that a try. i added water and bled out the air...the system psi has been stabilized for the last several hours at around 17 - 18. I may be in the clear.

 

[Singed Eyebrows]

I talked to Dale and he thinks the problem is air in lines. he also said expansion tank is too small. its 3 gal and he thinks i need 4.5. its been operating fine the first 2 months so it is surprising to me the sizing problem would manifest now but what do I know. I am adding water to the system and bleeding out the air, so we'll see how it goes. how do I check the air pressure on the tank? if the system pressure is zero what should the pressure in the tank be? thxs.

Is your tank 3 gallon or 3 gallon acceptance? Tanks in that range are not too expensive, put in a decent size tank like 5 or 7 gallon. Are you running a feeder valve on your system, this drops city water pressure to about 12 psi? You could start with 12 psi precharge(tank isolated) & your feed pressure set at 12 psi. This is what Amtrol told me to set mine at. If you are starting with 40 degree water you will need more expansion tank than at 100 degree water. You could heat to 100 degrees & disconnect/bleed the water from the tank & that would be your starting point then, Randy

I looked up my tank - amtrol extrol model 30 - tank volume 4.4 gal; max accepted volume 2.5 gal. what is the difference? i checked the valve - no water leaked out but it was only at 9 psi instead of 12. Is this a big deal? no, i do not have a feeder valve, just a hose attachment at lowest point in system. i like the of disconnecting and bleeding the water from it. I might have to give that a try. i added water and bled out the air...the system psi has been stabilized for the last several hours at around 17 - 18. I may be in the clear.

Try running it awhile & see if that 9 psi holds(tank isolated) If you have hot water to your emitters you don't need more pressure. I run very low system pressure, about max 12 psi with about 780 gallons expanded, Randy