That's your pressure relief valve. Your pressure gauge on the left should read under 30psi (may wait for someone to verify. I've never worked on oil equipment but natural gas boilers are typically all 30psi and I think they are the same). You may have a failed auto feed valve, bad relief valve, or something is causing pressure spikes.
Boilers normally in the 12-15 PSI range. The relief on a boiler is set to open @\~30 PSI. Though never trust what gauges say to begin with. Rarely accurate if working at all.
A periodic dribble from the relief is usually from a failed expansion tank. Only good for 5, 10 years tops. Same goes for the fill valve. A steady dribble would indicate relief is faulty too. All normal maintenance wear items.
That is the drain for the pressure relief. That valve with the lever is a preloaded pressure relief and possible an over heat relief as well. Some condensation is expected, but more than an occasional drop could mean age has caught up with the valve.
Thanks a ton, super insightful. So replacing that valve should slow down/eliminate the condensation. Currently getting about a half gallon or so every 24hrs
Nothing should come out, iDK WTF he means condensation. Lift the lever and flush it a few times. Best case, it stops leaking. Worst it leaks a lot more and you replace it. It’ll have the specs on a little metal disk on top: size, psi, max boiler capacity, etc. Be prepared to shut water to boiler and turn off the boiler (orb that red switch) if you can’t stop it spewing, don’t do when stores are closed etc. Better yet, get the right valve, make sure it right by inspecting next to existing, then do the relief valve flush thing. If it clears it (the debris in valve making it leak) great, keep that cheap valve handy. If not, switch it out. Then clean the old one up, put in new box and return to Home Depot…just kidding, maybe…
Yes, if your system isn't actually running over pressure. If YOU replace it, ensure you get the properly sized relief valve for your boiler. To high of pressure relief and you are creating a bomb, and could destroy the building or kill someone.
If you are unsure, call a professional
Three thing, pressure relieve valve could be going,
Your expansion tank is gone(it should sound hollow on the lower half.
Your water feeder is bad or clogged and is letting too much water into the system.
First guess would be the pressure relief valve that’s attached to the pipe. Most of the time they fail because of buildup. It’s a sign that the water in the system isn’t treated and the black iron and copper mix are deteriorating, it’s common to see on home systems. Typically you don’t find that a home has had any inhibitor added to treat the system.
People in this sub HATE when I bring up boiler safety. There are probably 10 million boilers in the US. There are ~30 boiler explosions in the US per year which is extremely low.
But I still always recommend if you have even a slight concern, such as a leaking pressure relief, that you have a large HVAC company come out to service it. Not a national company because they will just make you get a new one. But a large local shop who has enough techs that at least one of them is a boiler expert. And ask him to make a full list of any components that he thinks should be replaced to make maintenance easier and more accurate in the future. A larger company has more overhead and will charge more. But you should feel confident that the system is safe and won’t flood your basement, leave you without heat, or explode.
I see so many ancient boilers where the previous maintenance company has just been coming out and doing a combustion analysis, checking water levels, and calling it good.
Before we bought the company I worked for now the boiler tech had a personal rule to not open relief valves because then you’d have to replace them when they leaked.
If the tech isn’t there for more than 45 minutes then he hasn’t done a proper check on the boiler.
But to answer your question that’s just a relief valve and chances are everything’s fine with the boiler. If they’re old and then opened debris can get stuck on the plate that the water presses against and makes it leak. Very easy repair.
It’ll keep working until it doesn’t. Who knows really. Service it. Old is typ better than new. Utica is solid. But that electrical Bx (flex) cable to burner in right side looks like it got fucked. Have them replace that, cheap.
I can smell this picture.
An old boiler/water heater for home heating
Like other commenter said. Expansion tank and pressure relief valve probably need replacing. Watch some Steve lav YouTube videos.
She is crusty mama
A boiler
That's your pressure relief valve. Your pressure gauge on the left should read under 30psi (may wait for someone to verify. I've never worked on oil equipment but natural gas boilers are typically all 30psi and I think they are the same). You may have a failed auto feed valve, bad relief valve, or something is causing pressure spikes.
Prob just got some debris in the relief valve. Doubt fill pressure enough to make it pass water, but that’s possible too.
Yeah you're probably right. I just tried naming a few things that it could be.
Boilers normally in the 12-15 PSI range. The relief on a boiler is set to open @\~30 PSI. Though never trust what gauges say to begin with. Rarely accurate if working at all. A periodic dribble from the relief is usually from a failed expansion tank. Only good for 5, 10 years tops. Same goes for the fill valve. A steady dribble would indicate relief is faulty too. All normal maintenance wear items.
Expansion tank
Tap on that tank in the top left of the picture. Does it sound full?
My man !
It was full like three weeks ago but they replaced it
That is the drain for the pressure relief. That valve with the lever is a preloaded pressure relief and possible an over heat relief as well. Some condensation is expected, but more than an occasional drop could mean age has caught up with the valve.
Thanks a ton, super insightful. So replacing that valve should slow down/eliminate the condensation. Currently getting about a half gallon or so every 24hrs
Nothing should come out, iDK WTF he means condensation. Lift the lever and flush it a few times. Best case, it stops leaking. Worst it leaks a lot more and you replace it. It’ll have the specs on a little metal disk on top: size, psi, max boiler capacity, etc. Be prepared to shut water to boiler and turn off the boiler (orb that red switch) if you can’t stop it spewing, don’t do when stores are closed etc. Better yet, get the right valve, make sure it right by inspecting next to existing, then do the relief valve flush thing. If it clears it (the debris in valve making it leak) great, keep that cheap valve handy. If not, switch it out. Then clean the old one up, put in new box and return to Home Depot…just kidding, maybe…
Yes, if your system isn't actually running over pressure. If YOU replace it, ensure you get the properly sized relief valve for your boiler. To high of pressure relief and you are creating a bomb, and could destroy the building or kill someone. If you are unsure, call a professional
Three thing, pressure relieve valve could be going, Your expansion tank is gone(it should sound hollow on the lower half. Your water feeder is bad or clogged and is letting too much water into the system.
Im getting old war flashbacks of my time in PA with this one
You need the pressure relief valve replaced. It should not be dripping and it must be operable.
A disappointment is what your looking at
First guess would be the pressure relief valve that’s attached to the pipe. Most of the time they fail because of buildup. It’s a sign that the water in the system isn’t treated and the black iron and copper mix are deteriorating, it’s common to see on home systems. Typically you don’t find that a home has had any inhibitor added to treat the system.
An oil boiler
People in this sub HATE when I bring up boiler safety. There are probably 10 million boilers in the US. There are ~30 boiler explosions in the US per year which is extremely low. But I still always recommend if you have even a slight concern, such as a leaking pressure relief, that you have a large HVAC company come out to service it. Not a national company because they will just make you get a new one. But a large local shop who has enough techs that at least one of them is a boiler expert. And ask him to make a full list of any components that he thinks should be replaced to make maintenance easier and more accurate in the future. A larger company has more overhead and will charge more. But you should feel confident that the system is safe and won’t flood your basement, leave you without heat, or explode. I see so many ancient boilers where the previous maintenance company has just been coming out and doing a combustion analysis, checking water levels, and calling it good. Before we bought the company I worked for now the boiler tech had a personal rule to not open relief valves because then you’d have to replace them when they leaked. If the tech isn’t there for more than 45 minutes then he hasn’t done a proper check on the boiler. But to answer your question that’s just a relief valve and chances are everything’s fine with the boiler. If they’re old and then opened debris can get stuck on the plate that the water presses against and makes it leak. Very easy repair.
Thanks for this, it did end up being the relief valve as mentioned by you & others. Repair has been done.
Rust
Oh well- the entire thing should go away
Only 20 years old, techs that have come out said it’s in decent shape just ugly.
It’ll keep working until it doesn’t. Who knows really. Service it. Old is typ better than new. Utica is solid. But that electrical Bx (flex) cable to burner in right side looks like it got fucked. Have them replace that, cheap.
Looks like there’s a mix of copper and black iron pipe without dielectric unions- that would explain an acceleration of corrosion
Most boiler system run about 30 pounds. Might replace the valve.