InspectAPedia ^®

Guide to Heating System Pressure & Temperature Gauges HeatAPedia © Enter your search terms Submit search form   Search This Website - InspectAPedia.com

Here we provide an inspection and repair guide to Heating System Gauges: Pressure and Temperature Gauges on Heating Boilers. You will also see that this website answers most questions about Heating System Boiler Controls on central heating systems to aid in troubleshooting, inspection, diagnosis, and repairs.

Contact us to suggest text changes and additions and, if you wish, to receive online listing and credit for that contribution.

© Copyright 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

Hydronic (hot water) Heater Pressure Gauge and Normal Pressure Ranges

Pressure and Temperature gauge on hot water or hydronic heating boilers: this gauge displays the heating boiler internal pressure and temperature.

Typical pressure for a residential boiler serving a two story home would show 12 psi cold, and less than 30 psi hot. Over 30 psi boiler pressure will cause the pressure relief valve to open.

Typical operating temperature settings on a boiler call for a Low temperature (boiler cut-in) between 120 and 160 degF.

Typical operating temperatures on a hydronic boiler call for a high temperature (boiler cuts off) of 180-200 degF.

Over 200 degrees F. we're at risk of spilling at the pressure temperature relief valve.

Typical operating temperature observed at the gauge will be below the high, and can be as low as nighttime room temperature in non-heating season if no tankless coil is in use.

The temperature/pressure gauge may help in checking for normal conditions before and during boiler operation.

However the gauge can be wrong!

This gauge shows a typical in-boiler pressure of under 20 psi, and a temperature of about 190 degF. (The boiler had just cut off on a heating cycle.)

Steam Boiler Pressure Gauge and Normal Pressure Ranges

Pressure and Temperature gauge on steam heating boilers: Residential steam heating systems are almost always designed to operate at very low pressures, perhaps around .5 psi - that' s 1/2 of one psi.

You should see similar settings on the pressure gauge (at left in our photograph) and on the steam pressure control switch (the gray box at right in our photo) on your boiler.

The controls in this photo are discussed in detail at STEAM HEATING SYSTEMS

Hot Water Heating System Controls Inspection, Peripherals, Key Components

How to determine what type of heating system is installed:

Warm Air Heating Systems - Furnaces: If the heat in your building is provided by warm air that flows out of ceiling, wall, or floor air supply registers into the occupied space, or if your heating system uses a water-to-air heating system then the air which warms the living space is probably being delivered through large or small diameter ducts, registers, air filters, and a furnace blower, and the air is being heated by a gas, oil, or electric furnace, or perhaps by a heat pump or a geo-thermal system. See FURNACES and for details see FURNACE OPERATION DETAILS.

Hot Water or Steam Heating Systems - Boilers: If the heat in your building is provided by warm or hot metal radiators, heating baseboards containing finned copper tubing, or wall convectors that look like a radiator but contain finned copper tubing, or if heat is provided by flexible rubber, plastic, or metal tubing run in building floors or ceilings, then the warm or hot water circulating in those devices is probably being delivered by piping circulating water heated by a heating boiler, or possibly by a steam boiler or a heat pump or geo-thermal system. See BOILERS, HEATING and RADIANT HEAT Floor Mistakes to Avoid.

If your heating radiators have valves which hiss and let air escape as heat is coming on your heat is probably being delivered in pipes which circulate steam from the steam boiler up through radiators in the occupied space. See STEAM HEATING SYSTEMS .

This website provides description of all of the major components of hot water or steam heating systems, how to recognize or find each component, what it looks like, what goes wrong, and how to maintain, repair or adjust the component.

Technical Reviewers & References

Particular thanks are due to experts and also consumers who read these articles and suggest corrections, changes, and additions to the material. Content suggestions, technical corrections and content critique are invited for any of the content at our website.

• Daniel Friedman - InspectAPedia.com ^TM Website Author/Editor
• Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest text changes and additions and, if you wish, to receive online listing and credit for that contribution.

Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

More expert information on this topic

More Information on Inspecting and Repairing Heating Systems

• Carbon Dioxide Gas Toxicity
• Carbon Monoxide Gas Toxicity, exposure limits, poisoning symptoms, and inspecting buildings for CO hazards
• Dust from HVAC? An Investigation of Indoor Dust Debris Blamed on a Heating/Cooling System Reveals Carpet Dust
• Goodman Furnace High Temperature Plastic Vent HTPV safety recall US CPSC notice
• Home Heating System Should Be Checked [for proper venting and for CO Carbon Monoxide Hazards - DJF]
• Inspection Procedures for Oil-Fired Heating Systems Detailed step by step approaches for inspecting complex systems]
• Lennox Pulse Furnace Safety Inspection/Warranty Program: Carbon Monoxide Warning
• Oil Tanks - The Oil Storage Tank Information Website: Buried or Above Ground Oil Tank Inspection, Testing, Cleanup, Abandonment of Oil Tanks
• Oil Tanks Above Ground, UL Standards, guidance for home owners, buyers, and inspectors
• Plastic Heating Vent Pipe & Other Heating Safety Recall Notices
• Weil McLain Model GV Gas Boiler/gas valve CPSC recall/repair
• Domestic and Commercial Oil Burners, Charles H. Burkhardt, McGraw Hill Book Company, New York 3rd Ed 1969.
• National Fuel Gas Code (Z223.1) $16.00 and National Fuel Gas Code Handbook (Z223.2) $47.00 American Gas Association (A.G.A.), 1515 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209 also available from National Fire Protection Association, Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269. Fundamentals of Gas Appliance Venting and Ventilation, 1985, American Gas Association Laboratories, Engineering Services Department. American Gas Association, 1515 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209. Catalog #XHO585. Reprinted 1989.
• The Steam Book, 1984, Training and Education Department, Fluid Handling Division, ITT [probably out of print, possibly available from several home inspection supply companies] Fuel Oil and Oil Heat Magazine, October 1990, offers an update,
• Principles of Steam Heating, $13.25 includes postage. Fuel oil & Oil Heat Magazine, 389 Passaic Ave., Fairfield, NJ 07004.
• The Lost Art of Steam Heating, Dan Holohan, 516-579-3046 FAX
• Principles of Steam Heating, Dan Holohan, technical editor of Fuel Oil and Oil Heat magazine, 389 Passaic Ave., Fairfield, NJ 07004 ($12.+1.25 postage/handling).
• "Residential Steam Heating Systems", Instructional Technologies Institute, Inc., 145 "D" Grassy Plain St., Bethel, CT 06801 800/227-1663 [home inspection training material] 1987
• "Residential Hydronic (circulating hot water) Heating Systems", Instructional Technologies Institute, Inc., 145 "D" Grassy Plain St., Bethel, CT 06801 800/227-1663 [home inspection training material] 1987
• "Warm Air Heating Systems". Instructional Technologies Institute, Inc., 145 "D" Grassy Plain St., Bethel, CT 06801 800/227-1663 [home inspection training material] 1987
• Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning Volume I, Heating Fundamentals,
• Boilers, Boiler Conversions, James E. Brumbaugh, ISBN 0-672-23389-4 (v. 1) Volume II, Oil, Gas, and Coal Burners, Controls, Ducts, Piping, Valves, James E. Brumbaugh, ISBN 0-672-23390-7 (v. 2) Volume III, Radiant Heating, Water Heaters, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, Heat Pumps, Air Cleaners, James E. Brumbaugh, ISBN 0-672-23383-5 (v. 3) or ISBN 0-672-23380-0 (set) Special Sales Director, Macmillan Publishing Co., 866 Third Ave., New York, NY 10022. Macmillan Publishing Co., NY
• Installation Guide for Residential Hydronic Heating Systems
• Installation Guide #200, The Hydronics Institute, 35 Russo Place, Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922
• The ABC's of Retention Head Oil Burners, National Association of Oil Heat Service Managers, TM 115, National Old Timers' Association of the Energy Industry, PO Box 168, Mineola, NY 11501. (Excellent tips on spotting problems on oil-fired heating equipment. Booklet.)

InspectAPedia® Home & Site Map - Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, Repair, & Problem Prevention Advice: In-depth research & advice on diagnosing, testing, correcting, & preventing building defects & indoor environmental hazards. Unbiased information, no conflicts of interest.

The Mold Information Center: What to Do About Mold in Buildings, When and How to Inspect for Mold, Clean Up Mold, or Avoid Mold Problems

Use this simple, economical mold test kit by following our instructions on how to collect and mail mold samples to our lab

Environmental Inspection, Testing, & Diagnosis On-Site IAQ, Gas, Air Testing, Mold Investigation, Sick Building Diagnosis, Lab Services, & Remediation Plan Preparation - indoor air quality testing, problem source determination, supporting lab work, written remediation plan addressing removal of environmental and other hazards and prevention of their recurrence.

Building Inspection, Problem Diagnosis, Forensic Investigation & Testing, Repair Consulting

Contact Daniel Friedman for website content suggestions or for fee-paid consulting

	Enter your search termsSubmit search form
	Search InspectAPedia.com