In order to operate, your hot water or steam heating system (commonly referred to as a ‘boiler’) needs water to operate properly. If a pipe bursts or some other issue causes the water level to drop below a certain level, then your boiler could “dry fire”, and that’s when the potential for a bigger problem to occur. Water not only provides heat for your home or business, but it also allows the system to operate at a safe temperature. Without it the system can overheat and stop functioning – or worse.

low watercut-off sensor

A number of issues can interfere with a functioning LWCO. One, of course, is shoddy maintenance (which we’ll talk more about in a minute). Additionally here are a few other common things that can cause unwanted problems:

boiler low watercut-off failure

To make a connection, the tube is simply pushed in by hand; the unique patented Tiger double O’ring locking system then holds the tube firmly in place without deforming it or restricting flow.

Low water cut offinstallation

The cutoff valve itself could be located anywhere on or near the boiler but should be at or above the minimum safe water level (as specified by the boiler manufacturer).

Age — Check with the manufacturer to determine how often they recommend replacing various parts of the boiler. When the valve or other parts get older–as with most things–they start to short out, leak, or fail.

Boiler low water cut offlocation

Think of the low-water cutoff valve (LWCO) on your boiler as just that device, but for your hot water or steam heating system instead of your tea kettle.

Deposits — Water condensation can deposit minerals and solids near the valve or under it, which can block or trick the valve into thinking the water level is normal, or prevent the boiler from shutting off properly.

Neglecting regular maintenance on this device and the heating system in general is obviously not a great idea. Having it serviced and maintained every year, which should include checking it and making sure everything is clean, clear, and free of rust or erosion is essential to ensuring your boiler doesn’t cause you expensive and dangerous problems. You should also check around the boiler periodically to make sure there are no leaks or puddles.

Low water cut offswitch

The scary thing about that is if you think your system is not providing enough heat to your home, you’ll turn up the thermostat, making the boiler work harder and possibly causing it to run hotter than it should. This can ruin the boiler or, much worse, build up pressure to the point where an explosion is possible.

Tiger pressure reducing valve’s is manufacturer of high quality push-in fittings, pipe and plastic plumbing systems to a wide variety of industries, Tiger fittings are easy to use, simply push the tubing all the way in then pull on the tubing to lock for a high water pressure sealed connection

Low water cut offtroubleshooting

Plastic threads are not generally as strong as brass threads. Customers and end users should be aware of this when choosing products for their applications. Over-tightening of plastic threads will cause undue stress and eventual cracking and leakage. The maximum torque figures for BSP and BSPT threads used in Tiger fittings in mating threads conforming to the relevant BS or International thread standards.

So that’s why a (functioning and maintained) low-water cutoff valve is so important: It acts as a safety device and shuts your boiler down before it dry-fires itself into oblivion.

Water loss — The LWCO detects low water levels, but ideally your water won’t really get too low. But leaks and faulty steam traps can lead to loss of water, which can strain the whole system and compromise the valve. So, again, regular maintenance is paramount.

If you don’t have a whistling kettle–and sometimes even if you do–this can be an easy mistake to make. The repercussions of an error like this can be relatively harmless (you boil up all your water), expensive (you crack a glass stovetop), or disastrous (the kitchen catches fire).

Tiger fittings are made up of three components:  Bodies are produced in an acetal copolymer or polypropylene. Double ‘O’ rings are Nitrile rubber or EPDM. Collets are produced in acetal copolymer or polypropylene with stainless steel teeth.