Honeywell PA404A Alternatives

Purpose

• The Honeywell PA404A is a residential steam boiler safety controller. This controller breaks the electrical circuit on your home’s boiler system if the internal pressure becomes too great. The point at which the safety controller’s circuit breaks is set when your system is installed, and is adjusted to allow for an additive or subtractive differential from the set point. The break in the circuit shuts down the burner of your boiler to allow the steam to reduce to a normal level.

Types

• The Honeywell PA404A is interchangeable with other safety controllers including 1009, 1017, 1XOA, 4, 5XOA and Y6XO5R for Honeywell boilers, including gas, oil and electrical boilers, explains the Keith Specialty Store website. The Honeywell website provides detailed pictures of the PA404A safety controller along with system specifications, which you can compare to the system specifications on other safety control devices to determine whether the alternative part would work in your system if the alternative you are considering is not listed by Honeywell as an interchangeable part.

Considerations

• Before replacing the Honeywell PA404A safety controller in your boiler, first make sure all the other components of your boiler system are properly functioning. If your safety controller circuit keeps tripping, your boiler system could have other maintenance issues. Seek the advice of reputable heating and cooling contractors and get more than one opinion before having the part replaced or attempting to replace it yourself. If the Honeywell PA404A is the only malfunctioning component of your boiler, consider taking it apart to determine if the circuit needs a simple repair such as a new wire. When there are multiple component failures in your Honeywell system, replacement is often less expensive and less troublesome over the long haul.

Warning

• When repairing or replacing the Honeywell PA404A in your home’s boiler system, compare the system requirements against the features in the alternative safety controllers. Purchasing a less expensive alternative safety controller will not save you money if the new component causes an electrical short or allows pressure to build to unsafe levels in your heating system. In addition, using non-Honeywell replacement parts or parts other than what is specified in your owner’s manual could void your warranty on the entire system, causing you to foot the bill for an entirely new boiler.