This is how people get exposed

Charlie from wmass

I have since finding these issues repaired the boiler. you can see gaps and miss laid rope and flue collectors that do not collect very well here. This was all on one boiler. In the first photo you can see the marks where the flue gases escaped due to the front jacket being sandwiched between the burner mounting plate and thew rope gasket on the boiler.

Steamhead

That's

a pressure-fired boiler, isn't it? Looks like it might be a Weil-McLain......

Charlie from wmass

good guess

Its a 680, well now its a 580. they used 3/4 rope on it. calls for 1/2" they used RTV on the rope instead of water glass to hold it in place.

Steamhead

The sad part is

the proper rope comes with the boiler. We have a couple 4-80 and 5-80 steamers out there, not bad for pin-type boilers but you really do need to put them together right.



What was wrong with the section that was removed?

Charlie from wmass

long sad story Frank

in August the fifth and sixth section were replaced by another company. In December they changed sections 1 through 4. The rope came from them. They also coated the seals in RTV and refused to use refractory. The water level would drop when the boiler fired and leave it dry. The LWCO was set 3" below minimum water line. The rear section was cracked and the top seal was toasted. The boiler was over sized and I did not trust the fifth section so out it went with the cracked one. It is still a section too large but the nozzle size is down now.

Steamhead

In other words

it was badly knuckleheaded.



I'd be interested to know how much better and more efficient the system is when you get finished with it.

Charlie from wmass

No figures yet on savings

I did get a thank you from the most vocal tenant, the one who would leave the no heat, spitting radiator, no hot water messages for the landlord. The landlord nearly fainted. The system is quiet, fairly even, and the air in the basement apartment in breathable. We will be , along with the landlord, changing out the rest of the radiator vents. The over heated apartments actually needed their vents opened a bit more. Windows are closed and people are getting hot showers in their showers and no more stained curtains and carpets from the steam vents.