steam boiler firebrick

GeneHav

I have a 105 yr old steam boiler that I noticed in the fire box had no fire brick or fire blanket installed. It looked like fire brick was there before as pieces of fire brick was at the bottom of the box. My boiler repair man says fire brick or a fire blanket is not needed. I'm noticing black soot marks appearing around the boiler on the outside of the insulation telling me the metal is getting to hot. I have a side mounted oil burner installed. It looked like it was converted from a bottom burner 30 yrs ago. Looking for fire brick answer. Thanks

Steamhead (in transit)

If the boiler is that old

with very few exceptions it's probably not that efficient. I'd consider replacing it.

But since you need to get thru the winter.......

This is probably a "dry base" boiler in which the water passages don't go all the way down to the floor or underneath the firebox. Therefore, it does no good to heat these areas and could possibly overheat and damage them. You can tell for sure by looking at where the return pipe connections are- these are usually at the bottom of the water-backed portion of the boiler. I bet they're 18 inches or so above floor level.

A new firebox will direct the heat upward toward the water-backed parts of the boiler and will increase its efficiency by not wasting heat to the "dry" portion of the boiler. Nowadays fireboxes are made of ceramic fibers rather than brick, making them less expensive to buy and install. If the boiler man you've been using won't put one in, find another one- a good steam man too- on the Find a Professional page of this site. Have him also optimize the rest of the system with proper main vents etc. so you can reduce your fuel consumption and save up to replace the boiler.

Can you take some pics of the boiler and post them? We love to see this old stuff!



To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Tom R.

Old boiler

If you could post some photos of the boiler, I might be able to tell you if it once was lined with firebrick. Firebrick is larger than common brick, so unless your boiler is rather large, it probably had none. The soot you are seeing is due to leaking joints or gaskets on the fireside, due to a number of causes, but most likely not from overheating.

Tom R.

Firebrick

Saw your other post. Standard converted coal fired boiler - remove the grates, put an oil burner in the ashpit door opening and go. With coal, the radiant heat was all directed upward, so no need for refractory. Adding the blanket is a very good idea - redirects the heat from the bottom, rear and sides up, and the glowing material gives a better burn. But nothing beats an modern multi-pass boiler with an efficient burner.