Carbon Monoxide leak -= new boiler?

Mitch_5

the house.

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Kevin Doll

Carbon monoxide = new boiler?

Hello - have a approx 30 year old weil-mclein boiler - AB May service guys here today to get it ready for winter - fired it up and was reading 14-18 parts per million of carbon monoxide - they said this was really high - and that old boilers just start to leak over time. Said I shouldn't use it and feel that it needs to be replaced as it isn't safe. I don't really have the $$$ right now - but don't want to die either! 1. Is this bad? 2. Is the only option to replace? They were talking about an 84% efficient unit as a replacement.

jp_2

where exactly?

14ppm in the house or in the flue (vent)?

martin

Unsafe Boiler

14-18 ppm is great if in the flue, if its in the ambiant air then you have a chimney problem or vent issue.

Kevin Doll

Ambient air - he put the meter on top of the boiler. Should we look into chimney issues before jumping to new boiler then?

jp_2

blocked flue

sounds like the flue or chimney is partially blocked?

not good!!!!!!!

have you a CO detector? I'd put one in the boiler room

Tony_23

Not so fast

While replacing a 30 year old boiler isn't a bad idea, it's not a reason.

Don't want to throw stones, but if they can't keep the flue gases in the boiler and flue then call someone else. (They might be on commission)

I've got boilers and furnaces I service that are from the 1910's and 20's that don't leak CO....

ttekushan_3

ambient CO around boiler

As everyone else said, the flue draft has to be checked.

Where this hasn't been the case, I've solved the problem by removing the jacket far enough to gain access to the combustion gas collector (hood) that is cemented to the top of the cast iron section block. As you might imagine, the condition of this old boiler cement is critical to containing exhaust gases and sending them to the chimney. This cement is usually reduced to a useless powder by now.

Scrape it out, vacuum clean, wet the old surface and apply new cement. Unless the hood has rust holes, the new cement will solve the problem. But only if the chimney draft is good like others here have said.

-Terry

Mitch_5

Locate the source and concentration.

Did they do a co check in the boiler, if it is lower inside the boiler the source could be elsewhere.

Are you spilling from the vent hood or rolling out the burner door you could have a partial blockage

If there is 14ppm in the ambient air what is in the flue gas. If it is over 100ppm and you cannot fix it you have to replace. If it is over 400ppm shut it down now.

If the ppm in the flue is less than the 14ppm your source could be elsewhere. Did they check the water heater. Do you have a widow open that car exhaust could have come in.

I was working on a furnace one day, did not have it running the bulkhead door was open. The landscapers came by with like five different motors running and the co on my belt alarm jumped to 35ppm the source was totally outside the house.

Get the full facts and find out what training these people have.

Mitch S.

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Randy-Lee Braman

Co leval

Sid harveys or any good supply house sells handheld Co Detectors.I personaly would like to be standing there when they take the readings.Ambient readings are to be taken
in the open and before they take the stack readings.No readings should be taken right after the probe is pulled from the stack.I have seen some shady companys pull this trick just after they pull the probe from the stack.I went and checked the unit and found no ambient co with the unit turned up to 90 Deg so it was realy cooking.
Randy