Boiler cleaning - DIY?

Leo_9

J Cricket said, "Also this visit is often an opportunity to find a 'crack in the heat exchanger' or sell you parts you don't need."

First off if the heat exchanger is cracked YOU WANT IT FOUND. Second, companies I have worked for have never expected me to sell unneeded parts. On a tune up if I find a bad igniter or burnt electrodes they are replaced no choices. My goal is to do it right and not return until next year. The positive feedback I get from people is all I need. I work in a small town where people talk and the feedback has gotten me a decent payrate. To be labeled as anything less than honest is an insult. There are other parts that if need replacing are brought to the owner's attention and documented.

Leo

Charles_8

Any special tools?

I can see quite a bit of soot built up on the floor of my boiler's firebox (it's an oil-fired Burnham V75). It hasn't been serviced at all in just over a year, and rather than continue to pay for young oil company techs who are inexperienced with steam systems, I'd like to do it myself.

Also, the water is not perfectly clear in the sight glass and surges a bit, and I think the previous "services" did not include any draining or cleaning of the water.

Are there any special tools required for soot removal other than a brush, dustpan and a shop-vac?

How about for internal cleaning (rust removal/flushing)?

thanks for any tips.
-Charles

Leo_9

It should only

It should only need service once a year, granted things can happen but this is the norm. I am a tech so yes I have a bias. Keep looking until you find a company you can trust. Soot on the chamber floor has nothing to do if it is a steam or water system. Flushing isn't normally done on an annual tune up unless there is a problem. In your case it may need skimming and flushing. Once done you don't want to continue bringing in fresh water. Get a copy of "We have Steam Heat" and "The Lost Art of Steam Heating" must haves for an owner.

It takes a unique vac and a combustion test kit to do it right, a lot of investment for just once a year. If your service company doesn't come in with a vac or use test instruments to check combustion fire them.

Good Luck,
Leo

Charles_8

They did check...

... the draft each year, change the tank filter, and on occasion have replaced the burner nozzle. (This is the previous oil company). I have not been home during any of the services, so I don't know what kind of vac they brought.

So I am not sure how much soot cleaning was actually done, or now needs to be done, and I can tell from the sight glass that the water is not clean. Before I changed over to an external storage tank with an expansion tank, the pressure/temp relief valve on the coil was always weeping. I quickly learned on this board, and others, that an expansion tank is mandatory in a closed system - which did not even occur to the usual tech I asked, who allegedly was familiar with my particular system. The untouched dirt on the boiler blowoff valve also leads me to believe that it was never actuated (and before I found this board, I never knew it was supposed to be a monthly ritual). There are a couple of other similar tell-tale signs that bothered me about the level of knowledge...

I'm definitely looking for a pro who has experience with steam systems. Not too many in this remote part of the world (northern Aroostook County, Maine). Are there any questions to ask a serviceman, other than "do you know how to work on steam systems?" "Sure we do"...

-Charles

Leo_9

A few things

On the oil side, the nozzle, tank filter, and pump strainer are givens, they get replaced. The heat exchanger gets cleaned and vacuumed, chimney base checked. The low water cutoff is checked, it is a safety. Combustion is tested with instruments. Unless something is obvious other things may not be checked unless requested. What I recommend is ask in a nice way what you get for the price paid. Just tell the guy you are asking because you have had bad luck.

Leo

John Ketterman

As always, you pay not just for the manual labor, you pay for the expert's knowledge. You can do the work of cleaning yourself, but you may not have a trained eye for potential problems.

I agree that in many cases the junior guy is sent to do the annual service. Also this visit is often an opportunity to find a 'crack in the heat exchanger' or sell you parts you don't need.

Timco

As per the owner's manual, are you flushing the LWCO at least once a month? Some ask for it to be done weekly. I have found a few that are frozen shut, and if the HO will not allow it to be fixed, I walk away.

Tim

Charles_8

I haven't been, but...

... now I will definitely read the manuals for the auto water feeder and the LWCO, which are in the envelope with the boiler manual. I'd never refuse the repair or replacement of a safety device!

They both do work, incidentally. On rare occasions (twice this winter) the boiler has cut out when neither the thermostat nor the vaporstat were satisfied. I heard water being added for just a few seconds, then it fires back up again. (This is another reason I think it needs skimming/flushing - it appeared to be surging in the sight glass low enough to sometimes cut off on low water). Of course it could be a corrosion hole losing water up the chimney, which I (or a tech) can check for by flooding the boiler. When it's not -11F like it was last night, that is

You're right about the customer paying for knowledge, not only labor. I just want to make sure I'm getting what I paid for.

Charles

Keith_8

creating work?

J. Cricket,
Your 1st statement indicates that a junior mechanic with presumambly less qualifications may be sent out to perform the annual service. True, they haven't been exposed to the multitude of different scenerios that are encountered in the world of service. However they should be well trained to perform a basic tuneup. With cell phones a simple phone call many times is all that's necessary for something out of the ordinary.

Your 2nd statement indicating that the annual service is an opportunity to create unnecessary repairs/profits is misleading and unfair. What would be the motivation of the tech to do so? commission? How long is a company going to stay in business with this type of business practice? Not long in my opinion. If you can't trust your service company to do the right thing , go find another.

Keith

Keith_8

shop vac

Charles,

The vac techs use are made to handle soot. Obviously a shop vac will suck up the soot but it doesn't have the fine filter necessary to keep the soot from flying thru the air with the exhaust from the vac. It's gonna make a mess that gets worse as you try to clean it up.

Nothing wrong with educating yourself on your heating system, but you may be better served spending your energy researching a company in your area that will meet your expectations. They are out there. Ask your neighbors, friends and relatives somebody compatent is available.

Keith

Maine Ken

Where in The County are you located?

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