Old Cast Pilot Standpipe Queston

ttekushan_3

Hi Scott--

The B-Line is one heckova good boiler. Its one of those ancient looking things that technicians assume is inefficient because of its age. By far, I gotten my best steam boiler combustion numbers from the B-Line. Amazing.

I may be somewhat less than useful with regard to your specific questions, though. But here's a try.
1. Dunno for sure, but since the 98SA should have 8 burners divided in half for four under each exhaust gas collector, I would think they should be the same. UNLESS there are two per half (for a total of four) in which case you have two pilots and two gas leakage burners. The gas valve and pressure operated damper control have vents that are piped into the burner area. They look a lot like pilot burners.
2. Good question. You may have to go to a decent supply house and get an entirely new pilot/thermocouple assembly. But not if...
3. Degrease and dry the whole thing first, then dip into a little toilet bowl cleaner (which is a relatively weak inhibited hydrochloric acid). Needless to say, you must be careful in doing so, and DO NOT do this in a porcelain enamel over cast iron sink or tub. The fired finish will be destroyed by the toilet bowl cleaner. The the glazing on a china toilet bowl is a different material and is unaffected by the cleaner. The whole assembly should clean up fine, I would think.

How much of the original equipment is still functioning? Is the pressure regulator still there? Does the Damper control still work? I installed a new diaphragm in one of the damper controls recently. Those are nice to have working since they provide proper fuel/air ratio when burning and close to improve seasonal efficiency while off. Just be sure that the bottom cover is tight, and you can really dial in the combustion.

I've enclosed the original brochure (also available in the "Library" section), a photo of the open boiler before I cleaned it, the restored damper operator and finally, the combustion analysis.

-Terry

EDIT: In reviewing your original post, you say that its a hot water boiler. The "SA" stands for Steam Automatic. The outfitting for water would have been designated "W." Is this a conversion to hot water?

Scott Rodriguez

Old Cast Pilot Standpipe Queston

I have an operating hot water boiler in my home, an old B-Line 98-SA gas-fired unit, probably from the '40's.

Last year I noticed the pilots were not burning very cleanly, so I pulled them out to have a look. There are (2) pilots, photos attached. The unit shown has the number 7 cast into it; the other unit has a 12 in the same spot. The unit with the 7 appears to have a slightly larger bore when sighting inside the units. The #7 unit has an original-looking .030 orifice; the #12 unit has a replacement .028 orifice.

1. Is this combination correct?
2. Can someone tell me where to get replacement orifice fittings for these units?
3. What is the proper cleaning procedure for the cast standpipes?

Thanks!
Scott