Buderus - NG pressure not enough?

Joe

Just spoke with someone with Buderus experience. Guy said he's been working on them for 5yrs, has taken lots of classes including 2 in 2009, has specialized computer equipment to troubleshoot etc.... so I'm gonna go for it. He was pretty fired-up talking about this stuff and appeared to be really into it. Here's a link to his site in case anyone is interested: http://www.walshshdac.com/index.html

Joe

Buderus - NG not enough pressure

Hello,

I have a Buderus GB142/24 that's displaying 6L, not enough gas pressure. I had the gas company out and they measure 6.5 at the boiler, and the boiler lists 7min - 10max right on it. The gas company told me the boiler should not have been installed because they only guarantee 4.5 and the boiler requirements are higher. So basicially the boiler just cycles on/off and it takes forever for the water temp to come up.

I spoke to the plumber who installed it (he's wintering in FL right now!) and he said he'd contact Buderus on Monday, but I'm looking to find out what's what in the meantime.

Does anyone know if my boiler can be modified to accept a wider range so it at least stays on? The boiler is now 2yrs old.

This is the 3rd season with the boiler, and looking back I think it's been doing this all along. We complained the system wasn't sufficient enough to properly heat our leaky 1873 house when we first installed it, so we installed a pellet stove to help out, which has really worked out, but boy it seems like the system just isn't running the way it was designed to.

Thanks,

Joe Brown

MIke_Jonas

Any start up report?

What did he list on his start up report? My GB142 manuals show acceptable nat gas supply of 3.5" to 10.5", while running. The start up report will list inlet gas pressure measurement as well as gas/air ratio measurement. Combustion analysis readings?

A proper start up would have measured these values while your other gas appliances were running at the same time.

Could be incorrect supply pipe sizing (this should have been verified at time if installation). Could be an iced up meter outside.

Sorry to hear of your predicament. Part of my commitment to my customers is I'm always available, which means no vacations from about November to April. Just part of the job.

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Joe

Buderus - 6L code

I don't know anything about the startup report. The gas meter is inside and all of that seems Ok. The gas co measured 6.5 at the boiler.

I researched the 6L code and found this:

6L Flame goes out during warm-up phase
Possible
cause
Action
1 Gas/air ratio not in order Check and adjust the gas/air ratio (see subsection 2.2.4)
2 Gas supply pressure may need adjusting Check the gas-supply pressure (see subsection 2.2.3),
this should be higher than 20 mbar for natural gas
3 Earthing cable may be faulty Check the earthing cable connections (yellow/green wire)
4 Ionisation electrode may be faulty Check the cabling on the ionisation electrode

My guy's in FL, so I'm guessing I might have to pay to have someone qualified to come out. I'm just North of Boston in Medford. Anyone know a qualified Buderus person?

EDIT: I just talked with my guy in FL. Turns out he wasn't as schooled in this as I had thought, and he admitted to not performing the startup analysis procedure with adjustments etc..... He said he's since been to training but would still have to follow the book because he doesn't know this stuff off the top of his head. He's gonna call Buderus on Monday, and will be back from FL wednesday night. I'm crossing my fingers that we can get this operating properly as I really don't want to rip it out, or get into a feud with the plumber over this.

MIke_Jonas

That's all you need to know

No start up, no testing, no analysis. Hard to tell what else is gonna be wrong. This is not an easy "just switch that over there" help on the internet problem. Time to bite the bullet and call a Pro. Click on "Resources" at the top of the page. Click on "Find a Professional" and punch in your zip code.

Sounds like the plumber is lost. The unit is out of basic warranty, so time to get someone in there that deals with these on a daily basis. You will be amazed on how nice a unit like that can run and work, when done properly.

Let me ask you a question..Why did you choose this guy? Family/friend/coworker reference? Yellow pages, internet ad? Local showroom? How many bids? What references did he give you to make you believe he was capable of this kind of work? I ask so as to better market myself as a hot water heating specialist that doesn't do plumbing.

And shame on anyone who installs a heating appliance that leaves on vacation without making sure their customers have someone else local they can call in an emergency.

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Joe

How I chose

The plumber is an intelligent guy, I'll give him that. The install is very neat and looks well done, but the adjustments weren't done. I'm a very reasonable person and appreciate someone being truthful, because I always try to take a non-blaming approach to problem-solving. Lets get it fixed and circle-back to to see what went wrong is my motto.

I chose him because he installed my brothers Burnham, and installed the same GB142 in my brothers neighbor, which is where I first saw the system. The neighbor loved the unit, but I'm betting his might not be running properly either.

I'm all set to cut my losses and pay to get this adjusted properly. I just left a message with a local pro I found on this site. I mentioned the 6L code etc... and am hoping he can help me out.

I'm feeling much better that I probably won't have to part with this boiler as I really want it to work out. I'm also feeling good about the possibility of having an evenly heated house without paying through the nose. The first months heating bill was $550 and we were freezing! That's why I added the pellet stove. We gutted the house and it's still a little leaky, so I just figured that was the cause.

Thanks for your help with this, I really appreciate it!

Derheatmeister

You can also

hire someone to do an energy audit so that you can "see" the leaks i.e: infrared camera and Blower door test.