Steel boiler condensing

don_205

I'd come across a steel NY boiler today that was rusting out pretty badly.Even the tankless coil was rusting.

It came in as a no heat call and I found a bad 007 on it.
After replacing the circ and filling it back up I turn on the burner switch.She fire right up and I notice the circ is running.This can not be the water not hot enough and the low limit should have it out.Sure enough the low limit was bad.

I stand back and take notice of all the service sticker glue to the side of the boiler.
As I start to read them I take notice of the stack temps reading that been left by all the guys before me.

I'm cecking every year for the past ten years.The stack temps were listed from 328 to 350 to even 450.

Now I'm thinking wow.I wonder how long the low limit was bad and how long the people suffer from not having hot h2o on a cold winter day.

I explain to the customer why his boiler was in the shape it was in and that he would need a new aquastat to maintain hot water at the shower.Also that it will not belong before she become a leaker.

His reply.Well, I'm selling the house so I'll let them deal with it.I just need to get the heat going for a walk thru.

I had him sign off on the service ticket with everything noted that I had found.

I must admit in all my travel this is the first for me to see a boiler in this bad of shape from low stack temps.

billtwocase

stack temp

Don, you would be lucky to get as low as 450-500 stack on that boiler. Did you test it? What were your findings? I'm thinking those #'s were fabricated by the previuos techs. I'll also bet that boiler has been out on safety, or the emergency switch shut off most of it's life. Was it direct draw from the coil, or did it have an idirect or some other hot water source? peace

don_205

No test

No test.I had him sign off on the service ticket and shut it off.I'm not leaving a boiler running with a bad control.

They have to at least show me they care in order to get me to break out all the test equipment.

However, I would still love to hear your thoughts about the
boiler being off most of its life as being a issue.

TIA.

clammy

steel boiler

I also have seen this it always seems to me even with out a domestic coil that steel boiler need low temp return protection espically when the load side and correct flow rates where not thought out when the unit was installed.I had also seen the same thing when they needed hot water they would turn the heat up get the boiler to fire and that,s that quite funny that some one would be so cheap as to not want to spend a couple of bucks get the correctly operating control installed and have a system working correctly ,what,s even funny is he plans on dumping the house the way it is on some body else .I guess he thinks the next ownerwon,t get a home inspection nor get any kind of home warranty from the mortage co.People are some time totally penny wise dollar foolish hopefully the home inspector will condem the boiler and he will get a couple of grand cut on the selling price ,all for saving the price of a dual aquastat control so cheap,peace and good luck clammy

billtwocase

boiler

Don, rubber gaskets shrink and leak with temp changes, mostly under 140 degrees. That's why i only use special flange gaskets on the circulator, and teflon if there is a coil or blank plate. This thing sounds like it is in poor condition, but if the high limit was funtioning, there was nothing wrong with leaving it on. The low limit is only an option for the hot water situation, Cold start controls have one switch only. The high limit. That is what it would be doing, running up to that setting in this case. Did it look like someone made changes inside the control box? If it was the primary control, or high limit, pull the plug. peace

billtwocase

home inspector

Clammy, I'll bet the homeowner knows the inspector will pick that thing apart. I see it all the time. Plumbing and heating is easy prey for home inspectors. Just the appearance of it will generate a couple pages of his report, let alone the estimated cost of repairs. peace

don_205

I'm sure

I'm sure the switch was thrown as soon as I walk out the door.

I'm also sure he was hoping I would sign off on it too.Not today sir..you get the big red tag saying buyer beware.

I may be going hungary, but I sleep like a baby.

billtwocase

He probably had a wide screen TV the size of your van, and a Beamer in the garage, but no cash for boiler. See it all the time. peace

Unknown

I agree with Bill

The only way a steel NYer will give you those stack numbers are when it's off . The sustained low temperature water is more likely the culprit .