smell fumes, new boiler, chimney cleaned

Bob Bona_4

What's that thermostat for on the wall? Remember, you cannot pull air from the garage, so don't include that in your calcs.

Unless the burner is 18" minimum off the floor in a garage environment, even then I'd be looking for fresh air introduction. Gasoline and other vapors pooling/ignition source...

lipwak

There used to be a heating zone downstairs so it was for that. It's been disconnected and so have the heating pipes.

The boiler room is "carved out of" the garage space so if we can't use it then the dimensions of the boiler room will have to do. The garage isn't used as a garage. Both bays are used as storage with one of them having a lousy floor over the concrete, the other is just concrete. In the winter I close the door separating the bays so that some plants can survive with the heat thrown off by the boiler. Last year snapdragons and wax begonias bloomed all winter and the tea olive gave fragrant flowers from Nov - Jan. I might even feel a little warmer upstairs with half of the downstairs not being so cold. All the windows close and the bay where I have the plants have storm windows. I don't think it has frozen downstairs since I moved in.

There are no gasoline vapors as there is none in the garage. I store that (a 2 gal tank used for my lawnmower) in another outside, non-connected shed. No cars in either bay. No other fuels either.

Bob Bona_4

I got you. I see mechanical rooms set up like that a lot, raised ranches etc. So by Craigs, you're short air (I find them a little conservative but on the side of caution). What's your oil service think?

lipwak

When I've asked them in the past whether I should keep the door to the boiler room open, some techs say leave it open a little, others say it doesn't matter. I don't know if that is due to their lack of knowledge or not. There is a big gap where the vent goes through the wall which I would think would help.

This leads to me to ask: do I need it as a separate room in the first place? It's probably a fire code thing to do that, as is the insulation on the ceiling (and walls?)

Bob Bona_4

Are the garage doors still in? How cold does it get in the repurposed space? Either way, sounds you need a fan in a can to bring in air for the boiler

lipwak

Oh yeah, the garage doors are in place. The bay that has the boiler room has a fake wall and insulation between it and that door. The other door opens but it is separated by a wall and a door that closes.

That bay also faces south so gets whatever sun there is all day. I don't think it ever has gone below freezing in there. The other bay might, but I can close the door between them.

I do have a big box fan but don't want to leave it on 24/7. Won't leaving the door to the boiler room open work just as well?

Bob Bona_4

Well, it looks like you're about 7000 something cubic feet short, if you are taking all areas you can combine to supply combustion air. Two good things about dedicated combustion air devices like the Fields fan in a can is a) they are interlocked with the burner so it's always assured enough air, and b) you're not relying on infiltration though your fenestrations to supply fresh air in the space. That conserves fuel.

lipwak

Are there other boilers that would have been more appropriate?

Bob Bona_4

Some brands have boxes around the burner to facilitate a direct 4" air intake, but from my experience, ingesting frigid air isn't the best for performance. Oil burners like tempered air. sometimes I'll see the 4" run to the burner, near the attachment point in an effort to mix room temp with outdoor temp. Fields made something called a burner boot to attach to the burner if there was no burner box, but again, that's direct ingestion and the boot's burner air adjustment was very touchy. I haven't installed those in a decade. Everything is fan in a can these days. All burners need the proper amount of combustion air to run clean, and have the chimney draft properly. I haven't installed Slant Fin in a long time; wondering is there REALLY -.02 pressure drop thru the boiler...they traditionally were a little restrictive and needed -.06 or so in the pipe to overcome that restriction.

billtwocase

I don't see anything wrong with that metal chimney, as far as height, and any surrounding trees, limbs. There should be a Tee on the bottom, I would lose the draft inducer, get some outside air, and make sure the new burner is set up properly. That outside tank is not a problem this time of year. That silicone mess on the smoke pipe don't smell too good when heated either.

lipwak

Interesting. Thanks, billtwocase.

OuterCapeOilguy

If the chimney cap is lower than 2 feet above the roof peak, it's too low and is getting downdrafts when the wind is coming over the roof.

lipwak

I think that is the case here. Even in slight breezes... But it's been this way for all the time I've been here (13+ years) and the fumes haven't been a problem until they were more obnoxious in the past few years (with the old boiler) and now, with this new one. So, the old boiler was getting dirtier and this new one isn't noticeably less noxious.

wcs5050

That inducer on the exhaust can't be right. It should go. Wonder whose idea that was. Is it possible it's fighting the burner somewhat? Normally the burner has plenty of power to get a draft going. With a high chimney like that it should have no problem. Could the chimney termination have constrictive openings. You said chimney was just cleaned/inspected, though.

lipwak

The inducer being the fan? I asked them about that. Said it was necessary.

What is the chimney termination? Where it meets the boiler? Yes, it was cleaned/inspected a few days after the new boiler was installed.