Problem, not sure where to start.

Sir_Richard

I'm not sure what terminology to use so bare with me.

I have an 8 year old single pipe system for a single family home that burns fuel oil. Its been trouble free and has needed no maintenance until now. Its been about 2 heating seasons since its last cleaning.

The boiler has been sounding like its not operating correctly for the past couple days.
What use to happen;
1. Thermostat calls for heat.
2. Boiler starts up on a "first stage", I can hear the motor running and low hum from boiler.
3. After a few minutes the boiler kicks into "second stage" and gets significantly louder while heating everything up. You can hear air being pushed out the vents, radiators creaking as they heat up, etc... until it gets hot enough and shuts off.

What isn't happening now is;
That 3rd step or as I call "second stage". I still get heat, the radiators are all getting hot but not quite all the way across on the 2 largest ones. I'm also not hearing the air being pushed out of the vents either.

Before I try to locate and call in a professional is there anything I can/should check to get an idea on what has changed?
1. Is it something in the venting, clogged main(s) perhaps?
2. One of the setting on the boiler needs to be adjusted?
3. Does it just need a cleaning?
4. Is it something more serious with the boiler itself?

Thanks for your help!
Richard

Paul48

Oil-fired equipment has to be serviced annually. That is not open to debate. Soot kills heat transfer, and that is money out of your pocket. Depending on the boiler design, whole sections may clog, and for all intensive purposes, you have an under-sized boiler. Start with a proper servicing of the boiler, then we'll talk about system problems, if they still exist. Tell whomever services the boiler, you want a print-out of the combustion analysis, after they are done.

Sir_Richard

I opened the inspection hole on the fire door and put a drop light in there, I opened up the top, looked down and I could still see light. There is build up but I don't think it's that's the issue since I can see thru to the bottom.

Do you still feel that I need to get someone to come do a cleaning service and combustion analysis?

I checked my records and it was cleaned prior to last heating season. So its only been 1 season and few months, not as long ago as I stated earlier.

I've not been happy with the 2 local contractors, local being less than 20 miles away. I'll need to find one that is willing to come farther than that.

Richard

Fred

Make sure the Pressuretrol is set to .5 PSI (scale on the front of the boiler) and the Differential is set to "1" (if it's a gray box, the Differential wheel, white, will be under the cover) Check the pigtail that the Pressuretrol is mounted on and make sure it is not clogged. If it is, the Pressuretrol may not be able to control boiler pressure. You really should hear very little from the radiator vents and, depending on the temperature and the size of the radiator, they may not get hot all the way across on every heating cycle. It almost sounds like the pigtail may have been plugged before (what you considered normal) and may have cleared enough to let the Pressuretrol work properly but check it for sure. A main is not going to get clogged.

Paul48

http://nwfpa.org/nwfpa.info/images/stories/articles/clean boiler fire-side heat transfera.jpg

Sir_Richard

An 1/8th would be a good estimate of the build up.

So what I getting from this is that at 8% or more reduction of the boilers efficiency due to soot deposits will cause it to not work correctly.

Didn't realize they were so finicky and couldn't tolerate more than a seasons worth of soot.

I'll see what I can do about getting someone qualified here in the next day or so. If not, I suppose the locals I had before could come clean again.

Thank You
Richard

Paul48

I'm not saying that is the answer. But, you said you didn't know where to start, so, at the beginning is the best place. The loss in heat transfer due to soot buildup. Possibly a dirty oil filter, also, both play a part in what you can expect from the boiler. It's a concert, and every instrument has to be in tune.

Abracadabra

Check whatever controls the staging. Vaporstat or pressuretrol issue, clogged pigtail, or some thermostatic control?