Uft boilers with dirty fire sides in 10 months

Suzook

Wow. I'm seriously disappointed in my choice. Htp will not warranty this??? ****?

nathanfuge

Still waiting for a response/answer.

Larry Weingarten

Hello, It looks like there might be benefit to testing a few different samples. I'd look at the dust that accumulates before the heat exchanger... dust from a heat exchanger near the ocean... dust from a heat exchanger in the mountains. This will tell you what role salt plays and if pollen or some other pollutant in the incoming air is playing a role. Also, I'd be curious to know if the propane is all coming from the same supplier or from different ones. Additionally, it might be fun to weigh a new and a "used" heat exchanger to try and see if there is substantial metal loss.

Nate, looking around, I found PSI Labs in Salinas. Most local labs just do biological stuff. Wondering out loud... Would taking a torch to some of that dust teach anything? Might it melt into a pile of aluminum? That would be telling.

Still, once we know it's aluminum corrosion, what gets done to prevent further trouble?

Yours, Larry

ps. One more thought. Is it possible to set a unit to run mostly hotter, so it condenses very little? That should slow or stop aluminum corrosion. I know this would not be a long term fix, but could be useful in pinpointing the problem.

Jamie Hall

I didn't see that picture before. I'm even more suspicious of aluminium corrosion products now than I was before...

Matt_67

We had big problems with some of the early propane ultras plugging up. I spent lots of hours with a pair of vice grips and a hacksaw blade. Ended up being propane with high sulfur content - changing propane suppliers made the problem go away.

bob eck

To me that looks like the sulpher coming out of the LP gas.
I think that is where it is coming from.
I have contractors the have steel oil boilers installed and if the tubes where the turbulators are in get and condensate inside the tube because of low water temps the fuphlfer attaches to the turbulators and gets very hard and cleaning the oil boiler is not fun.

Gordy

Should be able to smell that sulpher by heating a sample no?

hot_rod

But at the end of the day the components inside the boiler should be able to handle a range of gases, and the common additives. That blending probably will continue, they do it with NG also and at different times of the year.

I've used 4 different LP companies over the years, best I can tell they all pull from a large LP facility in Oklahoma. The only difference is the delivery truck.

If the refiner is stepping on the product, eventually all the suppliers end up with that blend as they use up their local storage.

Tim McElwain

Picture that is salt and algae, had the same thing years ago with Munchkins installed in Cape Cod near the beach. If you don't think I am correct then have it analyzed. By the way all the filtering did not solve the problem with the Munchkins. We determined they had to convert to electric heat.using mini splits. These were condo units so it worked out okay.

EBEBRATT-Ed

Not a good outcome. Will this happen with just aluminum hx or with ss as well?

Gordy

I think we need that analysis completed before we speculate much farther. No sense in beating down a boiler with out the facts. However I think there has been excellent input as to what direction the analysis should search.

The aluminum fins don't appear to be eroding at least to the eye, and what can be seen. Deffinetly something to find the cause of, and share results to help rectify present, and future installs.

Gordy

It would be interesting to know the previous installed appliances, and their fate?

kcopp

I agree totally w/ @Gordy... I realize folks want to get a resolution asap but we need facts before we make conclusions.

PC7060

@nathanfuge - what was the results of the testing?

BillyO

how is the exhaust terminated at roof?

BillyO

take that filter off

Zman

@BillyO
This post is over 3 years stale.

BillyO

ok, thanks. what was the outcome anyway ?