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Uft boilers with dirty fire sides in 10 months

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Comments

  • Suzook
    Suzook Member Posts: 221
    Wow. I'm seriously disappointed in my choice. Htp will not warranty this??? ****?
  • nathanfuge
    nathanfuge Member Posts: 16
    Still waiting for a response/answer.
  • Larry Weingarten
    Larry Weingarten Member Posts: 3,273
    edited July 2017
    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.
    CanuckerRich_49
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 23,168
    I didn't see that picture before. I'm even more suspicious of aluminium corrosion products now than I was before...
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
    Canucker
  • Matt_67
    Matt_67 Member Posts: 284
    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.
    CanuckerSolid_Fuel_Man
  • bob eck
    bob eck Member Posts: 930
    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.
    Canucker
  • Gordy
    Gordy Member Posts: 9,546
    Should be able to smell that sulpher by heating a sample no?
  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 22,022
    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.
    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
    Gordy
  • Tim McElwain
    Tim McElwain Member Posts: 4,612
    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.
    kcoppRich_49
  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 15,453
    Not a good outcome. Will this happen with just aluminum hx or with ss as well?
  • Gordy
    Gordy Member Posts: 9,546
    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.
    kcopp
  • Gordy
    Gordy Member Posts: 9,546
    It would be interesting to know the previous installed appliances, and their fate?

    kcoppJUGHNE
  • kcopp
    kcopp Member Posts: 4,419
    I agree totally w/ @Gordy... I realize folks want to get a resolution asap but we need facts before we make conclusions.
  • PC7060
    PC7060 Member Posts: 1,155
    @nathanfuge - what was the results of the testing?
  • BillyO
    BillyO Member Posts: 277
    how is the exhaust terminated at roof?
  • BillyO
    BillyO Member Posts: 277
    take that filter off
  • Zman
    Zman Member Posts: 7,561
    @BillyO
    This post is over 3 years stale.
    "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"
    Albert Einstein
  • BillyO
    BillyO Member Posts: 277
    ok, thanks. what was the outcome anyway ?