Paid for annual maintenance...

delcrossv

from several companies over the years.  Seems actually cleaning the boiler isn't included. 😕

So clogged with soot, the flame cooked the transformer and wiring to the gas valve. Boiler was "serviced" in October. 

Happy New Year!

STEVEusaPA

If a gas boiler is clogged with soot, you have serious potential issues, burning poorly and probably some very high CO issues.
Best to get someone in there to fix/correct the problems

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

I think it's something you have to specifically request and even then, at least around here, service companies are not interested in doing it. If the technician gets a high CO reading or the flame rollout switch is tripping regularly, they will try and sell you a new boiler.

Steamhead

Also have the chimney checked. Poor draft can cause this. ,

cross_skier

I agree with all of the above.  Spillover switch should have saved you. 

I clean my own burners every year, not difficult.  I've cleaned between sections of boiler twice in the past 23 years when the burners were out.  Very dirty crappy job done with brushes, soot saw, Simple Green, and a aluminum turkey pan from the Dollar Store to catch the junk washed out.

HVACNUT

A simple combustion test would've picked that right up and diagnosis and recommendations done that day.
Was a test done? Do you have a copy of the results?

EBEBRATT-Ed

This is an ongoing issue. I started with an oil company way back. They used to schedule me for 4 a day. Couldn't do it. In the early 70s this was mostly coal conversions with old burners that were soot makers. The Beckett AF and Carlin 100CRD were available but oil was cheap $.25/gallon. You couldn't sell a burner unless some part failed that you couldn't replace.

Every clean up I did was sooted up old burners with no specs available.

Doing a nozzle application test, raising the pump pressure multiple combustion tests before you hit high limit (remember the Bacharach dumbbells) and taking down smoke pipes that had never been down took a lot of time to try to improve things so I did the bet I could and usually ran late doing 3 a day. Most days no lunch just worked through it.

The guys that were before me at the oil company were a nozzle, filter and a soot stick. They never came back to the shop at the end of the day dirty I was told.

Now with modern equipment there is no excuse in my opinion. Oil stuff set up properly should be able to go 3 years minimum for cleaning with a combustion test and a nozzle & a filter every year. Gas should be cleaned every 5 years with a check up every 2 years

JMHO from an old guy rant

delcrossv

STEVEusaPA said:

If a gas boiler is clogged with soot, you have serious potential issues, burning poorly and probably some very high CO issues.
Best to get someone in there to fix/correct the problems

It's another one of my MIL's units.
Yes, that someone will be me. I'm trusting nothing to the yahoos around here. 😒

This boiler is from the "what's a flame rollout switch?"70's 🤣 It was obviously rich, as the burner shutters were almost closed.. probably to expedite its demise.

Flue's clear.

delcrossv

HVACNUT said:

A simple combustion test would've picked that right up and diagnosis and recommendations done that day.
Was a test done? Do you have a copy of the results?

No hole in the vent, no test. Ever.
Now I have to at least rent one to set it up correctly.

retiredguy

With #2 fuel oil on a small unit, you can do a decent set up job until you can get a good analyzer with a flash light to see smoke in the flue pipe, eyes and ears, a smoke spot tester, and a cobalt blue lens to view the flame, and a bunch of experience. A factory trained service tech from Power Flame showed up once with just his trusty smoke spot tester to help us with a burner we were having trouble with. I said "what no analyzer". He said, I will use yours and for laughs I pulled out the very old Hays Orsat and a set of Bacharach dumb bells and said, "take your pick". We both had a good laugh. With nat gas or sewer gas get the analyzer out.

delcrossv

Sorry for the late reply, but to close this out, previous installer put in a Peerless MI series in 2013 which feeds into the same chimney. Guess they didn't realize that an MI does not need an external draft hood (PER THE INSTRUCTIONS), so they kept the one from the previous boiler.

Of course the Peerless kept tripping the backdraft switch (and the installer said to just keep resetting it). 🙄

As the Peerless heats an empty apartment and was off most of the season, it went unnoticed, but the double draft hoods on the Peerless cut the draft to the sooty Bryant in question way down.

Removed the "extra" hood from the Peerless and replaced it with plain 5" and Voila! Sufficient draft for both boilers. Replaced the toasted transformer and gas valve wiring, cleaned the burners and HX and it's all good.

So as @Steamhead mentioned, it was draft, but not in the chimney.

Paul Pollets

That the technician providing maintenance didn't pop the top of the boiler to examine the sections shows how poor the service really is.