Residential Boiler Flue Silencer/muffler?

Kman18

My chimney is somewhat close to my bedroom windows. When the boiler fires up, the initial 'boom' in the chimney is uncomfortably loud, especially in the middle of the night. Is there a silencer/muffler product that would reduce the sound?

EdTheHeaterMan

The initial Boom should not happen at a rate that causes you any concern. There is no muffler that I am aware of. but proper adjustment of the burner and ignition system should be looked at ASAP.

EDIT:

Is this Oil or Gas heat?

Kman18

This is oil heat. The 'boom' is not causing concern, it's more of an annoyance, being loud enough to hear in the chimney from the bedroom window. What type of adjustment to the boiler should be made?

EBEBRATT-Ed

Maybe some sound dreading insulation over the boiler but not sure if that will work.

jesmed1

That is dangerous, and you need to get the burner fixed. In extreme cases, the initial explosion can blow out an access door in the chimney or blow out another vent pipe if there is another appliance vented into the chimney.

Properly set-up oil burners do not make small explosions when they ignite.

jesmed1

Kman18 said:

What type of adjustment to the boiler should be made?

Here's a good list of all the possible things wrong with your boiler in the link below, written elsewhere by someone named "goldhiller" whose wisdom I am merely quoting and not claiming as my own:

"That boom at start up is almost certainly from delayed ignition. Usually this is caused by either poor atomization of the fuel, the pattern of the fuel spray into the firebox being outside the prime ignition area or poor spark at the ignition points.

Causes of poor atomization and/or pattern production would be a worn out nozzle or a piece of crud in the nozzle interfering with proper atmomization and/or pattern.........or because the wrong nozzle was installed. The fix is to replace the nozzle with a new one of the PROPER gallonage and pattern. If the wrong nozzle pattern was installed, there's a likely cause of the boom.

Delayed igntion from ignition fault is usally a matter of the need for a new set of electrodes that must also be set properly. A new sett of points set improperly will result in the same scenario or worse........no ignition at all. Setting the points is a touchy business. There is no such thing as "close enough". Either they're right or they aren't. And.....the electrodes must be replaced with the manufacturer's designated set for the longest life. You can jury-rig a different set in an emergency, but they won't last long as the tips will burn away in relatively short order.

Another possibility here is that the combustion air is improperly set. Too little or too much air for the fuel-air ratio.

It is possible that the over-fire draft is obstructed and causing this boom, but not on the top of the list usually. Nonetheless, the flue must be kept unobstructed at all times and so should be checked out and cleared of any problems. Might as well check that first."

STEVEusaPA

jesmed1 said:

…Properly set-up oil burners do not make small explosions when they ignite.

That’s exactly what everyone does by definition. Just depends on what is meant by 'small'. Better phrase may be 'loud and noticeable'.

STEVEusaPA

@jesmed1 seems odd to quote a source from another website, especially when the first comment was to come to this website.

jesmed1

STEVEusaPA said:

@jesmed1 seems odd to quote a source from another website, especially when the first comment was to come to this website.

OK, sorry. Didn't mean to transgress. I will remove the link and just leave the quoted text since, as far as I know, the substance of it is correct.

STEVEusaPA

jesmed1 said:

STEVEusaPA said:

@jesmed1 seems odd to quote a source from another website, especially when the first comment was to come to this website.

OK, sorry. Didn't mean to transgress. I will remove the link and just leave the quoted text since, as far as I know, the substance of it is correct.

I guess my point is when someone comes here for help, I assume they are looking for an opinion from an expert or a pro, from a person who is a member here. They could Google that themselves and take a chance it may be correct without being able to interact with one or more pros on this site for the best information, and/or to get some follow up information.
Plus I assume the owners of this site probably aren’t looking to have people come here then immediately have someone try to direct them to another site.
And one final thing, most important, sometimes we like to debate (sometimes lively) with each other on techniques and methods, lol. It’s this collaboration of opinions that makes this site as great as it is.

Kman18

Thanks for your comments. Does anybody happen to know a technician in the Newburyport MA area who I could contact?

Ironman

Have you tried the contractor locator on this site?

Jamie Hall

Kman18 said:

This is oil heat. The 'boom' is not causing concern, it's more of an annoyance, being loud enough to hear in the chimney from the bedroom window. What type of adjustment to the boiler should be made?

A good technician, with the correct instruments, should be able to get the unit to the point whrre it ignites smoothly, with no delay.

Clean nozzle, correctly sized for the burner and the boiler. Ignition electrodes in good condition, correctly adjusted. Ignition device working correctly and correctly times. Oil pump cutoff valve and pressure set correctly. Coreect airflow throiugh the shutters and dampers. Correct stack draught.

All part of normal yearly service.

Kman18

All of the check points are covered via yearly service call....the oil company tells me that the initial 'boom' is normal.

jesmed1

STEVEusaPA said:

jesmed1 said:

STEVEusaPA said:

@jesmed1 seems odd to quote a source from another website, especially when the first comment was to come to this website.

OK, sorry. Didn't mean to transgress. I will remove the link and just leave the quoted text since, as far as I know, the substance of it is correct.

I guess my point is when someone comes here for help, I assume they are looking for an opinion from an expert or a pro, from a person who is a member here. They could Google that themselves and take a chance it may be correct without being able to interact with one or more pros on this site for the best information, and/or to get some follow up information.
Plus I assume the owners of this site probably aren’t looking to have people come here then immediately have someone try to direct them to another site.
And one final thing, most important, sometimes we like to debate (sometimes lively) with each other on techniques and methods, lol. It’s this collaboration of opinions that makes this site as great as it is.

OK, understood.

pecmsg

Kman18 said:

All of the check points are covered via yearly service call....the oil company tells me that the initial 'boom' is normal.

Do you think they would say differently?
No sir that BOOM is not normal but that's how we set ours up all the time.

Is there a small piece of paper on near the boiler showing the date and time of the Combustion Analyses?

Kman18

Yes there is a piece of paper, but I don't know what the abbreviations/acronyms mean..what should I look for?

Intplm.

Does this noise happen after the boiler is serviced and cleaned, then subsides over time or is it always there?
@Kman18 post that little paper here, as @pecmsg suggests above. That should show the combustion analysis and possibly help determine what might be happening.

pecmsg

Kman18 said:

Yes there is a piece of paper, but I don't know what the abbreviations/acronyms mean..what should I look for?

Take a clear picture and post it. 

EBEBRATT-Ed

What he is calling a boom could be normal ignition.

STEVEusaPA

Could be a little vacuum leak and some air.

Kman18

Attached is the analysis readout.

Kman18

Is there anything about the analysis readout that would cause the startup 'boom'?

STEVEusaPA

Kman18 said:

Is there anything about the analysis readout that would cause the startup 'boom'?

Analysis helps, but there's nothing there to point toward the problem. Again, you need a competent tech at the burner.

Steamhead

STEVEusaPA said:

........... you need a competent tech at the burner.

This. @Kman18 , where are you located?

jesmed1

Kman18 said:

Is there anything about the analysis readout that would cause the startup 'boom'?

If your electrodes are worn or set improperly, that could be causing the delayed ignition and resulting "boom," and the combustion analysis isn't going to tell you anything about the condition of the electrodes.

DJD775

Is this a new problem or has this been going on for a long time? Some type of startup noise is expected and could potentially be amplified based on your homes construction. If the sound has noticeably changed recently than you certainly have a problem. When I had a transformer go bad that caused delayed ignition it was easy to tell something was wrong as the sound of ignition was significantly louder than normal. Either way getting a second opinion from another pro is a good idea as previously stated.

EdTheHeaterMan

The original poster @Kman18 may be experiencing a normal start up of the oil burner and he is calling it a "small boom" in the same way that someone might explain the closing of a door as a "mild slam" when it was just a normal closing of a door. A bigger boom might be thunder from a lightning strike from several miles away while a really big boom might be a lightning strike that hit your neighbors house. But compared to an atomic explosion those are all fairly mild booms.

I have experienced some burners that will rattle the draft control as a result of normal start up, and I have experienced burners that start up and you hardly know it started. It's all in the design and application of the equipment. I remember that the Blue Flame equipment was pretty quiet when set up properly.
John Cameron Swayze would be so happy. LOL

Kman18

The 'boom' has always been there. It's annoying and just trying to see if there's a way it can be muffled.

Ironman

Kman18 said:

The 'boom' has always been there. It's annoying and just trying to see if there's a way it can be muffled.

I think that you’ve still not grasped that there’s no “muffler” that can be added; the problem (if it is such) must be addressed at the burner.

Your focus seems to be on the symptom, not the source.

EdTheHeaterMan

I remember a crown boiler I installed in the early 2000s, It was the older Freeport three pass boiler. There was a direct vent version that utilized a ceramic fiber combustion target wall. The chimney vented version did not have a combustion chamber. An elderly customer purchased the chimney vented model and had a similar complaint. Noisy operation. Since i was friendly with the salesman, the tech support guy used to work for my fathers oil company and I installed the owner's son's boiler, I asked if that combustion chamber might help.

The official company line was that the boiler I installed was not approved to use that combustion chamber material. So they would not allow me to install it. They did however bring a insulated burner cover to help reduce the noise. This was not successful. The noise in the boiler room was less but the noise in the bedroom was not. For the same reason. The chimney shared a wall with the bedroom.

I added the combustion chamber part that I paid for from a local supplier and the noise was reduced.

SO although there is no "Muffler" part that I can point to that will solve your problem. you could look into the insulated burner cover that fits your burner and if you give me the make and model number of your heater and your burner, perhaps there is a work around that may reduce the Boom on start up.

It may be that your heater is just that way and you will have to get used to it.
It may be that a smaller firing rate nozzle at a higher pressure will reduce the start up noise. But I would need more information.
It may be that the insulated cover for the burner will do the trick
There are other tricks of the trade that I am familiar with. But they do not work on all burners.

Kman18

Thanks. I have an insulated cover for the burner, but it's minimally effective....just a plastic cover with foam inside.