Dunkirk oil boiler cleaning

craig1980

Hi all. Was just wondering what the best way to clean this boiler internally was. (1997 dunkirk oil boiler) Obviously I know they have brushes and tools to do it I was just unsure of how to get to the internals. Do I take off the stove pipe and the top part and access it from there or does the burner assembly have to be taken off? Or both? Thanks in advanced!

STEVEusaPA

You call your service provider and have them do it.
More important than cleaning is combustion test with instruments, check incoming gas pressure, and checking all your safeties for proper operation. As well as checking your pressure relief valve for proper operation and making sure your boiler has the right amount of water in it, and all emitters and the system are properly purged and bled.

craig1980

If I wanted to call my service provider I would have picked up a phone book. The whole point of forums is to help each other with information not post a comment about something and tell him to call a service provider what's the point of that sheesh

WMno57

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/157254/well-i-received-all-my-equipment-and-did-some-tests-yesterday

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/193345/boiler-cleaning-how-bad-is-this-soot

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/71413/cleaning-a-dunkirk-boiler

HVACNUT

craig1980 said:

If I wanted to call my service provider I would have picked up a phone book. The whole point of forums is to help each other with information not post a comment about something and tell him to call a service provider what's the point of that sheesh

To a point. There's always a CYA factor. When you open an oil fired boiler and replace parts in an oil burner, tests must be performed ensure proper combustion. If I were to give you advice and your house becomes a soot disaster because it wasn't tested, who's the idiot? I am. Because I gave advice to someone who has no business doing what they're doing if they don't have the equipment to ensure they did it right.

So if you plan on servicing your own system, it would be wise for you to go to school and learn about oil burners and boilers, and invest in all the instruments an oil tech needs. Then, put your hard hat on and go to town.

STEVEusaPA

craig1980 said:

If I wanted to call my service provider I would have picked up a phone book. The whole point of forums is to help each other with information not post a comment about something and tell him to call a service provider what's the point of that sheesh

The point is you don't know what you are doing, and this could burn your house down, and/or kill someone from CO. Just because you go on a forum and ask for help doesn't mean anyone is obligated to give you want you want, especially if there is a life safety issue.

I gave you the best advice. Get someone who knows what they're doing.
I hope you don't approach medical issues this way.

pecmsg

craig1980 said:

If I wanted to call my service provider I would have picked up a phone book. The whole point of forums is to help each other with information not post a comment about something and tell him to call a service provider what's the point of that sheesh

Good example of todays mentality. 

craig1980

Don't understand why all the hate. Today's mentality is not doing your own work. Half of today's generation doesn't even know how to change a tire. I think doing your own work and getting your hands dirty is admirable. How would taking your covers off your boiler vacuuming the soot out of it have any issue with the way it performs throwing anything out of adjustment or burning your house down? What's the point of this forum then. What type of advice do you guys even give? If working on oil is specialized why even have a forum where people could come and ask questions

EBEBRATT-Ed

Let's face it a lot can go wrong working on gas. oil or electrical. The professionals on this forum are looking at words on a page and have no idea what the ability of the homeowner is. We get a clue as to his or her ability from the questions they ask. We can usually get an inkling of their knowledge.

There are many competent homeowners on this forum that have installed their own boilers, heating and probably air conditioning systems.

But all of them have done their homework and many of them have done jobs that put some contractors to shame.

In the case above the homeowner is asking for advice on how to take things apart for cleaning. A lot of things happen during a clean-up that could affect combustion. To me this shows that he probably has not looked at the boiler manual to see what is involved.


CO and combustion gases can cause sickness or worse.

craig1980

Understood. it's a 1997 boiler so the manual is extremely vague I did go down that route and got it emailed from the manufacturer. I get what you're saying but you could say that with anything... I'm not going to change my brake pads on my car because of the safety implications, I'm going to pay someone to change a light switch because it could cause an electrical fire, not going to change my kitchen faucet because it could flood my house, the list goes on and on. The first step to competence is looking to professionals for advice on how to do things. My father-in-law is 70 plus years old and this is his feeling call a professional for everything and have other people do your work for you, but quite honestly who has the money to do all that. Also where is the sense of accomplishment on learning to do something yourself putting the knowledge you gain whether it be from Google,  forums, YouTube or other places  and applying that knowledge getting the job done correctly and moving on. Back in the day men were men they knew how to be skilled, share knowledge, be jack of all trades because quite honestly there was not enough money to go around so if they didn't do it it wouldn't get done. If they didn't fix their boiler their family wouldn't have heat. Anyone that knows poor farmers know exactly what I'm talking about. They are there own plumbers, electricians, mechanics,  fabricators , welders, Etc. 
 Anyway ill see myself out and delete my account. This forum seems to be useless in the sense of sharing knowledge.  Not even sure why it exists if not to help. I found what I was looking for on YouTube so I'll go that route.   

STEVEusaPA

craig1980 said:

….Anyway ill see myself out and delete my account. This forum seems to be useless in the sense of sharing knowledge.  Not even sure why it exists if not to help…

This is neither an airport nor a train station. IOW, no need to announce your departure

EBEBRATT-Ed

@craig1980

No one is trying to force you out. You seem to understand the implications of having something go wrong and what could happen. Many who come here for advice do not. It's your property and your responsibility.

Look, in this day and age there are way too many hack contractors who leave jobs in dangerous conditions.

I don't think we have many of those on this forum.

The professionals spend a lot of money to get state licenses, to have liability insurance and workman's compensation insurance, go for training on new equipment, buy a truck & tools etc. etc etc.

Not all the money the contractor charges goes in his pocket as many believe. It goes for the above items as well.

As I stated above, we have several homeowners on this forum who's work is better than many contractors.

There are reasons for that. They have taken the time to read and learn and have the time (maybe unlimited time) to spend on their project. To a contractor time is money. It's that simple. They can't spend unlimited time on a job. Always in a crunch.

And many contractors have been sued and have to be cautious. As long as you understand the protential problems involved in doing your own work go for it.

Steamhead

EBEBRATT-Ed said:

@craig1980

No one is trying to force you out. You seem to understand the implications of having something go wrong and what could happen. Many who come here for advice do not. It's your property and your responsibility.

This. @craig1980 , where are you located?

HVACNUT

craig1980 said:

Don't understand why all the hate. Today's mentality is not doing your own work. Half of today's generation doesn't even know how to change a tire. I think doing your own work and getting your hands dirty is admirable. How would taking your covers off your boiler vacuuming the soot out of it have any issue with the way it performs throwing anything out of adjustment or burning your house down? What's the point of this forum then. What type of advice do you guys even give? If working on oil is specialized why even have a forum where people could come and ask questions

Why would a DIYer do just a boiler cleaning and not a burner service? Are you saying you did not or will not replace the nozzle? And if an experienced oil tech came to do the burner service, why would he or she not do the boiler and chimney base cleaning or check as well? Are you saving money by doing part of the job yourself? 
I think not, because any experienced tech would open it up anyway to see for themselves. 
Maybe the burner will be left alone and just the boiler flue passages get cleaned. Ok, what's the over fire draft now that it's been cleaned?
What's the smoke reading?
See where I'm going with this? Not everything is DIY.
All advice comes with at least some  accountability, and sometimes the best advice is to get a pro. 
From my couch, if someone wants to know how to clean the flue passages of their oil fired boiler, and that's all they want to do, then my skeptical brain says something else is going on that we're not being told. So what are we not being told?

Erin Holohan Haskell

craig1980 said:

If I wanted to call my service provider I would have picked up a phone book. The whole point of forums is to help each other with information not post a comment about something and tell him to call a service provider what's the point of that sheesh

@craig1980, yes, this forum is here to help and advise people, but sometimes that advice might not be what you want to hear, especially when pros are telling you that you are in over your head and need to consult a professional. Not everything is DIY, especially when you don't have the proper tools necessary to perform the job safely. This is not a personal attack. The pros here are just advising you based on decades of experience.