Year three maintenance...

Skyline

This had been the third year maintenance for my Vitodens 222-F, B2TB boiler. There isn't much in the third maintenance, other than the quality of work.

After two years with the same company, that didn't really liked, I hired another one from the next town. The way the service tech did maintenance, there's a lot to like in his work when compared to the previous tech.

Like the previous tech, he opened up the heat exchanger that didn't look to bad:



Unlike the previous tech, he did clean the HX with the brush below, instead of the Wiessmann tool for this purpose:



He washed the result down with water and cleaned the trap, that the previous tech did not do.

The burner in itself looked pretty good, including the igniter and the ionizer, according to the tech:



He didn't think it is necessary to analyze the exhaust gas, the burner is self-adjusting, but he did it anyway when asked:



The values are on the lower end that described in the Wiessmann manual.

So, why the atypical boiler maintenance is worth mentioning? Well, the previous tech at the first two times did not do most of it. The boiler being one and two years old may justify not doing it, I don't know. The company did sell me spare parts, gasket, ionizer and igniter in the first year and installed them in the second year. Even without the parts, their bill, couple C notes, pretty much wiped out saving with the high efficiency boiler. The new company's bill, while not quite half of the previous one, it did let me keep some of the savings from the high efficiency boiler. So, yeah, I am happy...

With the previous tech, I've debated doing the maintenance myself based on the service manual and what I have observed previously with the tech, watching videos, etc. Yes, I could do this, but probably wouldn't know what to do when things go haywire. Now, I don't need to think about this, found a company that I will have no issues with hiring again next year. Even, if they sell me some spare parts...

hot_rod

My opinion if the unit is that clean and in tolerance after 3 years, I would go 2-3 years again before opening it

I think the self adjusting burner helps the stay clean

Did they check water quality? Viessmann has a good spec on that also

Skyline

Good advice thx @hot_rod...

I'll just keep the HX closed for 2-3 years. The water quality had not been tested and will asked them for it next year. In the meantime, I'll check just how hard it is to check for water quality and test a sample from the radiator air relieve valve.

GGross

You wouldn't believe how many don't even open the burner chamber. They just pull igniter and flame sensor, clean/change them and call it a day. In my opinion the most important step is to open up the burner, it will immediately tell a tech how the boiler is functioning since the last service. Skilled techs can have the inside of the burner chamber sparkling like new every time. I generally advise that they use the spatula tool to make sure the in between sections are free of debris, using a spinning tool as shown is good, I would use that together with the spatula. Flushing the heat exchanger at the end, and then cleaning the trap are critical steps as well. Condensate backing up can cause error codes and eventually can flood the burner chamber, resulting in a few extra repair parts needed, it only takes a few minutes to flush the heat exchanger to make sure it drains freely and then clean out the trap.

I have also noticed that techs don't like to put an analyzer on viessmann, I think they don't do it because they can't make field adjustments. It is still an important step in the service routine though, just to make sure things are running within spec.

I would have carefully cleaned the igniter and flame sensor, I can see some marking on the igniter, as well as the typical white powdery products of combustion on both, not a huge issue but I would still clean them if it were me.

EBEBRATT-Ed

Not a mod con expert but a CO of 82 looks too high to me.

Skyline

GGross said:

I would have carefully cleaned the igniter and flame sensor, I can see some marking on the igniter, as well as the typical white powdery products of combustion on both, not a huge issue but I would still clean them if it were me.

Thx... The cleaning of the igniter and ionizer probably need a non-abrasive material and/or cleaning solution. I'll ask the tech next time. Can you recommend a cleaning solution?

EBEBRATT-Ed said:

Not a mod con expert but a CO of 82 looks too high to me.

I would not want to downplay your question for sure...

I am not even an apprentice in this field, much less expert. The measured 82 ppm CO is in the exhaust pipe, not in the boiler room, just to state that. The service instruction manual does not list values for the CO content, at least I could not find it. Maybe a mod con expert can chime in?

GGross

I am thinking they likely didn't let the boiler reach steady state operation before taking the readings, not ideal but sort of understandable I suppose.

You won't clean the igniter with a solution but rather gently rub the stuff off of there with something like a dollar bill or piece of paper, skilled techs have some luck with slightly more abrasive options though you have to be extremely careful. Some techs don't like to pull them if they are working and look acceptable as the don't want to accidentally bend them