Is it really Necessary

Rich Davis_2

My 10+ year old Triangle Tube boiler, the foam rubber on the inside of the cabinet is falling apart. Is this really necessary, should I replace it or just remove the pieces that are left. It's located in a cellar so noise doesn't matter. Thanks

GGross

You can remove it, It just helps to insulate the cabinet so it is less noisy. The bigger issue I would be looking at is why did it fall apart? That rubber holds up to the high heat, dry conditions, basically anything except flue gasses or other chemicals. So I would be less worried about whether or not to tear out the rubber, and more worried about what happened to the rubber in the first place.

Mad Dog_2

It probably keeps the Sealed Combustion zone in tact if its a wall hung Mod Con.  Mad Dog 🐕 

Rich Davis_2

How would I check for flue gas, no leaks are evident, I'm having ignition issues and will be replacing the venturi, I wonder if that might be the problem. Any suggestions are appreciated. And yes it is a wall hung boiler.

pecmsg

Combustion Analyzer

EdTheHeaterMan

pecmsg said:

Combustion Analyzer

Always very detailed responses. a wealth or information!!!

Rich Davis_2

I received the new venturi , and yes, the original one was not in good shape on the blower side, I replaced it and I can't get the boiler to light unless I put my finger over the air intake and remove it slightly, if I remove my finger it'll go out, I've tried adjusting the metering screw and no difference, even with it all the way open It's like there isn't enough gas, I've got to check the pressure, When I was investigating I found my problem with the deterating foam rubber there was a chunk of the burner plate gasket missing, right behind the outlet vent tube which I couldn't see but, felt it when I was trying to get a mirror positioned to check the flame. So ordered a new gasket and upper insulation. When I removed the blower and burner plate, I discovered the blower gasket is not in good shape either, the only way it's listed is with the blower. Does anyone know where I can get just the gasket? Or can I make one out of rubber gasket material that I can get locally? Thanks for all your suggestions. PS I couldn't get it to run long enough to check combustion.

kcopp

The new venturi does not come factory set. You have to start all over again. Its been a while but I think you need to close it then back out 5 full turns.... just to start.
Then adjust w/ your combustion tool. Very important.
Then call TT tech support to verify.
Then check your venting to see if that is right. Many times you are sucking in exhaust.

GGross

If you have a model number, and a picture of the front of the boiler I could try looking up the burner plate gasket.

Rich Davis_2

Thanks, but I have the burner plate gasket coming today. But do you have any idea if I can get the blower gasket without buying the while blower unit too. I was going to try and make that gasket out of some thick rubber gasket material I have, any thoughts on doing that. My boiler is a TT Prestege solo 60. Thanks you have been most helpful. I would have never thought that the venturi could go bad but it did, then by accident I found the flue gas leak. What is your thoughts on the design and quality of TT boilers/

GGross

They are a good boiler honestly, the deterioration of a venturi implies recirc of the flue gases which is an installation issue. They have done more recently with installation manuals to mitigate this, but we will always find a way to break something. Where is the flue gas leaking? I think I missed that part

I dont think they have the gasket for the blower separately

Zman

Have your looked carefully to be sure none of the studs on the top of the heat exchanger have snapped and are allowing flue gas into the cabinet and intake? Look carefully at the studs and the red gasket. If this is not the issue, you may have a cross contamination going on between the intake and the exhaust on the outside of the building. My money is on the boiler studs snapping and allowing the exhaust to be recirced. This is a huge manufacture defect with that vintage that TT quietly swept under the rug.

GGross

I'm not sure I would say they swept that under the rug. There is a really long story to go along with those studs breaking, but basically 8 months of shoddy manufacturing from the partner that made the heat exchangers has haunted TT for the last 5-8 years, it actually put them out of business but Ideal bought them before that happened. For what its worth I have never been denied a warranty claim due to broken studs

Zman

GGross said:

I'm not sure I would say they swept that under the rug. There is a really long story to go along with those studs breaking, but basically 8 months of shoddy manufacturing from the partner that made the heat exchangers has haunted TT for the last 5-8 years, it actually put them out of business but Ideal bought them before that happened. For what its worth I have never been denied a warranty claim due to broken studs

The issue went on in some capacity for closer to 8 years. It is rare to come across an older prestige with Mtba 3 or 5 controls that don't have at least one broken stud. I remember pulling boilers out of the box in 2008 and seeing broken studs. At that time TT would say to just keep an eye on the rest of the studs.
My understanding is that the materials being electro-welded were not compatible.
They replaced them within the warranty period, yes. Anything outside that period was not covered. My point is that the defective studs are a serious safety concern and the boilers should have been recalled immediately. Triangle Tube did the math and the consumer/contractor paid the price.

Back to the OP, when I hear deteriorated insulation and bad venturi, I am willing to bet it is caused by broken studs. Probably on the back side where they are not readily visible.

GGross

I agree they should have been recalled, and also it is low hanging fruit for the OP to check.

Rich Davis_2

Luckly the studs seem fine so far, the leak was that the burner plate gasket was missing a chunk at the stud that is located behind the metal vent that goes up to the vent to the outside, I'm going to chase the threads before I reassemble. I just got finished making the new blower gasket, it was pretty simple just took my time. I was watching a guy cleaning the fireside of the HX, instead of pumping the CLR and Water solution, I was just going to plug the condesate tube and fill the HX with the sol. then a lite bulb went off that the sol. will just go up the metal vent, so I guess it's the pump, so it suppose to be here Fri. With the highs in the 40's very cool bedrooms thank goodness for wood stoves. Have one in the living room and a work cookstove in the kitchen. My house was built in 1822 and I installed central heating in 2010.

Rich Davis_2

Well, I assy. the setup to flush the HX which seemed to work OK except have lot of foam in the bucket that I'm draining into, so I'm going to drain most of the CLR out and add more H2O. I thought I would use a hacksaw blade and make sure the tubes are clear, Question is there some kinda restriction in those tubes I couldn't get a hacksaw blade thru any of the tube all the way. Flushing at first was pretty dirty but, later cleared up and had a good flow, so what's up, any thoughts?

Rich Davis_2

when googled TT HX one site showed a cut away of a HX the tubes showed they have dimples, so instead of using a saw blade got some stiff thin wire and pushed thru each side of the tube worked like a champ. Ran some more CLR thru it then rinsed and rinsed till I had clear clean water. Then started put everything back together, that blower screw that is under the motor is a ****, i finally removed the burner plate and put the blower on outside the boiler, the struggled getting the blower and plate back on the HX, I will run it tomorrow and do all the tests and set combustion, I hope everything goes OK, if not I'll be back for more suggestions.

mattmia2

Replacing phillips screw that they put in a place you can't get a screwdriver with allen head screws can make them easier to install and remove.

Rich Davis_2

I don't know why I didn't think of that as I replaced the screws for the ignitor with allen head screws years ago.