System 2000 EK1Frontier

FredJ

I have an EK1 that is pipe to outside air. This is a picture of the two oil lines that protrude from the bottom of the "Sealed Air Box". It doesn't seem right? Am I missing grommets or other components that would slip over the oil lines to keep the box sealed? If so, can someone post a picture showing the correct configuration.

Thank you.

HVACNUT

I'm not positive, but I believe there are 2 knockouts. One with a grommet. The other is smaller and the metal must be knocked out.
Typically braided oil lines are used through the base of burner box. Looks like someone had a tough time with the smaller knockout.
It doesn't need to be airtight, but it shouldn't have sharp edges.

FredJ

This is concerning to me because I have always complained of various odors. (It was installed in June 2014.) It is located in a small room in my finished basement. The oil company always tells me I can't be smelling anything because it is a sealed system and as the manufacturer says, "piping of outside air directly to the sealed Air Box completely isolates the boiler from the home environment". Respectfully, I beg to differ with you about it not needing to be (at least somewhat) airtight.

I don't know how long it has been like this. When the Annual Tune-Up is performed, it is necessary to disconnect the oil lines (they are not braided) in order to open the Front Cover. When the lines are disconnected oil drips on to the floor. When the lines aren't securely reattached leaks occur. Sometimes it is not evident for many days/weeks until I discover a puddle on the floor. 

I think during one of the tune-ups or maintenance calls to stop the lines from leaking, someone removed grommets/etc. I see where the powerline enters the box a grommet is in place. It's not perfect but some attempt was made to maintain the integrity of the sealed air box.

I was wondering if someone from Energy Kinetics monitors and responds to these messages.

FredJ

New to the forum; it's a gold mine of knowledge.
@jringel - can you comment on my picture and post a picture of how it should look? Thank you.

STEVEusaPA

This would not be the cause of odors. I agree with @HVACNUT, could’ve done a better job cutting the hole, but I doubt there’s an actual grommet that would seal completely, unless you made/sourced one on your own.

HVACNUT

@FredJ, the burner box is for noise reduction. It's not needed, but a feature that makes it so you don't even know its there. And because the burner has a box on it, you need to provide air to the box via the intake. 

The braided oil lines make it possible to lower the door without disconnecting. It might be a good idea to have that done. The opening can be silicone sealed but it's not necessary. If your getting combustion odors, it should be checked.

yellowdog

The smell you are probably getting is from the hack techs that are disconnecting the oil lines and spilling oil everywhere every time you get an annual service. Have them replace them with the proper flex lines so they don't have to disconnect them anymore. I can't believe that someone would put in a frontier without flex lines, but still after 20+ years, nothing ceases to amaze me.

jringel

@FredJ, Hvacnut was correct as there are 2 available openings in the bottom of the air box for the fuel lines to be run through. There are grommets available for both openings to seal the airbox from the boiler room. I have attached a sheet to this post showing examples of this for you to review. It appears that the at one time the bottom of your air box was altered to accommodate the hard piped fuel lines to the pump. The air leaking into the box while not being desirable should not cause an odors issue. This is most likely being caused by the oil leaks you mentioned in your post. I would recommend the replacement of the hard pipe with flexible oil lines at which time you could seal the opening at the bottom of the box with gasketing material, a full combustion test and making sure you have the pre and post purge functions enabled on the burner. As long as there are no oil leaks, the burner is adjusted correctly, and the chimney is operating at negative pressure there should be no odors. For the best result I would also consider eliminating the return line to the fuel tank and installing a fuel oil deaerator.

FredJ

@jringel et al,
Thank you very much for all this information. I don't understand why my oil company would not install his system correctly from the get-go.