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Propane boiler & black backing board

hellovn
hellovn Member Posts: 18
edited April 14 in Gas Heating


Hi All,

I have a new propane boiler (installed 2021) and it seems the backing board is getting darker and darker on the bottom of the boiler. The board is dry and when I tried to clean it with a wet rag, nothing came out (not even a tiny bit of dust). I tried to scrape it with a putty knife and nothing came out too. The first photo showed the backing board now vs. the backing board 2 years ago in the second photo. The boiler is working ok without any issues.

Do you have any ideas what could cause the issue?

Thank you.

Comments

  • hellovn
    hellovn Member Posts: 18
    edited April 14
    The exhaust flue is on the top and the backing board has not darkened. The boiler is clean inside too. I also have the CO & gas detector in the boiler room and they have no alert.
  • pecmsg
    pecmsg Member Posts: 5,282
    Old water leak?

    Better pictures would help.
  • hellovn
    hellovn Member Posts: 18
    pecmsg said:

    Old water leak?

    Better pictures would help.

    I also think about that first but the board is above the exterior ground and the whole board is still rock solid....
  • hellovn
    hellovn Member Posts: 18
    I have a few more photos.
    pecmsg said:

    Old water leak?

    Better pictures would help.




  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 16,400
    Moisture coming through the block wall. That is why the white paint is chipping off the block wall and some rot around the wooden window
    mattmia2pecmsgkcopp
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 10,845
    When I mounted the backing for my boiler to an outside wall I mounted the plywood to pressure treated 2x bolted to the masonry. That should at least have standoffs behind the plywood. I think the building code prohibits mounting untreated wood directly to masonry like that.
  • pecmsg
    pecmsg Member Posts: 5,282
    EBEBRATT-Ed said:
    Moisture coming through the block wall. That is why the white paint is chipping off the block wall and some rot around the wooden window
    We have a winner. 
  • psb75
    psb75 Member Posts: 900
    That Viessmann boiler model looks quite a bit older than 2021--as does the general installation. That display screen/control panel schema was changed around 2011-12.
    Oh, and what about the crack in the concrete running from the right bottom corner of the window directly to the DARKENING corner of the plywood? What is the ground level outside in relation to the boiler height?
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 10,845
    The crack itself is just cosmetic at least at this point but there needs to be better water management to get it away from the foundation, either grading or fixing gutters or extending downspouts
  • GGross
    GGross Member Posts: 1,258
    edited April 15
    psb75 said:

    That Viessmann boiler model looks quite a bit older than 2021--as does the general installation. That display screen/control panel schema was changed around 2011-12.
    Oh, and what about the crack in the concrete running from the right bottom corner of the window directly to the DARKENING corner of the plywood? What is the ground level outside in relation to the boiler height?

    That's a B1HA, they started selling them in the US in 2017, the new series started shipping in 2021. we sold our last B1HA in 2022
    technically its a B1KA because its a combi I suppose
  • pedmec
    pedmec Member Posts: 1,060
    remove the control box so you can look in the rear of the boiler. the last 3 veissman wall hung boilers that I have performed preventive maintenance on all had issues with the flue connection to the heat exchanger. flue gas was leaking out of the rear. my guess is you have flue gas escaping and hitting the wood. No CO because its tuned really well or has a lot excess air
    pecmsg
  • hellovn
    hellovn Member Posts: 18
    mattmia2 said:

    The crack itself is just cosmetic at least at this point but there needs to be better water management to get it away from the foundation, either grading or fixing gutters or extending downspouts

    Thank you. The foundation wall just sits on bedrock and I already caulked and waterproofed the crack from the outside. I will keep an eye on it with my moisture detector.
  • hellovn
    hellovn Member Posts: 18
    GGross said:

    psb75 said:

    That Viessmann boiler model looks quite a bit older than 2021--as does the general installation. That display screen/control panel schema was changed around 2011-12.
    Oh, and what about the crack in the concrete running from the right bottom corner of the window directly to the DARKENING corner of the plywood? What is the ground level outside in relation to the boiler height?

    That's a B1HA, they started selling them in the US in 2017, the new series started shipping in 2021. we sold our last B1HA in 2022
    technically its a B1KA because its a combi I suppose
    Yup. You are correct. The boiler model is B1KA.

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