Beckett furnace orange flakes

cwetzel1

Furnace has has orange oily flakes for many years. I have pointed it out to my service providers and no concern was raised. My provider recently sold the business and I just had routine maintenance done with a new provider who raised a lot of fear. The company wants me to replace the furnace. Is this an issue or not? Has been going on more than 10 years. I am on a well; if that makes a difference.

Jamie Hall

Doesn't leak? Runs fine? Been that way for a while? New provider? Pity the new provider is a salesman resorting to fear. I don't have much use for those folks.

Can you find a different provider?

pecmsg

You have a Sales Oriented service provider now.

Time to find a Service Provider.

mattmia2

Where is the rust coming from? If there is a fitting that is leaking a little would be a good idea to fix that but not a sign you need a new boiler unless the boiler hx is leaking.

HVACNUT

The moisture in the gauge? Replace the gauge.

Those granules have been there, or you clean then and they reappear? Looks like Speedy Dry.

Looks like a steel horizontal fire tube wet leg boiler. It's 20 years old, put properly maintained, it should last a lot longer.

EdTheHeaterMan

Is your Service Provider also your Fuel oil Dealer?

Are there other fuel Oil Dealers near you?

When someone sells their business to another firm, they have something worth selling and something worth buying. That means the buyer needs to make more money from their new customers in order to pay off the nut to the seller. Sometimes all the other fuel dealers in your area have already been bought up, leaving you with only one guy to get your oil from. Look around for a fuel dealer that does not have a service department on the payroll. They will know a service provider that is not going to sell you a new boiler just because it is 20 years old with a stain on the floor from normal operation over the years..

If the boiler IS leaking then the service tech should be able to show you the wet spot on the boiler near the rust on the boiler.  It might be inside the cleanout opening, or near the combustion chamber. But that would mean that the technician would have opened up the cleanout ports to actually see that leak.  Chances are “You look like a candidate for new equipment”...so I don't need to do my job here, and still get paid, and maybe even a nice bonus for a new equipment sale.

mattmia2

that looks like it could be from a floor drain that backed up, a water heater that let go, a foundation leak, or some crud that came out when someone opened a drain at the bottom of the boiler. if it were an active leak it would be wet if it is making that big a stain. That maybe could even be something that never got cleaned up from the previous boiler.

SuperTech

That looks someone didn't use a vacuum to clean the boiler and just brushed all the reddish soot from the combustion chamber on the floor.

With a boiler like that you don't have to worry about replacing it unless it is leaking water. Anything else can be easily repaired.