Carbon Monoxide Poisoning-Bosch Greenstar Combin151p

bdiblasi

Hi… looking for input on how a Bosch Greenstar Combi 151p can cause a serious carbon monoxide leak.

Our 7 year old boiler was recently serviced by our propane provider for a propane leak. The company serviced the unit and replaced the internal gas valve. (7) days later my family and I ended up in the hospital with severe carbon monoxide poisoning.

The fire department stayed at our house as we went to the hospital and the service company came back out to get the unit running . It appears the gas valve was changed out again and the combustion motor replaced. The motor was installed backwards and needed to be turned around by a licensed plumber. The unit is now fully running and not omitting CO but we are not comfortable with the fixes.

Long Beach Ed

The same company that had installed the burner motor "backwards" before the poisoning "corrected" the problem after the poisoning? Something's not right here. Can you elaborate on the timeline of the repairs?

Are you aware of the CO levels in the house when you went to the hospital and your CO blood levels?

Derheatmeister

Sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience

..Glad to hear that you and your family survived it .

Not sure why it leaked carbon Monoxide into your home..

Did the installer of the Gasvalve adjust the Combustion and leave a Printout of this.

When these Condensing boilers are adjusted they should be below 100 PPM on the exhaust !

I would call a specialist that can check and adjust the Combustion.

Also….Please invest in a couple good CO detectors such as the Defender LL 6170 to keep your family safe.

EdTheHeaterMan

I agree with @Long Beach Ed about the information not making sense. "The motor was installed backwards and needed to be turned around by a licensed plumber." This makes no sense and needs clarification. There are only 2 motors that I am aware for on that piece of equipment. the Circulator motor and the Combustion fan motor, neither of which can be physically installed "backwards".

Is there a possibility that the combustion air inlet and the exhaust outlet pipes were reversed (installed backwards) by the mechanic from the propane company that did the maintenance? That can be a problem that makes excess CO and perhaps leak into the home if the air tight cover was not properly secured after the service was completed.

I would inquire with the "Licensed Plumber" that eventually made the correct repairs/adjustments as to hit qualifications and if they would be interested in being your maintenance and repair service provider. Bosch offers many different classes to train Plumbers and HVAC professionals on their equipment. If this Plumber is one of those who has taken the classes, then he would be a better choice for future service.

In any case… Drop that Propane company. They could have killed you!

Long Beach Ed

Too much missing from this story. Where I live, if my family went into the hospital with CO poisoning, I would come home to find the Health Department and Building Department put a lock on the door and would not let me in. Their workers would be analyzing the heating system and a grand jury would be convened to write charges against the last people who serviced my equipment.

The gas would be turned off and locked by the utility which would not turn it back on until an engineer inspected and signed off on the equipment and took a mercury test of the gas lines. My Certificate of Occupancy would be revoked and I could not live there until I secured a new one from the Building Department. My homeowners' insurance would be cancelled and the city and the hospital would have a lien on my home that would bankrupt me.

When I finally got inside, the heating system, chimney and stove would be missing — seized as evidence against the contractor and, me of course.

bdiblasi

Thank you all for the information… and sorry for any confusion… not a plumber….here is hopefully a clearer timeline:

Jan 2: Called Propane Co for service due to strong propane smell at boiler.

Jan 2: Propane company installed new gas valve and said this was source of propane smell/leak..

Jan 4: Propane Company returned to test unit and make sure it was running correctly.

Jan 10: CO Poisoning occured.

Jan 10: Fire Department shut down house and had propane company come to house and repair. Repair appears to be another new gas valve and combustion motor feed.

Jan 14: Licensed Plumber performed inspection with Gas Sniffer and bubble soap and found the actual propane leak in a connection at the bottom of the boiler.

Important: There was a loud sound in the middle of the night that my direct neighbor heard (and my wife also heard)…. I noticed outside yesterday that the intake PVC feed laying on the ground about 4’ from the house… Looking at it it I see sawzall marks and burrs on the inside of the pipe). I dont know who cut it and when it was cut or if its possible it blew off the house and was the loud noise in the middle of the night.

bdiblasi

and Fire Department indicated 11,000 ppm reading and rising when the arrived… my wife and I had levels at 24% and had to stay in hyperberic chamber for 2 hours.

EBEBRATT-Ed

I would be calling a lawyer.

JMWHVAC

I really, truly would like to know how the CO got in the house. Even when a boiler is producing too much CO, I would like to know,how did it fill the house? And a gas leak will blow up the house if bad enough, not fill it with CO.

EdTheHeaterMan

@bdiblasi Said: "There was a loud sound in the middle of the night that my direct neighbor heard"

What day did that happen in the timeline?  If the vent was compromised as a result of too much gas in the combustion chamber on ignition, then the vent may have been putting exhaust directly into the home following the noise event.

109A_5

I suspect the fire department or someone else cut it off to inspect for a blocked or restricted vent, maybe they cut off the wrong pipe.