Smell from oil burning boiler

Sheena86 · April 20

Odor coming from oil burning boiler had 3 different company’s come out to check it all say it’s running great and no1 seems to smell anything as of right now I have the heat set to off and am only using it for the hot water and shutting it off at night this all started after it shut down thought it was out of oil got oil and nothing had it serviced by idiots I believe cause the first tech did nothing said it needed a cleaning after turning it on several times only for it to smoke up then it was cleaned turned on and this smell started another tech came out change a few things/ parts still smells so got another company to come out changes the oil line /filter and nozzle after the other company also changed that several times still a smell 3rd company says it runs great oh and also got the chimney lined with a stainless steel line cause though maybe that was the cause of the smell I don’t kno what else I can do as I am worried about carbon monoxide cause I have a new baby any suggestions would be greatly appreciated…

Steamhead · April 20

@Sheena86 , where are you located? We might know someone who can help. This should not be happening.

Sheena86 · April 20

Worcester MA

Jamie Hall · April 20

@Charlie from wmass

Steamhead · April 21

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1853024#Comment_1853024

This!

HVACNUT · April 21

I assume the "w" in @Charlie from wmass stands for "western". That's a bit of a haul to Worcester. If he can do it, awesome.

If not, research a reputable oil service company. Request a Senior Tech (yes, still rolling the dice), and the Tech has, and will use a digital combustion analyzer and smoke tester. Worcester isn't exactly rural. I'm sure there's a handful of decent service providers there.

Sheena86 · April 21

they have all done combustion test the first person wrote the numbers down and several digital print outs and the last one I took a picture of it what does the numbers mean? The smell is still here I assume these are good companies except the first one in my opinion the last person was to diagnose the problem says he wishes he could find a problem then he could fix it but he has nothing

pecmsg · April 21

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1853088#Comment_1853088

There are right ways and wrong ways of doing Combustion Analyss as well as is the equipment tested and calibrated?

Post pictures of the print outs.

Jamie Hall · April 21

Yes, @HVACNUT , the "w" in Charles' tag is western Mass. Springfield, to be exact. Worcester isn't that far away, unless someone does something stupid on the Turnpike.

There is one question I have abut this one… what, exactly, is the smell? And how does it behave? Now I know it's hard to describe smells, and many people have never th9ught about it enough, but in this case it may be rather important. Do we have raw diesel? Do we have diesel exhaust? Do we have hot metal? Do we have hot paint? Is it only in the vicinity of the boiler? Is it only when it fires up or all the time? Do you smell it outside? Has something been set on the boiler? Or near the breeching? Is it even the boiler at all, or something else in the basement which is smells and the smell is being drawn into the boiler area when it is firing?

I've not commented on this thread before because to do so with any intelligence one needs answers to all those questions — and we don't have them.

ethicalpaul · April 21

You have a CO detector in the basement and in your bedrooms I hope.

I think it's not unexpected that guys who work on oil burners all day can't smell oil/fumes, even if they don't have an incentive to not notice it, which they do.

Looking forward to the printouts

Sheena86 · April 21

Sheena86 · April 21

I have smelled different smells the most noticeable one being a burntish rusty smell a sweet like oily smell and a exhaust like smell all when the boiler cycles except the sweet like oily smell I have still smelled this after shutting off the boiler and it’s directly above the oil tank which has been checked also for leaks and nothing when I have shut the boiler off I get no smells this is why I say it’s the boiler I have noticed that the biometric damper gets sucked quickly and shuts fast after the boiler shuts down don’t kno if this is anything the smell is on the boiler room but mostly it comes up to the 2 rooms above it I do not smell anything outside the house and I got carbon monoxide detectors everywhere even a handheld one multiple with read out display Neva get anything

Charlie from wmass · April 21

They are running too rich. 12% co² is too high on old equipment. The 44ppm co is higher than I am comfortable with but still within standards. With 30 xa and 12 co² there is a problem.

Sheena86 · April 21

it it fixable? what does it mean?

Sheena86 · April 21

this is the boiler if it helps

Jamie Hall · April 21

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1853106#Comment_1853106

Yes. But you need a good man to do it — like Charles.

Sheena86 · April 21

Lol it just makes me wonder why no other tech did it does it consist of magic

Steamhead · April 21

That burner on that boiler should run with zero smoke or soot with those combustion numbers. If not, there is definitely a problem.

I'd check these first:

1- did they install the proper nozzle in the burner? Carlin burners on W-M Gold boilers use either 60° or 70° nozzles, but I sometimes see 80° nozzles in them which do not work well.

2- is the firebox in good shape, and not collapsing into the flame pattern?

3- is there a leak around the flue collector or smoke pipe?

I'm sure @Charlie from wmass will get you fixed up.

pecmsg · April 21

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1853116#Comment_1853116

Training. Most techs today just want to sell new equipment and get their commission.

Pride in workmanship. Don't even get me started!

Company Policy. Profit is all that matters!

Charlie from wmass · April 21

Seems a common mistake in your area of the state. Bad habits are regional.

Sheena86 · April 21

I have no idea the size of the nozzle where would I find this ? The combustion chamber is this the firebox if so it has cracks that I can see on the back wall I don’t see any leaks from the flue tho there is a small gap on the biometric damper nothing comes out it that I kno of…. If this were running rich would there be black smoke coming from the chimney I don’t see any and I don’t see any soot also would it cause a smell

EdTheHeaterMan · April 21

One thing comes to mind during this entire conversation. I'm sure it does not apply here but I'm going to mention it anyway.

There are 2 common oil odors when we are talking about oil burners heating homes.

Byproducts of combustion have a distinct odor that you might compare the the smell of the exhaust from a diesel engine, like a bus or a truck that you might be stopped next to at a traffic light. This is the odor that everyone is referring to in all the comments above. This can be from a blockage in the chimney or a venting problem or from improper burner adjustment as has been mentioned several times above.
The second oil odor comes from spilling raw unburned fuel on the floor. That can happen when you run out of oil (as you made mention of). That oil odor is different from exhaust odor. It is more like what you might smell at the filling station when you are putting diesel fuel in your tank (that is if you have a diesel car or truck)

If you are trying to eliminate the oil odor from a spill on the floor that happened during the restarting of the burner after running out of oil, then you will not be able to eliminate that odor with burner adjustments or cleaning out boiler flue passages or the venting system. Spilled fuel odor is eliminated with oil deodorants or vinegar.

I recall helping a fellow oil burner service mechanic with just this problem over the phone. Adjusting the burner and the next day on the phone again adjusting the burner. After 4 days of unsuccessful odor elimination adjustment, I decided to visit the job personally, only to find that the odor was from the oil that was spilled 5 days ago when the fuel delivery driver primed the burner. This is why I mentioned it.

I keep vinegar on the truck for just this scenario. (Then I tell the customer that if you add a clove of garlic, your basement will smell like a ceasar salad.)

HydronicMike · April 21

There is significant difference between 4/13 and 4/14 combustion numbers, probably draft and smoke, unless there was a nozzle change too.

The smell could simply be the door gasket, cleanout box/gasket or something not put back together properly.

Maybe the chimney connector is not on properly. Maybe the chimney has failed or is failing, spilling CO/smell into the house.

Maybe it’s apt he shoulder season and a whole house/attic fan is depressurizing the house.

I would like to see start up/shut down CO numbers, as that’s a tight boiler that requires post purge.

Best to find someone who wants to start from scratch, set all parameters back to original settings, pull the flue pipe, check the heat exchanger, etc., THEN proper combustion testing.

HVACNUT · April 21

@Sheena86 , the combustion report isn't showing draft. Two things. One, how old is the boiler? The mid to late 90's blocks on the GO boilers are very tight, so the flue passages, chamber, and chimney must be clear. It should achieve at least a .-01 over fire. Two, the bolts for the draft hood are held by little clips. If one or two clips are missing, then the hood cannot be tightened. Pop the top off and see if all 4 bolts are tight.

The CO2 is fine at 12.02% as long as it's a Zero smoke. There's 30% excess air, so that's not an issue. O2 between 4.5%-6.5% is fine also.

Sheena86 · April 21

just had the chimney lined on the 4th .. what reasons would no number for the draft show up

Sheena86 · April 21

What’s a draft hood ? Is that the biometric damper

EBEBRATT-Ed · April 21

Worcester is an hour from Springfield.

Worcester had/has good oil techs weather they still exist or not who knows. Worcester still has a lot of oil.

You have a common boiler/burner that any good oil tech should be able to service.

Hopefully @Charlie from wmass can take a look.

mattmia2 · April 21

What is with the oily paper towel under the burner?

Sheena86 · April 21

from the techs

Sheena86 · April 21

I’ve called ck smith which is my oil service I’ve had advanced energy concepts a bunch of idiots and I’ve just recently had someone from Nashoba air and boiler works for a diagnosis and said there’s nothing he can tell me everything is working beautifully is his exact words and the combustion analysis is the first pic this was Friday I’ve had 3 different techs from advanced energy and 5 from ck smith and the latest guy was Friday from boiler works all no results and in between all that I had the chimney inspected and then lined by ultimate chimney sweep which they were great I just came here for advice maybe a professional who know something or someone with a similar problem that could help or maybe something I could ask the tech to look for

mattmia2 · April 21

what do you mean by "after turning it on several times only for it to smoke up"? was it firing every time they "turned it on" or did they reset it a bunch of times after it locked out?

is it in a big open space where it can get combustion air or is it in a small room with a door or something?

PeteA · April 21

do you recall if the boiler was running heat when you took the photos? Just curious if the settings were touched in the aquastat since it looks like your gauge shows 40psi at around 160 degrees so wondering if it was still on its way up (heating) or if was shut down (cooling) at that point.

More than likely the folks on this board can get you hooked up with someone or hit you up with enough info that you'll narrow it down on your own.

If the chimney was recently lined could it be the oils or dirt/debris from installing the liner heating up? Did the smell exist before the liner?

mattmia2 · April 21

looks like that is 40 ft of water which is about 17 psig

PeteA · April 21

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1853196#Comment_1853196

Oh sorry about that I thought it was the pressure side, Thank You

Sheena86 · April 21

This was in early march the heat went out thought it was oil so I got an oil delivery/ the gauge is broke anyways they came and it didn’t turn on so got service they came out and it was firing with smoke then it would turn off she did it several more times .. the boilers in a room with a door its not that small tho it also has the oil tank which is 275 gallons I think it maybe 20 ft in length maybe 8 feet wide except the oil tank part is only like 4 ft the walls don’t go all the way up tho prob like a 9 inch gap

Sheena86 · April 21

I’m not sure how old the boiler is it’s been here since we bought the house 8 yrs ago there are slips here from services dating back to 2005

Jamie Hall · April 22

I still don't even know what you are smelling. Burner exhaust? Diesel/fuel oil? Something else heating up in the space?

Without that we are all guessing.

Sheena86 · April 22

it’s like a burnt oily smell

mattmia2 · April 22

maybe when they kept pressing reset when it wasn't firing some of the unburned oil that was sprayed in to the chamber dripped to someplace that doesn't get hot enough to burn it off.

EdTheHeaterMan · April 22

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1853204#Comment_1853204

Would that burnt oily smell be exhaust? (like the exhaust of a diesel powered truck or bus that you are stopped next to at a traffic light?

Would that burnt oily smell be more like gasoline when you fill up your lawn mower or purchase gasoline for your car on a hot summer day?

spilled oil near a heater will be just as annoying as exhaust

BUT

there is a difference in the way you will remediate that smell.

EDIT: And some people can be very sensitive to that liquid oil smell while others that work with it every day hardly notice it.

Sheena86 · April 22

it’s definitely not like being behind a diesel truck I don’t really know what to compare it to I never smelled anything like it I do kno that when I shut the boiler off I no longer smell it

Smell from oil burning boiler

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