heat exchanger soot buildup cleaning advice

Masonite

Boiler is 4 years old with heavy soot buildup in heat exchanger. Flames rolled out and melted spark box. Replaced ignition module, removed and cleaned burners, replaced pilot assembly. As we achieved ignition flames were still rolling out. Same condition with flue collector removed. Any cleaning product recommended for cleaning soot from the heat exchanger? Many thanks

Steve214

That’s a bad boiler or you had a flood, those burners are rott

Steve214

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1908826#Comment_1908826

Sorry I hit post accidentally before I was finished. I see rust on the top left of a section. Those burners are really bad with what appears to be water damage. If only 4 yrs old maybe you can get warranty.

Steve214

SuperTech

Unfortunately I can't see the pictures right now because I don't have Wi-Fi but before you think about cleaning it you need to figure out what happened to make it soot up, that not normal for a boiler, especially a gas boiler that's relatively new. What happened to the previous boiler, the same thing? You might have a combustion supply air problem, chimney problem, oversized/short cycle/condensation problem. It could be a number of things. No sense in cleaning it if it happens again. That's also extremely dangerous when that happens. The boiler was making enough carbon monoxide to kill you very quickly.

Cleaning will require a SootMaster soot vacuum, several brushes and a lot of time and effort. Maybe if the boiler is in an unfinished basement with a floor drain I would think about stripping it down to the block, removing the refractory insulation and washing the block with water.

mattmia2

the rusted burners may be from years of whatever combustion problem it has

@SuperTech it looks like a misadjusted oil burner that hasn't been cleaned in a decade.

SuperTech

@Masonite what area you located in? The best thing you can do is find a tech who is trained on combustion analysis and diagnosing these types of problems. Perhaps someone who sees this will know someone qualified in your area. Unfortunately most plumbers and HVAC techs won't be able to figure out the cause, they will just try to sell you a new boiler. Maybe you can find someone who is NCI certified in your area.

EBEBRATT-Ed

The burners need to be taken out and cleaned and wire brushed and maybe replaced. Those burners got wet either from a flood or a boiler leak but looks more like a flood to me. The entire HX needs to be cleaned. Soot Vac anc brushes. its going to be a mess.

I would also check the chimney for blockage and vent pipe and combustion test.

patrykrebisz

You can get wire brushes from Amazon and clean the boiler yourself (it will be messy!!).
You probably will discover that a few of the metal fins have corroded through (some might even fall off in the process!). I'm sorry to say it but i suspect the boiler is done for… ($$$ to replace it, so nothing is going to hurt to try to clean it up first).

SuperTech

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1908846#Comment_1908846

I wouldn't recommend DIY boiler cleaning unless whoever is going to do it has a real soot vacuum. A shop vac filter is not made to deal with soot and you will end up blowing it out all over the place. Very bad idea.

HVACNUT

I wouldn't fire that boiler with those burners. At 4 years old, warranty whatever you can get.

Lets see the venting. Is the chimney lined? What's the input on the boiler?

Chances are slim it's a factory issue. I'd say draft.

JMWHVAC

Yea, the pic of the bottom of boiler looks like 40 yr old. Did you miss the zero when you typed 4yo?

ScottSecor

I have more questions than answers.

Why didn't roll out switch trip?

Why didn't spill switch trip?

Was this steam boiler ever serviced?

Was the boiler installed according to the installation manual?

Is there adequate fresh air for combustion?

Based on the photos, there was a lot of moisture during operation. Could be a leak, flood or possibly condensing? Leaks, especially on steam boilers often have a clean spot where water/steam sprayed cast iron. I do not see any clean spots on top of the boiler block. Any photos of the bottom, looking up?

I looked closely at your photos and noticed the gas line is rusty below the union. It is not rusty above union. Possibly a flood? I also see what appears to be some rust on front panel, lower left area.

I suggest you keep digging. Boiler may need to be replaced. If so, you don't want this to happen again, find the cause!

ratio

The jar of rollouts is quite disconcerting.