Utica Boiler Internal Noise

Bill Jackson

I have a customer with the Starfire SFW Series Boiler. Seems to be a quality unit though I haven't seen many in homes. Approx 12 years old. All combustions tests are OK, no other problems that I can detect. The boiler when firing from cold makes some very odd internal noises that sound like heat expansion type sounds, pinging and popping. It is definitely coming from the boiler not a pump or anywhere else. It does go away but not for about 2 minutes and it is some pretty odd sounds. Says it has sounded like this for years but they sleep downstairs now and the sound really travels through the pipes. I drained some water from the system wondering if it might be really gros or contaminated, but clear as a day off! Any ideas? Thanks
Chris

Alan_6

What is the temperature difference, between the supply and return? I have had some boilers make the same noise, some times a larger pump will quiet it down, not the correct thing to do. Most likely it is sediment you cant see, or there is a small leak somewhere, and the boiler is making up with water, too much. One way to know, is turning off the water feed for a couple of days, and seeing if the pressure drops. I have had to replace a few heat exhangers, because of this noise, and most of the time, it is because there is a small leak, and the boiler has had too much make up water.