Test, Test, Test!! -DF

Steamhead (in transit)

that's why you're one of the industry's best. The average knucklehead would have fired it and left, with possibly disastrous results. You might have saved someone's life with that test.

Tim, are you reading this? I think you could use this troubleshooting tale in your classes, if you don't already have one like this.....

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Dan Foley

High CO

I went to start, clean and test a steam boiler yesterday that we had piped Thursday and Friday. On start up, the CO spiked but then kept rising. After several start up cycles with the same results, I pulled the burner door to make sure a piece of debris had not fallen across the burners as I have seen this before. To my amazement, on start up, one of the center burners did not light.

No problem, I thought. Just some dirt in the orifice spud. I pulled the orifice spud, blew it out, and put it all back together again. Same result. This time I let it run for awhile. After about 30-45 seconds, the gas caught fire inside the burner tube and a dirty, lazy flame floated out of the burner tube inlet. CO was 980 ppm in the flue.

I pulled the orifice on the adjacent burner which was burning fine. I noticed the orifice was about three times the size of the first one. Apparently, either it wasn't drilled out properly or it is an LP orifice (even though it is stamped with the proper #). I temporarily plugged one of the outside burners and switched the orifice to the inside burner. The remaining burners lit off and the numbers on my 125 were fine.

I won't mention the manufacturer because it could have been any of them. We all make mistakes. My point here is that there is no such thing as "factory set up" or "factory fired". If you don't test your equipment, new or not, you better check your liability insurance. -DF

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Nice, work

Glad you had the persistence to track the bugger down.

hot rod

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Dave Yates (PAH)

Similar sit a few years ago

A commercial burner. The "orifice" was not the wrong size - it was missing! Instead of firing at the stated rating of 950,000, it was almost 2,000,000 & the CO was off the chart and spilling out of every available opening. The orifice, when it arrived, looked like a simple steel washer.

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Darin Cook_2

Dan

If you don't test you don't know. Or. If your not testin your guessin.


Darin

Wayco Wayne_2

Dan!

What are you doing with tools in your hands? They could get dirty! Peoples lives are at stake for goodness sake! Get back to your computer where you belong. (Just kidding. I had to take a poke.) Good catch. Who woulda thunk? It makes you feel good to catch something different like that.

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