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Boiler Room Overheating

Hi All,

During a severe rain and wind storm this weekend my boiler room was like a steam room and my CO detectors throughout the house went off. Once the winds and rain subsided everything went back to normal (cool, dry, and sub-alarm CO).

I have a three story house with gas-fired steam heating.

Can anyone explain what happened and/or suggest how to fix this problem?

Thanks,

Tom

Comments

  • Jim Davis_3
    Jim Davis_3 Member Posts: 578


    There are several senarios that could have happened. One is the wind blew down the chimney prevented the boiler from venting. This is easily cured by having a Field Controls Star Kap installed on the chimney which has been tested to stop the wind. The second problem is if the wind caused the house to severely depressurize and the chimney was being used for make-up air coming into the house instead of venting. This problem is tough to correct but I would recommend that spill switches be installled on the equipment to shut it down during these conditions. The CO alarm is helpful but it still exposes you to more CO than is healthy.
  • Tom Zydowsky
    Tom Zydowsky Member Posts: 8
    Boiler Room Overheating

    Jim,

    Thanks for suggesting the StarKap Chimney Cap. I went to the company web site (Field Controls.com) and found not only the StarKap but also a thermal safety switch that shuts off the boiler if the room temp. get too high. I will order both items ASAP and will see how they perform during the next storm.

    Thanks again,

    Tom
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