MegaSteam Fire chamber

Unknown

The MST (MegaSteam) does not use a target wall or chamber liner. Looks and fires pretty much the same as the MPO water boiler.

Glenn Stanton

Manager of Training

Burnham Hydronics

U.S. Boiler Co., Inc.

Jim_83

Does the Burnham MegaSteam boiler have a target wall and blanket in the fire chamber or is it just cast iron?

Jim_101

Glenn

Since the MegaSteam does not use a target wall or chamber liner, how is the chamber protected from 'burn through' from the high temperatures from the burning fuel oil?

Also, my oil dealer told me boilers had to be cleaned so carbon would not build up in the fire chamber and develop a hot spot and burn a hole through the cast iron. Is the statement my oil dealer told me correct?

Thank you.

Unknown

Jim

The MegaSteam boiler sections are constructed so that the entire combustion area is of wet-base design or in other words the iron is full of water surrounding the entire chamber area.The only pert of the chamber area without a wet jacket is the burner swing door and that has a thick molded refractory on it. Your service company is correct regarding one aspect but that pertains to dry-base boilers where a combustion chamber is required to protect either the steel boiler base or cast iron base from being burnt. They also have to be cleaned annually to remove any soot that may collect on the heat transfer surfaces that will prohibit proper transfer of heat to the water.

Glenn Stanton

Manager of Training

Burnham Hydronics

U.S. Boiler Co., Inc.

Steamhead (in transit)

Jim, it's also worth noting

that if a modern flame-retention burner is set up properly it will produce no smoke or soot. Period.

This would not eliminate the annual servicing, but would maintain the boiler's efficiency over the entire season.

If this type of burner produces smoke or soot, it's either installed wrong or not being serviced correctly.

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Jim_101

Steamhead

I'm a homeowner and have a burner and boiler that is about 25 years old and when my service company services the boiler they tell me the fluways are sooted or coked up.

It sounds like a modern oil burner is just as clean as gas, at least from a smoke and soot perspective in the fire chamber and fluways?

Is that correct?

Have they made that much progress in the last 25 years? Or was it my old burner was not tuned up properly?

Al Gregory

I often go to do annual tune ups on boilers we and others installed the past ten years or so and more often than not the boiler is clean. I had a Wiel Mclain boiler I went back to for its first cleaning the other day and the inside of the smoke pipe looked like it was brand new. The new burners today make a huge difference.

Steamhead (in transit)

Jim, what boiler

do you have (make and model) and what burner is on it?

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Jim_101

Steamhead, the boiler is a

Weil McLain steam, 66E series, 4 sections, 1981 era. The burner is a Carlin 100 CRD with .75 gph, 60 degree SS or W Hago nozzle. The service company has installed both SS and W nozzles.

I believe the boiler from the factory used a 1.25 gph 60 degree SS Hago nozzle.

The service company left this information on the hang card; Gross stk temp 580, Net Stk temp 500, O2 % 6.5, smoke 0, breech draft -03, overfire draft -01.

Thank you.

Leo

But if

If the boiler is "coked" up as some call it or full of a hard white concrete looking substance it probably is under fired or should be kept warm year round. Too many people think they are saving fuel when they are making the service time much much longer not to mention the reduced efficiency of a crudded up boiler.
Plus in this case the boiler is way underfired.

Leo

mtfallsmikey

While we are taking about service,

I used to encourage my customers to fire up their equipment periodically during the spring/summer to keep things inside the boiler/furnace dry, especially if the equipment was in a damp basement or cellar. No problems with gas equipment with a standing pilot burning year 'round tho.

Constantin

I would be surprised...

... if excessive soot is a must-have byproduct on a modern retention burner that has been set up correctly. I'm just a homeowner myself, but the two oil boilers I have dealt with were sooting very differently...

The first was heating a rental apartment I was living in. It was 'serviced' annually by the oil company that my landlady had hired. The service consisted of spinning on a new filter and a new nozzle. Two years later (and knowing nothing about oil combustion!) I got so frustrated that I hired a different company to come in and service the unit.

The gentleman took one look and asked to come back later, as it would take him hours to get the job done by himself... I offered my services as an apprentice and we went to work. Two hours later, we had most of the soot out (think 2" in the horizontal flue pipe, never mind the chimney base).

Due to a dirty air intake and years of neglect, the air shutter was jammed wide open, yet still did not deliver enough air. Hence the soot, among other things. Afterwards, the boiler purred like a kitten and I was super grateful to find such a resource. I made a point of keeping that oil company and only switched away when I wanted to make a transition to low-sulfur fuel and they didn't.

Granted, the old-timer did not set up the boiler with an electronic combustion analyzer, but this was 1998 and the combustion analyzer I used at work weighed about 45 pounds and probably cost a small fortune. Yet, if given a choice between the two, which "service" company would I chose?

The new boiler in my current home sooted minimally... even when firing regular heating fuel. Cleaning the thing for the first time after two years of operation was a messy job, a lot of sulfur to deal with (from the fuel I used). I subsequently switched to low-sulfur fuel and watched the soot dissappear. Now I just have some brown dust to contend with. Incidentally, it was the Brookhaven research sponsored by NORA that led me to seeking out low-sulfur fuel.

So, based on my anecdotal experience, there is no good reason for an oil boiler to soot once its draft has been set correctly, the flueways are clear, the chimney is clear, the combustion dialed in correctly, etc. The sulfur content in fuel also has an effect, but it should be possible to achieve "zero smoke" under all firing conditions that would minimize sooting.

Steamhead (in transit)

There's part of the problem

the 100CRD does not make enough static pressure to keep a tight boiler like this from plugging. If you're not going to replace the boiler, upgrade to a Beckett AFG, Carlin EZ-1 or Riello.

Constantin, you're absolutely right. If a modern flame-retention burner produces soot, it's either the wrong burner for the boiler or it's not set up properly.

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Jim_101

How do I find an oil dealer

that will consistently supply low sulpher fuel. I was talking to an oil dealer about low sulpher heating oil last week and he told me he is at the mercy of his oil supplier and you get what's in the supply tank at the time his truck is filled.

What should I be asking or looking for from an oil dealer?
Is low sulpher heating oil available on the South Shore area of Boston Ma?

Jim_101

Is it better

to leave the firing rate as specified by the boiler maker even if the boiler is oversized? The oil company down fired the boiler and told me I would save fuel oil.

I did not ask for the down firing. I was happy the way the bolier was working, I was saving money compared to the old coal to oil conversion boiler it had replaced.

I am looking at replacing the boiler, but the smallest oil fired boilers are still over sized. The connected load is 180 sq ft steam. Should I leave the new boiler's firing rate as it came from the factory?