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Color of soot in boiler chamber

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SchenleySeven
SchenleySeven Member Posts: 27
in Oil Heating
My Columbia

boiler with Beckett burner has had an annual “tuneup” for 25 years, and the

chamber had always had a thin covering of black soot except at the rear where

the flame licked up against it. This season after the tuneup, I noticed a tan

to light brown covering that now includes an almost whitish stuff in the rear

of the chamber.





 On a gas car, a light brown colored spark plug would be

good, but whitish would mean a lean mix.





 Has the Beckett been adjusted incorrectly? Or, is it running

correctly now but “rich” for the past 24 years?





 





Thanks.
One pipe steam, Weil-McLain 380 , pipes mostly insulated, 32 radiators!

Bock 32E water heater, Bock M-SR burner with .75 80A nozzle.

Comments

  • heatpro02920
    heatpro02920 Member Posts: 991
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    You worry too much.. lol

    Could be the sign of a venting problem or condensation problem, but most likely just the white powder from the stuff they add to our heating oil.... As long as it isnt sooting up, you should be fine, did they do an efficiency test?
  • billtwocase
    billtwocase Member Posts: 2,385
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    soot

    is a bad word. They probably had the wrong nozzle in it originally, and you were getting incomplete combustion. That is why the only clean spot was the center of the target wall, which it shouldn't be reaching anyway. What are you combustion readings? Boiler model #, pump pressure, nozzle specs, etc?
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