Boiler Maintenance and Recommendations

charlie123 · June 16

I have a few questions I'm hoping you guys can help with.

I'm considering leaving my very large oil-provider and looking into service contracts.

I'm in Suffolk County on LI and have a ~40 year old Utica OBT-3O which I believe is a dry-base boiler.

It was suggested that draining the water from a boiler and treating for scale is something that should be done with the annual tune-up, but from what I'm seeing, no one seems to include this in their service. Is this not a critical maintenance step, or is it a royal PITA or somehow a liability?

To be clear, I could see possibly not starting this on my old boiler after 40 years (assuming that dry-base boilers require this service), but it doesn't seem to be offered for new boilers either.

When I do replace my boiler, it looks like the choice might be between a Peerless WBV-03 or an EK-1 due to limited depth/ need for top venting.

The Peerless has been described as the best pin boiler on the market but I see a lot of VERY negative comments about pin boilers on the forums: is there something about the Peerless that allows it to transcend the typical issues with pin boilers, or would you run away?

Regarding the EK and criticisms I've seen: I can't imagine that here in the Northeast oil-country any dealer would have an issue getting parts, but I am concerned about complexity/ sophistication impacting reliability. I expect to have the EK installed by a company that is very experienced with EK, and service performed every year without fail (assuming every 6 months is not required?): is decades of reliable performance a reasonable expectation?

One last EK question: in my small 918 sq ft house, anything will be grossly oversized, and while I understand that the EK strives for maximum efficiency, am I correct in thinking that as a result of being oversized, it's still subject to more wear-and-tear as a result of (relative) short-cycling? Or does EK do something to reduce its net output, similar to using a smaller nozzle?

Thanks for reading and for any thoughts you might have.

Steamhead · June 16

Either is a good choice.

Regarding your present boiler- OK, it's older, but if it's the one I'm thinking of, it's built like a tank. Look at the return line from the radiators and see where it connects to the boiler- if it connects at the very bottom it's a wet-base (or at least wet-leg) unit. If it connects above the firebox, it's dry-base.

Also, what burner is on it?

Post some pics if you can.

charlie123 · June 16

@Steamhead, let me know if these help, or I'll take another. I was told these burn out in the back but the back seems fine, the front looks a little tired but I was told the chamber is in good shape.

EBEBRATT-Ed · June 16

That is a dry base boiler.

Yes, they can burn out the back but they don't have to.

The reason they burn out the back is when the combustion chamber breaks down and needs replacement and if that is ignored they will burn out IMHO.

It's because most "techs" will not replace a combustion chamber because it is a dirty job. They would rather sell a new boiler.

Steamhead · June 16

Yup, dry base. It wasn't the one I was thinking of.

I see lots of discoloration around the inspection port above the burner. When was the last time the top was removed and the baffles removed to clean the tubes? If they aren't doing that, they're simply taking your money.

charlie123 · 12:31AM

Thanks for the guidance, I called and there's no indication that they took this apart last year or even looked, so unless the record shows that this was done a year or two ago and it only needs to be done every few years, I'm guessing that this isn't part of their scope. I'm sure if I asked you the same question it would be clear from your reply that this is something that you do, they were kinda vague.

Is this something that should be done every year? Also, do you have any thoughts about the water/scale issue?

I'm posing your question to another service provider to see if it's in their scope…

BTW, if anyone knows of a service co that does the right thing, feel free to advise, I'm just east of Port Jefferson. I have a Roth tank going in Thursday and I need to decide if I'm getting a new oil provider (the easy part) along with a service plan of some sort.

HydronicMike · 12:44AM

I would avoid any pin boilers and only use a triple pass or an EK. Nothing against the Peerless, just concerned that anyone cleans them properly.
The next person who services it should pull the burner. Poor cleaning habits usually leave a ton of crud in the chamber. They just brush them down and never clean the chamber.
You’re going to short cycle even with the smallest boiler. I don’t think they’ll be much of a difference in wear and tear. Most important is proper set up and near boiler piping for boiler protection from low temperature return water.
Then proper combustion set up, proper draft, proper adequate combustion air, double fuel filtration and you really shouldn’t have any problems.
EK’s advantage is that it’s more efficient. Don’t worry about parts. Any person authorized to sell them, services them. Depending on the model, if the Manager goes bad, every tech has a service board they can install to keep you running, while they get a new Manager from EK. And the other part that may be an issue is their aquastat. Which a service tech can switch out with a standard Hydrostat with a simple mod. Everything else is standard off the shelf parts.

charlie123 · 1:02AM

@HydronicMike, thanks for that, unfortunately, I don't think there are any triple pass boilers with top vent. I think I had ~36" from rear wall to front of burner.

I would expect to have the installer service the Peerless, but I guess there's no guarantee that I'll be getting a thorough service even if he sold the thing.

So nothing tweaky about the EK-1, too sophisticated for its own good?

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