First time home buyer

sonicL · August 8

Buying home with gas hot water heat. Flagged for burn through on inspector. Sellers HVAC person says immediate replacement not necessary that it remains “functional”

Mad Dog_2 · August 8

More pictures please. Straight on that spot and all sides of boiler. Mad Dog

Ironman · August 8

The boiler needs to be inspected by a competent pro and the cause of the burn mark determined.

It could be that the heat exchanger is dirty, the burners are dirty, chimney blockage, improper draft, or something else. At any rate, it should not be run as it could pose a carbon monoxide risk or fire hazard.

I wouldn’t buy the house until it’s properly repaired or replaced and a combustion analysis is done to confirm it’s safe.

mattmia2 · August 8

it could be many things, we'd need more information. it could be anything from insufficient combustion air to a failed boiler section. it could be parts of the burner are rusted out, it could be the boiler is sooted up, it could have problems with low water return temps. you need your own heating contractor to look at it and tell you what is wrong and what the fix is. where are you located, we may know someone.

that is just a symptom of many of the possible causes and if they aren't fixed a new boiler will do the same thing. depending on what is happening it may be possible to fix the cause and fix that boiler too.

did anyone in this process take the front cover off and look in the combustion chamber?

sonicL · August 8

Thank you so much for the comments. My son is buying the home in Providence. Over 100 years old. I’m out of State. I told him he needs to get his own HVAC guy in to inspect. These comments were very helpful….The home is under contract but some negotiation about findings on inspection. I live in a much less expensive area and have never owned an old home. The home is expensive and he will need to prioritize a number of needed repairs.

mattmia2 · August 8

if it has cast iron radiators and is a converted gravity system it could very likely be the effects of not having proper return water temp protection causing sustained condensation in the boiler. that could mean it is blocked with soot or rust or is rusted out.

Steamhead · August 8

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1901648#Comment_1901648

Providence- the one in Rhode Island?

(Some of us will know what song that line came from)

HydronicMike · August 8

I wouldn’t trust the ‘buyers HVAC person’. They have no fiduciary responsibility to you unless they want to give you a written guarantee and extended warranty.

EBEBRATT-Ed · August 8

@sonicL

The cause of the burn mark is probably due to dirty burners, dirty boiler or plugged chimney. It can most likely be fixed by the right technician but that is when the problem starts. Most hvac contractors will tell your son to replace the boiler because they are brought up to sell new equipment and can't be bothered to fix anything.

The home inspector was right to call this out.

Mad Dog_2 · August 8

Try to get Ryan from New England Steam Works in there. Rhode Island guy Based in Providence. Excellent. He can be found in The Find a Contractor feature in this site. Mad Dog

RascalOrnery · August 20

I had a similar burn mark on the sheet metal of my boiler. Upon removal of the sheet metal I found the repair.

I can do some homework and find the guy who did it, maybe he's willing to travel to your area to fix yours!

I'll give him your address right after I finish wringing his neck

IMG_20250926_134428973.jpg

Intplm. · August 21

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1902365#Comment_1902365

Ouch! Yikes! This reminds me of what Repco boilers looked like. @RascalOrnery Was this a Repco boiler?

RascalOrnery · August 21

No it was an EFM from 1975. I ripped it out last year, I was surprised how visually good the vessel itself was.

Steve Minnich · August 22

8 years ago, I inspected one that was a bit worse. I did a lockout/tag out on this 12 unit apartment building’s boiler and had the owner sign off on it. He fired it back up.
I agree with the comments above. Your son needs to hire someone who has his back.

ChrisJ · August 23

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1902512#Comment_1902512

I trust you a whole lot more than a home inspector.

EBEBRATT-Ed · August 23

My niece bought a house about 6 years ago and I met her there to take a look at it along with the home inspector that she hired.

I was impressed with him he found a bunch of stuff that I had seen on a previous trip and some things I didn't notice.

We put some #s together and she got the price lowered and got a good deal.

But you hear horror stories when the buyer uses a home inspector that the realtors recommend. Really dumb idea and a conflict of interest as far as I am concerned.

I think the home inspectors have to be licensed around here now. Don.t know if that has done any good.