oil boiler annual maintenance, what should I expect to be done?

[brainslice]

Hello,

I have some questions about what to expect from an annual oil boiler maintenance visit. I don't have a very good feeling about the company that's done the work the past two years. Here's the situation....

Burnham V713 hot water boiler with indirect, beckett afg burner.

Last year when the tech made the maintenance call, here's what I got:
Replace filter on tank, take off side cover and smoke pipe to brush the heat exchanger, install a new nozzle. The boiler has a power-vent and I mentioned that the barometric damper was rattling. Tech took a screw and secured the flapper shut. Turned boiler on, it got flame, he collected $, jumped in truck and left. The whole procedure was over in less than 15 minutes.

Here's some of my observations:
Something has to be not cool about securing the barometric damper shut. It has a wicked draft in the combustion chamber as a result and it must make the exh gas much hotter, can't be good for powervent or fire hazard.

Didn't take any exhaust readings. Did not check the flame or air or smoke or anything.

I told him that I observed that the temp gauge will only ever go up to 190deg, he said it didn't matter. ???

Heard him say that the nozzle was a .75 / 70 and that's what he put back in. The spec plate on the boiler says ".65 80deg A Delavan" 140PSI pump pressure is posted on the boiler and on the burner. Spec plate says .75 gph input. I did some checking and it looks like with the nozzle he put in there it's getting too much fuel.

What do y'all think of this?
Does this sound normal or is there some hackery going on?

What should a proper maintenance visit entail?

Should I have to explicitly tell the service company what I expect to be done?

Thank you very much for any advice.

Sean

[beenthere]

No prices in post. I already removed it from your post.

Call a different company.

And call and tell the previous one why your switching to a different one now.

[brainslice]

My apologies for the pricing in the first post.

I have been calling around to find another service company.

One that sounded good so far says they always do a combustion analysis, check draft, check pump pressure, change nozzle and filter, inspect and clean combustion chamber and heat exchanger and a few other things.

Going to keep calling and see what's available.

[brainslice]

The new service co. just finished up their work.
Here's a rundown of what was done.

New parts:
SWG-4HD stainless powevent
CK-63 powervent control
RC draft control
Oil pump with solenoid
Electronic igniter
GeniSys primary control
Electrodes
Nozzle
Oil Filter

They checked and cleaned the inside, checked all the gaskets, fixed the fire blanket inside combustion chamber, secured more screws in the exhaust pipe, cleaned the flame head, adjusted the nozzle position and electrodes, checked and set pump pressure, and performed the combustion analysis tests. There was probably more checking and setting that I did not notice.

Here's what it says on the service tag:
Stack temp Gross 350 Net 300
Smoke 0-Trace
CO2 12.5%
Draft Overfire 0.03 Breech 0.04
Efficiency 86.5%


The guys said that they see a lot of bad stuff from the previous svc co.

Overall very satisfied with the new service. Will definitely call them back next season.

[beenthere]

Glad to hear you found a good company.

[zw17]

Where is the CO2, COPPM, and Excess Air reading on the combustion analysis?

[beenthere]

CO2 is 12.5%

Nothing wrong with using the Bacharach Fyrite kit.

[zw17]

CO2 is 12.5%

Nothing wrong with using the Bacharach Fyrite kit.

Ooops, guess I missed it huh?

You are right, there is nothing wrong with using one, just old technology but it works. I do not like that you cannot get a CO reading though.

[heaterman]

Seems like alot of parts for a boiler that was basically working and just needed annual service but on the up side, they seem to know what side the bread's buttered on.

[subway]

Seems like alot of parts for a boiler that was basically working and just needed annual service but on the up side, they seem to know what side the bread's buttered on.

That does seem odd that all those parts were replaced. Why was a new fuel pump installed?? He may have gone from one end of the spectrum to the other with service companies. Was ALL that really needed.

[brainslice]

You should have seen the previous powervent setup. Internal blower, duct tape, malfunctioning pressure switch, dangling off of floor joist with plumbing strap, etc. Not cool. I also was interested in efficiency and quietness, hence the new primary control and oil pump with solenoid, etc. I can barely hear it run from upstairs now :-)

[subway]

You should have seen the previous powervent setup. Internal blower, duct tape, malfunctioning pressure switch, dangling off of floor joist with plumbing strap, etc. Not cool. I also was interested in efficiency and quietness, hence the new primary control and oil pump with solenoid, etc. I can barely hear it run from upstairs now :-)

The new pump and primary wern't really needed. If the burner is adjusted right with the correct nozzle for the boiler and the retenshion head it would purr like a kitten. Oil delay valves are over rated. But, just as long as you are happy with the results.

[brainslice]

Agreed. Perhaps not necessecary, but I guess those things may have their benefits. One thing I noticed is that when the new primary shuts off the ignition after 10 seconds it quiets down and makes more of a "purr" instead of a hard rumbling sound. It was a relatively small part of the total cost and so far it makes me happy. Hopefully they'll hold up over some time.

[subway]

Agreed. Perhaps not necessecary, but I guess those things may have their benefits. One thing I noticed is that when the new primary shuts off the ignition after 10 seconds it quiets down and makes more of a "purr" instead of a hard rumbling sound. It was a relatively small part of the total cost and so far it makes me happy. Hopefully they'll hold up over some time.

That old rumbling sound you heard was caused by the unit being overfired or too much air on the burner or an issue with the powerventer. You did the right thing by having the powerventer corrected. The proper venting is VERY important and is commonly overlooked. Good job

[snupytcb]

The new pump and primary wern't really needed. If the burner is adjusted right with the correct nozzle for the boiler and the retenshion head it would purr like a kitten. Oil delay valves are over rated. But, just as long as you are happy with the results.

you may be right about replacing those parts, but with them comes a nice smooth and quiet ignition.

[subway]

you may be right about replacing those parts, but with them comes a nice smooth and quiet ignition.

I've heard units with oil delay valves start harder than ones without delay valves. And also it's just another part to fail. Oil delay valves (for small res units) are overrated.

[heaterman]

Agreed. Perhaps not necessecary, but I guess those things may have their benefits. One thing I noticed is that when the new primary shuts off the ignition after 10 seconds it quiets down and makes more of a "purr" instead of a hard rumbling sound. It was a relatively small part of the total cost and so far it makes me happy. Hopefully they'll hold up over some time.


Here again, changing to interupted ignition from intermitant really should not have made a difference in the combustion sound or characteristics. What changed was the burner adjustment. Some combustion chambers do quiet down a tad after warmup but that can be altered with nozzle spray patterns among other things. I happen to like Suntec / Beckett clean cut pumps as well as post purge burner cycles. Glad the system is operating the way you want.