Heating Help

So sad, yet so common

My original call to this customer was because of a water leak all over the floor. I found the press/temp gauge leaking. Further inspection found this heat exchanger along with a 75 (I think) psi relief valve.

Customer had two other comapnies out before me. Both told her the leak was from the heat exchanger being cracked, due to execessive pressure caused from having the wrong relief valve. I kid you not, I saw their write-ups.

The top panel had the beginnings of a hole being eaten through it, from where the flue gas condensation had been dripping from the b-vent. Boiler is 12 years old and homeowner had receipts for 6 clean and checks. The burners still had the factory installed wire ties..the burners had never been out.

This boiler had an output of around 190,000 btu, if memory serves me right. My load calc showed she needed 115,000. I quoted her a condensing boiler and a standard cast iron with Tekmar outdoor reset. A 125,000 btu output cast iron was as close as I could get.

THREE other outfits all quoted her a boiler in excess of 250,000 btu OUTPUT!!
They told her the reason the other one rotted was because it was too small. Another told her she needed her water removed/drained/flushed every year because boilers "build up garbage in the pipes". Another told her since she had 12 radiators, she needed a bigger boiler.

Since the three of them all agreed, I came out looking like the doofus. Her daughter got involved, understood what I was saying and I got the job.

yeah

there's one for the good guys!

good going

good for you mike ,what you have shown is promising that some times telling the truth about a sitution does pay and some times when your truthfully story is different then everybodies else some times the home owner will see the truth in your statement and realize that they have finally found a contrator who's  on there side and will resoule there issue instead of just taking the money and blowin smoke up there you know what .Great to hear some one doing the right thing instead of thinkng with there wallets .Peace and good luck clammy

Its hard being the only sane voice in the sanitorium

I think we all know that feeling on a given day. Looking young does not help the cause either. I feel some people can go for years simply doing it the way they were taught. Glad you got in there and you are doing it right. The great thing about the wall is it lets us know we are not the only ones going through this each day.

Working but not learning.

In another profession, computer programming, not heating systems, the same situation often exists. I encountered a programmer who supposedly had 14 years experience. It turns out she had the same 6 months experience 28 times. She was a hopeless programmer.

Hey Charlie!!

I love you, man!!

"Looking young"

Send me your address, I'll put you on my christmas card list.

I'm 50 !!!!!

That photo was not altered in any way, shape or form. I swear!!I don't hold up real well under a harsh light, though.

b vent

what caused the condensation in thr B vent

Chinese water toture

Hey Sprinter, sorry I didn't answer your question..what caused the condensation?

Original boiler was oversized, had an output of, if I remember right, 220,000 btu/hr. My heat loss calc showed house needed 115,000 btu/hr. Classic case of "extended flue gas condensation" with the emphasis on "extended".

In the first pic, you can see a spot on the top panel, right below the smoke pipe. The condensation was dripping out of the pipe, almost ate a hole through the top panel.

The second pic, sorry it's kinda dark, is the new boiler I installed. Homeowner wouldn't go with a high eff boiler, but OK'd a properly sized cast iron. 125,000 btu/hr output  was close as I could get. I did install a Tekmar control with outdoor reset and the capability to add domestic later.

That

is some mighty nice iron work there, brother!