Heating Help

GO EZ-1 oil:

@ March 2, 2013 12:10 PM in weil mclain oil boiler help please

And if you go with a Carlin GO-4 OEM direct replacement EZ-1, they now give you an addendum .85 GPH 70 degree B Delavan to be run at 140# pump pressure. They run sweet.
Run with heavily filtered fuel and maintain 140 degrees warm start and you almost don't need to clean them.
Almost, but not quite.
A lot better than a *68 though.

Tank Leaks

@ March 2, 2013 11:59 AM in John wood h20 heater leak

Schools are usually considered Commercial Applications. The warranties are usually only for one year. A school is a very hard use for a water heater.
I have a "commercial account with two Bock 73E 70 gal. Oil fired water heaters that fail almost like clockwork every 5 years.
Not all water heaters are created equal. If it is in a school, it should (must) be ASME rated. I don't know if the ASME tanks are thicker but they cost a lot more.
Water quality plays a large part in tank longevity
I've changed six tanks. There are two tanks at the end of their service live and showing signs.

Cold Shock

@ March 2, 2013 8:55 AM in Burnham V7

In my opinion, a 110 degree operating temperature and a 160 degree high limit is a cold start boiler with almost maximum shock. With maximum creation of Kibble And Bits inside. Uhm. Fun to clean.

Pump Strainers:

@ March 2, 2013 8:48 AM in weil mclain oil boiler help please

If you use two Spin-On's, you will NEVER have a dirty pump strainer. Nor a plugged nozzle strainer.
And for those that love General rag filter cartridge filters, General Filters owns Gar-Ber filters. I  guess that General recognized better filtration technologies and bought out the competition.

QB Burners:

@ March 2, 2013 8:44 AM in weil mclain oil boiler help please

You need a new service company. The QB burners are not "Junk" and certainly not worse than the one that they are recommending. If you have an underground tank, your problem starts right there. It is as full of crap as a Thanksgiving Turkey. If they have not installed TWO SPIN-ON FILTERS, they are incompetent and do not have a clue of what they are dealing with. If it is "sputtering", the filter or nozzle strainer is plugged. If you don't have Spin-On's with a restriction gauge on one filter than how can you troubleshoot it? You can't.
UST's: Get the oil out of that tank ASAP, Yesterday couldn't be soon enough. What I do is install a new tank in the cellar and pump the old FILTERED oil into the new tank. I put two spin-ons going to and from the pump and pump it into the tank. I have had to change filters on occasion before the UST is empty. Running the UST out is no excuse. DO IT NOW. And if and when you do it, put a few cans of "Juice" in it.
QB Settings:
A point is made here about multiple techs futzing with problem burners. Many techs seem to be unable to read or at least read and understand manufacturers maintenance manuals. I have felt from the beginning that there is an unspoken "ISSUE" with the QB and the reason for dropping it was some lame excuse about some no longer available part. I personally think that Weil-McLain may have been working with a burner company on the design and Weil-McLain dropped them behind their back. The first one I saw and installed looked so much like a burner I exclusively used that I thought it was a joint venture. Weil-McLain has vigorously denied this. But interestingly, as an adjustable head burner, the Yellow electrode adjustment gauge works as well on a QB as it does on my favorite burner. Between the yellow and red gauges, they seem to cover most all oil burner electrode settings.
Nozzles:
The nozzle that Weil-McLain recommends is difficult to come by and techs may have decided that their experience is better than the manufacturer and their choice is better. That's like walking in the woods and not marking the trail to get back to where you start. You can go back on the wrong trail and not know where you are going. No matter what nozzle is being used, when you or a tech replaces it, it must be running properly when they leave. If a few days or a week later, it is running like a sick dog, take out the nozzle, and take the strainer off a new nozzle of any size where the strainer is interchangeable, and put it on the old nozzle. Re-install it with the old nozzle and the new strainer. If it runs OK, the nozzle strainer is plugged. You can not tell if you just change the filter, pump strainer and nozzle. Especially if you have a canister type filter. With two Spin-On filters, 99.99% of nozzles I change on an annual basis do not need to be changed. I don't have any canister filters in my customer base. I have removed them all.
I find that the burner of choice by your oil company is not the premier burner for a WGO. That one made in E. Longmeadow, MA (My favorite) or one made in Italy or assembled in Canada is a better choice.
The first thing you need though is to get that tank out of use and use a in-cellar tank.

JMO

Replace the valve:

@ March 2, 2013 7:44 AM in Penn Boiler G-75 (year 1966) parts, or replace unit?

Replace the valve.
Only a fool, amateur or professional would try to repair (rebuild) the valve.
I can and will repair most anything. I know where to draw the line. The line is there.

You mean like this?

@ February 28, 2013 9:22 PM in Burnham V7

You mean like this?
I found this the other day. The first boiler went in in 1992 or 1993. It was replaced around 2000 because of the crack. I found this last week. The house water is drained but the heat is still on with no antifreeze in the system. The caretaker is in Florida and the house ran out of oil and sooted up around the end of December. Someone came to stay in the house and found it cold. The installer has a funny way of wiring boilers. The circulator and zone valves all stay open even when the burner is locked out. The circulator running picked up heat from other areas of the house and it didn't freeze or break during the cold down in the teens. The oil deliveries told the tale.
When I cleaned the soot plugged boiler, I found the new crack.

Peppermint Vapors:

@ February 28, 2013 9:02 PM in Using air to find a steam system leak

I just pour the oil into the washing machine hose and let the compressed air blow it around.
There was a big blow yesterday where I work and I got stuck overnight. This AM, I photoed some of my "Rigs" for ideas to anyone. One is for air testing LP gas at 12# so if I find a leak, I'm not sweating a blow up. Another one is a 5# gauge for gas testing that the inspector likes to look at.
I replaced a boiler that gave up its life during the cold. I drained the house but the cold might have gotten it. and the heat was really suspect where the boiler had gotten religion and become Holy. So I couldn't blow out the monoflow piping. With one connection, I was able to test the hot and cold potable water and the boiler and piping at less than 30#.  I had no leaks. Thank Goodness. It would have been a dig/crawl.

Overflows:

@ February 28, 2013 8:42 PM in Expansion Tank in Attic

And they didn't all overflow on the roof. In fact, where I work, I never saw one that drained on the roof. There was a overflow pipe that ran to the cellar near or at the boiler and when the tank was overfilled, it overflowed to a drain in the cellar.

Clean Urinals:

@ February 27, 2013 8:26 PM in One for the plumbers

I have never ever been able to get any kind of a snake through a urinal. I have found that Muriatic acid at the highest strength , 40%? works. pour it in and let it sit for a while, then flush with water. I repeat it over and over. At first, I have to be careful that it doesn't foam over.
I've tried other things, they don't work as well as Muriatic Acid.
I've never tried it on PVC oioe though,

Leaking air:

@ February 26, 2013 9:31 PM in Using air to find a steam system leak

The way I see it, just pressurize it to anything under 15#. Pick a pressure less than the PRV. I have a portable air compressor that I could use with a nail gun or pumping up tires. It has a primary/secondary regulator. The pressure switch shuts it off at 140# but I can screw the regulator out so the outlet pressure is 0# (Zero pounds). There's a quick disconnect connection on the compressor. I have a 50' quality hose with 1/4" matching quick connects. I have a rig with a boiler drain on one end and a quick connect hose connector on the other. I have a ball valve between with a tee fitting and a 0-100# gauge on it. Connect the "rig" with a double hose connection (Washing machine hose) to the thing you want to test. Hook it on and let her rip. Start at zero and slowly open the regulator until you get the pressure you want. It doesn't matter where you connect it but you will want to have a hose at the bottom of the system so you can drain it. Any place I can connect to a 3/4" or 1/2" boiler drain.
You will find out which air vents work and don't work. Now is a great time to take the old ones out and put them back with PTFE tape and paste so the next time, it will be a gravy job.
Once pressurized, spray it with gas leak detector or soapy water in a spray bottle. If it bubbles, it's leaking.

H.B Smith

@ February 25, 2013 6:03 PM in Off-topic: wall-hung toilets

I don't think it is H.B. Smith. They make boilers
I think it is J.R. Smith. They make drainage products like clean-outs, grease interceptors and such.

More on Tigerloops:

@ February 24, 2013 5:50 PM in Whining upon shutdown, Still, even with a new furnace>!

Some of you guys should study up on Tigerloops and why they were developed.
Those hated (by some) figured out that the most environmentally dangerous oil practice around was a two pipe oil system. If anything happens to the return, the burner will pump the entire tank contents on the ground. Many European countries outlawed two pipe oil tank set ups. A Tigerloop turns ANY oil tank connection into a one pipe system.
High vacuum levels cause out gassing of fuel oil. Tigerloops eliminate the gas.
Its rejection out of hand that is the demise of technology.
Maybe some of you don't want to eliminate a oil line under a floor and go overhead and use a Tigerloop, but it sure has worked well for me and anyone else that did it.
Last month I got a call from a customer who had run out of oil. The oil company told them to call me because they had no one to prime and start it. The owner called me. Two cycles on a 60200 control and it was running. Try doing that without a Tigerloop.
If you have a problem, and a Tigerloop solves it, why on earth would you not want to use one?

Check Valves:

@ February 24, 2013 5:15 PM in Feed water check valve:

The McD&M manual shows a check valve on the inlet to the feeder. A 9D, 009 or 909 is also a check valve. If you install a check valve between a boiler fill and a 9D, 009 or 909, it will leak out of the vent because it needs the back pressure to act on the checks. Or so I have seen and thought.
Watts started making 9-11 combo units because do many were putting the backflow AFTER the fill valve. The McD&M like the Watts 1156f has an internal check but you still need the 9D, 009 or 909. I thought I understood the principal. Being told I'm wrong makes me want to learn what I learned wrong.
I had to install a second LWCO. I installed it in a tapping in the front of the boiler, provided by the boiler manufacturer. The 3/4" tapping is at the same level as the bottom of the gauge glass tapping's. When the alternate LWCO was being tested, the water level went below the bottom of the gauge glass. You couldn't see the water level when it finally shut off. He wanted the bottom of the gauge glass below the LWCO so he could see it. The boiler manufacturer doesn't provide a lower hole to do this. I can understand him wanting to know but what to do when the manufacturer doesn't provide one?

No domestic:

@ February 24, 2013 4:51 PM in No domestic hot water from oil fired on demand boiler

Unless all that tankless heater piping is all disconnected, you DO have a working tankless.
Unless you have a separate electric water heater, that control is what controls your hot water.
Below is the manual for that control or one like it. It is not recommended that you futz with it. But it explains how the adjustments are made and the wiring diagrams. Its easy to get it screwed up. You need a pro. If you can find one.

https://customer.honeywell.com/resources/techlit/TechLitDocuments/68-0000s/68-0281.pdf

Controller:

@ February 24, 2013 4:24 PM in No domestic hot water from oil fired on demand boiler

You won't know. It could have been messed up for years in my experience.
You need to find the installation and operating sheet for that control.
Look inside the front box. You will see two terminals that are marked "ZC" and "ZR". If both terminals don't have wires on them, the controls are wired wrong.

Wall Hungs:

@ February 24, 2013 4:17 PM in Off-topic: wall-hung toilets

If floor space is what you are trying to gain, you may not gain any and gain the biggest PITA you have ever seen.
If it is a Re-Hab, they usually don't work unless designed for them. You will need a minimum of a 2"X 6" wall behind it and 2"X8" is better. The studs must go from floor to ceiling. You need some BEEF to hold the carrier to the wall. They don't really make a residential chair carrier. You can get carriers that flush to the left, right or down. You can get them that are continuous through, drain and vent up continuously. If you are going on an outside wall, it will be a real problem. They will, when installed, stick out as far as a regular toilet. And I don't know if they still make a tank type toilet that is wall hung. Kohler did, I put some in years ago and I have an account where they broke a tank. I had to trade a customer a new toilet for an old tank that fit on the old wall hung.
A standard flush out the back that sits on the floor would be my choice before a Wall Hung. If it is a joist under the floor issue, Toto makes what you might need. It has an adjustable floor flange.
Hope that helps.

That's different:

@ February 24, 2013 3:49 PM in No domestic hot water from oil fired on demand boiler

That's different. I can't tell you off the top of my head how to set that control. You need to find the instructions for it. It is actually easy.
The three white buttons are what you need to push. I think that two make it go up and down, the other one changes what you are trying to change.
It looks like it is set to 184 degrees, high limit. The other range that is shown might mean that it is set as a "Cold Start" and only comes on when the boiler water is 0F degrees but you need the instructions. Its actually easy to change. It is possible that when that control was installed, it was never adjusted properly from a lack of understanding. It is not the original control judging from the age of the box on the side and the age of the boiler.

Controls:

@ February 24, 2013 3:41 PM in No domestic hot water from oil fired on demand boiler

I just wrote a long answer to this but it didn't post.
Your problem is more likely that the boiler controls are wired wrong. You have two circulator zones. One controls the grey box in the front. The other is controlling the one on the side. The one on the side doesn't communicate with the one on the front. If one thermostat starts the burner and the other does not, it is wired wrong. Look inside the grey box in front. There will be two thermostats to set. Set the "Hi" or "High" to 200. Set the "Lo" or "Low Limit" to 180 degrees. If the circulator that is being run by the grey box on the side is calling for heat and the front one isn't, you won't get hot water.
There is also a valve on the side down close to the floor with three pipes going into it. Some of us always install a valve there. You don't have one. The valve is piped properly but may not be working.
More likely, it is an electrical mis-wiring problem.
Hopefully, this will post.

Strong Smells

@ February 24, 2013 12:32 PM in Help!! Strong Oil Smell

My first point exactly.

Simplicity?

@ February 24, 2013 12:24 PM in The elegance of simplicity has it been lost?

Maybe the parts prices go down, but the labor costs go through the roof when you can't get the right part the first time.
I have a plumbing customer that I do the plumbing and heating. I don't do any gas service for her. She had a W-M GO Gold boiler, series 2  with the thermostat that you can't get parts for, Her gas guy takes care of the gas. She started calling me all the time when she had no hot water. After the gas guy ( a really qualified tech) had replaced everything on the boiler, it stopped in my presence. I bought an upgraded "brain" and it hasn't stopped once as far as I know.
Parts availability is a killer. Put a high tech boiler in that needs a part and you have to wait a week to get the part, what does the customer say?
The average customer we see, if given the choice of buying a higher priced high tech system or a lower priced system, they will go with the lower priced system every time.

Lost simplicity

@ February 24, 2013 12:06 PM in The elegance of simplicity has it been lost?

,,,,"Surveys at recent national home-builders show indicate buyers want efficient appliances and HVAC systems above upgrade cabinets and counter tops or hardwood floors and other typical up grades.

How many car ads now tout 35 MPG or more. ",,,,,
But those sales people and reps at home shows all think that everyone is after the latest high tech gadgets.
They pick up a lot of literature, go home and look at it, then file it in the round file.
I see people come here with oil boilers that will run at over 86% with a prorper cleaning, tune and set up, and throw them out for a standing pilot, open flame gas burner that runs at 78% at best. Because it is cheaper.
SOme of the stupid problems I have seen be wrung out are so basic, but it turns into a high tech detective sleuth exercise. Bigger pumps, move circulators. repipe this and that. When the problem was a piece of garden hose connected on one side of a loop.
I posted photos of a job I looked at because no one could figure out what was wrong except to put in a new boiler. The system was complicated beyond all reason. It either required a gut re-hab and start over, or convert to Scorhed Air.
I like to feel a small sense of accomplishment in what I do.