Does my plumber know how to service my boiler...?

[Roger465]

Find myself in a difficult position. My parents used the same plumber for 20-30 years, and since I moved back here 5 years ago I inherited him. He’s in his 60s, so been doing it a while. I like him because he always turns up when he says he will!

4 years ago, he replaced my crumbling boiler with a Firebird (oil, non-combi) one, and it does its job. He services it every year.

Tonight there’s a bit of a burning smell in the garage – doesn't smell like oil or anything, more just vague burning. Can’t see any smoke coming out or anything.

Thing is, before I call him, I’ve had vague concerns for some time about how he services it (and other things – he’s a bit of a bodger). He’s a family friend, so to change to somebody else would cause bad feeling. I know also there’s no point in discussing issues with him – he has a knack of dismissing them in a back-slapping don’t-you-worry-I’ve-been-doing-this-40-years kind of way.

When he’s serviced the boiler, I’ve raised my eyebrows at a couple of things – not that I know what I’m talking about. For example, he used to use a little instrument to check the fuel/air mixture (I think), but now just sets the burner on the floor and fires it up – he tells me he can tell by the colour of the flame whether the mixture’s right or not.

Is this just the mark of a seriously experienced plumber, or somebody who’s long lost interest in what he does, and just goes through the motions?

Thanks

 

[FiremanT]

No idea about oil, but have you checked to make sure he isn’t on this Gitum?

 

[Burnerman]

I reckon he's pulling a bit of a flanker here.....he needs to check the pump oil pressure and the CO2 levels as part of the service.
I do appreciate though that so long as the oil pressure remains constant and the air door inlet isn't altered then things won't change a great deal but that's no real excuse.
I'd also like to see a replacement nozzle and a baffle clean / hoover out too.
As regards the smell, maybe the seal between the burner and boiler has been disturbed?
John

 

[Roger465]

I reckon he's pulling a bit of a flanker here.....he needs to check the pump oil pressure and the CO2 levels as part of the service.

I do appreciate though that so long as the oil pressure remains constant and the air door inlet isn't altered then things won't change a great deal but that's no real excuse.

I'd also like to see a replacement nozzle and a baffle clean / hoover out too.

As regards the smell, maybe the seal between the burner and boiler has been disturbed?

John

Thanks John. I have watched him do it, and he always changes the little brass jet (nozzle?), and cleans and hoovers the baffles. Pretty sure he doesn't check the pump.

My memory is a bit suspect at the best of times, but I *THINK* what he used to do was plug a little device onto the flue gas port thingy… but the little tester then broke I think.

Funny about the smell – I turned it up and let it run for an hour and the smell disappeared. No sign of it again this morning after it’s heated me up either, so I’m starting to think maybe somebody was burning plastic outside under cover of darkness or something!

I guess watching and waiting, as the doctors (remember them?) used to say…

 

[Burnerman]

An oil burner nozzle is prone to eventual wear, but to be honest they can last a long time.....however for the cost of £6 or so it's worth putting a new one in.
There will be a 'sampling port' on the top of the boiler, blocked with a bolt or whatever. If the boiler is an unknown quantity then the service man should do a 'smoke test' (effectively blowing a flue gas sample through a filter paper and seeing how dirty it is) before doing a flue gas analysis to determine the CO2 content. (Dirty gases can goose the FGA machine, which are cripplingly expensive).
The oil pump has an internal filter which is best removed for a look see, and there is a port marked 'P' on the pump that a pressure gauge is screwed into - and the pressure adjusted if necessary. (There are other ports too).
Your oil tank will likely have an external paper filter.
It's best to remove the baffles for a wire brushing - a well set up unit will likely show more yellow sulphur deposits than soot - and vacuuming any dirt away.
That's basically it - noisy units may need new bearings, and there is a coupling between motor and pump that can fail, depending on the type.
Typical pressure and CO2 readings are 110 psi and 11% but that is not gospel....often the settings are on a label inside the boiler casing somewhere.
Regards
John

 

[Roger465]

There will be a 'sampling port' on the top of the boiler, blocked with a bolt or whatever. If the boiler is an unknown quantity then the service man should do a 'smoke test' (effectively blowing a flue gas sample through a filter paper and seeing how dirty it is) before doing a flue gas analysis to determine the CO2 content. (Dirty gases can goose the FGA machine, which are cripplingly expensive).

Yes, I now remember him doing exactly that, and looking at a little bit of filter paper with a grey mark on it! And I think that’s what happened – the machine went pop, and this guy likes money to move in only the one direction between him and the universe…

The oil pump has an internal filter which is best removed for a look see, and there is a port marked 'P' on the pump that a pressure gauge is screwed into - and the pressure adjusted if necessary. (There are other ports too).

No, pretty sure he’s never done that. Mind you, the pump packed in last year and had to be replaced anyway, so hopefully it’s in good nick…

Your oil tank will likely have an external paper filter.

Yes, that’s outside. Fitted along with the new boiler 4-5 years ago.

It's best to remove the baffles for a wire brushing - a well set up unit will likely show more yellow sulphur deposits than soot - and vacuuming any dirt away.

Yes, he does that – they did look a bit sooty to me, but maybe not massively so.

Thanks so much for all this info John

 

[Burnerman]

Most welcome!
John

 

[Roger465]

Well it's a while ago now, but people may be interested in the outcome. I got a different plumber in to service the boiler today, and he did it all very professionally - for less money than the previous one - including using the gas analyser etc.

He said the flue gases were "way off" on the meter, and showed me soot deposits everywhere.

Case closed I guess.

 

[kidgreen61]

Don't write us old farts off.
I went to service a back boiler unit for an old couple this morning, boiler had "been serviced" by the Boys in Blue for 20yrs, old couple were amazed when I took the burner out, " they don't normally do that"