Oil boiler leaking fumes/smoke? Owner insists on NOT calling professional Pictures inside.

Users who are viewing this thread

MrPinkFloyd

New Member
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
Hey there everyone! First time posting here.

So will be our 2nd winter in this house, while it will be personally my first (traveled a lot last year for work).

Apparently, last year they were having issues with the oil boiler as well, and it never got 100% fixed, from what I understand. Anyway, on to the problem!

We have an oil boiler heating system. Occasionally, we can smell a volatile oil smell, almost like gas, coupled with the heat not really working at that point. Occasionally, the boiler room would be full of haze, with it seeping out into our living room (we live in a finished basement, in-laws and a brand new baby live upstairs, owner lives off property). In the past, landlord would come over, clean it out, call it good. I have noticed some mild symptoms of headache and nausea here and there....heat off, windows open.

A few days ago, it was REALLY bad, and I was feeling REALLY light headed and nauseous. Turning the service switch off, and removing myself and dog from the house, I felt better after a few minutes. I've let the basement air out, and have had the windows open, heat off since. This was Saturday. Tried calling a company to come out and look at it, but they need the owner to sign off on that, and he won't.

I have a handful of pictures too. Does any of this even look remotely safe to run without some MAJOR repairs, or full replacement(not just cleaning it only, like he's been doing)?!

wkYdszI.jpg

The lid on top isn't even latched on at all, just sitting on top, freely!?
dr2fBOo.jpg

NVpzLCW.jpg

Gap between pipe and box?
tAjhas1.jpg

bRF9Jxh.jpg

UQ9g8Ug.jpg

8EXhgqX.jpg

btPAhwJ.jpg


aaaand that's about how it has been for the two years we've been here.

What can I tell this guy?

Thanks in advance for the help!
 

Dana

In the trades
Messages
7,889
Reaction score
509
Points
113
Location
01609
The loose cap on the top of the boiler's sheet metal jacket can be ignored. The corrosion around the leaking air vents on the heating water distribution plumbing are something I'd fix if I owned it, but are not a safety hazard.

The issues of real and immediate concern are all related to exhaust venting and burner tuning.

There's evidence of some flue condensation, but not a huge amount. The exhaust venting looks in bad enough shape to be replaced altogether. If it's vented into a clay lined chimney and condensing enought on the liner that it is spalling enough crud to restrict the exhaust where the vent stack enters the chimney it can potentially cause exhaust to end up in the basement, but this would have to be verified in a site inspection. (Ideally it would have properly sized stainless steel liner.) The combustion efficiency of the unit should be tested & tweaked by a qualified burner tech with a combustion analyzer to ensure that it's not running rich, creating excessive soot issues. If it's been ignored for years it's highly likely that the nozzle/jet on the burner needs to be changed out, and the air/fuel mixture re-adjusted.

If the mixture is way off there could be delayed ignition causing it to light off a charge of unburned oil/fuel mixture inside the chimney, which would cause a large puff of exhaust to end up in the basement when it eventually lights-off. (There is sometimes a rumble or bang when this sort of thing happens.)

The open electrical box on top of the burner is a code violation.

The Magic Heat stack economizer should be eliminated. (It might have been worthwhile when oil-burners were running 75% efficiency, but only create problems at 85% efficiency.)

There is nothing about this that spells "major repairs", unless maybe the clay flue liner in the chimney is shot and they have to spring for a stainless liner for more than a grand. The exhaust tin-work is in the hundreds, thousands, as is a burner tune-up. The system basically looks neglected.

Oil exhaust is extremely unhealthy stuff to be breathing in, and I'd put fixing this in the "emergency" category. To the extent possible, ventilate your living space, even if it means you're cold. If the landlord is unwilling or unable to deal with it quickly, call a pro, get the work done, and take it off your rent. Call the city/county/whomever has jurisdiction over building codes and rental laws. If you don't already have one, buy a plug-in carbon monoxide detector/alarm.

If you can't get a pro in to inspect and adjust it TODAY, find another place to stay until it's done.
 

MrPinkFloyd

New Member
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
Or not turn it back on until a pro gets out here? Might be a couple days he said, and we can't really goooo anywhere else at this point in time, with a dog.

Thanks for your reply, it's MUCH appreciated. I'll have somethings to talk about now.
 

Dana

In the trades
Messages
7,889
Reaction score
509
Points
113
Location
01609
Good luck! The short list of things to focus on are (in no particular order- all are important):

* Inspect flue for obstructions or damage, and assessing condition of exhaust venting, barometric damper, etc.

* Reliability of the ignition/burner control system. It may have been monkeyed with, could be flaky. The open electrical box with the burner controller on top of it may be a hint.

* The quality of the flame pattern (fuel nozzle size/type/ condition), and the air/fuel mixture, verified and adjusted using combustion analyzer equipment.
 
Messages
705
Reaction score
48
Points
28
Location
Montreal, Canada
Seems like you'd choose to die from CO poisoning to satisfy the owner. You must enjoy to have a slum landlord that pockets and profits from your health.

You may want to contact municipal laws and civil lawyers and see if you may be permitted to get a licensed professional to do the repair, and deduct the repair bill from your rent. For example, this is LEGAL in my area between Dec 15 and March 15. During winters, tenants have the legal right to do repairs related to heating if the owner "decides not to". Even the power company is not allowed to turn off power from arreared accounts on the list for termination. Owners can't even evict tenants during this time.

If you try to DIY, you are setting yourself up to let the owner SUE you for ALL repairs and damages, as you can be the one to blame for breaking it in the first place.
 

Dana

In the trades
Messages
7,889
Reaction score
509
Points
113
Location
01609
standarairconditioner: Maybe you're not parsing the English correctly- they turned the system off until a professional can be brought in, but were looking for suggestions on what they need to discuss with the pro.
 

Jadnashua

Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx
Messages
32,770
Reaction score
1,190
Points
113
Location
New England
Things could get cold enough that without the boiler on, things in the house freeze, and then the landlord will be really ticked off! I very strongly second getting yourself a CO detector, even after the thing is fixed, and if there aren't any working smoke detectors, pick up at least one of those too (likely required). There are generally habitability laws, and safe, working heat and hot water can get the landlord in his own hot water if he cannot provide it.
 

Dana

In the trades
Messages
7,889
Reaction score
509
Points
113
Location
01609
Things could get cold enough that without the boiler on, things in the house freeze, and then the landlord will be really ticked off! I very strongly second getting yourself a CO detector, even after the thing is fixed, and if there aren't any working smoke detectors, pick up at least one of those too (likely required). There are generally habitability laws, and safe, working heat and hot water can get the landlord in his own hot water if he cannot provide it.

Jim- given that it was posted 4 weeks ago, it's probably already been resolved one way or the other.

I'd be curious to know the outcome though.
 
Top
Hey, wait a minute.

This is awkward, but...

It looks like you're using an ad blocker. We get it, but (1) terrylove.com can't live without ads, and (2) ad blockers can cause issues with videos and comments. If you'd like to support the site, please allow ads.

If any particular ad is your REASON for blocking ads, please let us know. We might be able to do something about it. Thanks.
I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks