OLD GAS BOILER RED TAGGED BY GAS COMPANY merch = teespring.com/... / stevenlavimoniere lavimoniere productions llc subscribe to my channel / @stevenlavimoniere lavimoniereplum...
Not related to this video but wanted to let you know that your videos have helped me a lot, they inspired me to buy a torpedo heater that needed work and fix it myself. The pump looks exactly like an oil furnace pump, managed to clean/diagnose the issue and get it working again. Thanks!
Gas lines hanging like clotheslines! Scary shit! He is probably right about the CONTRACTORS. Big utilities do that so they don`t have to pay for more qualified company staff. My phone company had contractors in here and screwed -up EVERYTHING. I have a private line. Picked-up the phone and heard other neighbors talking!
Heard other neighbors talking? Jeez that's a royal screw up. Were the contractors 3 short goofy lookin dudes named Moe, Larry, and Curly by any chance?
The flame was orange. Maybe because the soot and dust in the burners had been disturbed? Blue flame is clean burning. I'm surprised that appliance passed the CO test.
Cowboy Ted would have discussed with the customer to see if they wanted any other services and pay extra for burner cleaning. You go the extra mile to take care of what they need, excellent service Steve
With exhaust gas temperatures over 600 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 315 degrees centigrade, a good chunk of the heat is going straight up the chimney. You have got to ask why? All that muck on the burners has fallen from the heat exchanger above. I would clean the heat exchanger with a purpose made velcro brush. The flue temperatures would be a lot lower after a good clean. Better still, scrap that inefficient heap of junk and fit a decent condensing boiler and save on the gas bill. In the UK we would look for a CO/CO2 ratio of less than 0.004, most appliances in good order are a lot lower, a figure our combustion gas analysers indicate on the display. I would not get hung up for 48PPM CO. Maybe that is what is used in MA. The flame on the burner looked a bit yellow, but the burners had been disturbed and the muck was being blown out and causing the incandescent flame. Turning down the gas pressure to reduce the CO? I would be checking the inlet gas pressure to the appliance (Whatever the local standards are for this) In the UK about 20mbar (8 inches water) and the burner pressure range rated as per the spec plate. Also gas rate from the gas meter ( Timed period for a known volume of gas to pass), from that calculate the gas rate ( Power input). We have mobile apps to do this.
@@philipread7741 that “inefficient junk” is a lot more reliable than one of the fancy new condensing boilers. What do you mean by a CO/Co2 ratio? What kind of numbers are you looking for? I like to see CO air free as low as possible. Anything over 100 ppm and I recommend investigating the cause. At 400 ppm I shut gas off. For Co2, I’m looking for 6.5-8%.
Our Pennco Boiler is so old the guy that came to re light the pilot said it would probably out live everyone in the house. They don't make them like they used to.
There should also be ground wire connected to steel pipe running to end of the flex. Reason so flex is not the main grounding point. Pin leaks have been found without grounding wires. Here in California they insulated the meter from being a ground source because it was causing pin leaks in their lines in the ground.
Thought electric speed up the corrosion? The reason people ground/bond electric to gas line/water line because they goes to ground. With thicker metal, it more conduct for electric to travel, instead of damage other stuffs. So yes the thinner metal on the flex without divert that current to goes somewhere else will get damage quick. Reason gas company Insulated their meter is to avoid their PROPERTIES to get damage. Everything in the house is the homeowners properties. Same goes to those flex lines hanging in the video. Why would a company put their money into people house. If they do, the gas bill shouldn't be low.
Columbia gas sucked my boiler had a fire 2 years ago. I WENT THROUGH HELL. THEY LOADED LINE WITH HIGH PRESSURE. i switched to propane. The gas company that switched to mrw lines of high pressure later did not install gate valves in sidewalk after new instalations in whole streets. Unotherwords next house fire in winter they have to shut down gas on whole street.
Great work Steve. I noticed there was no safety rollout switch on the burner access panel. Must be an old unit for sure. Merry Christmas to you and your family in advance.
You should consider a small shop vac. No way I'm sweeping up/breathing ultra fine particles like that inside a sharp metal case. I use a DeWalt which can use a battery or 120V. Doubles as a seat too so you're not kneeling on concrete.
Yes, that burner rust/ash is nasty stuff to breath. And while ur at it, lightly screw on a 1/2" threaded cap over the manifold gas inlet so no dust or debris can possibly drop into the manifold.
I installed my own propane forced air furnace when I moved with 3/4 in black pipe (with dope only) then grounded all the pipe and tanks ... retired builder/carpenter ... when my propane guy (the boss) came to inspect it he looked at me and said, hey you want a job as an installer ? ... he was impressed ... but I told him I'd worked with some of the best HVAC guys in the business for 25 years retrofitting old historical houses and they taught me well ... new dedicated electric, everything in conduit and clamped and tied down to code plus ... new chimney liner ... he was also impressed when he saw my manometer on my bench ... and saw my plugs in the supply/return ducts used to balance the system ... and check the gas valve pressure ... he looked at my numbers and said he didn't need to run a combustion check on an 80% with a blower and new liner, but checked it anyway ... CO was right on the money ... I chose a 80,000 btu Goodman unit for price/reliability ... to be honest, I'd rather replace the whole unit at that price than be nickle's and dime'd servicing an old unit ... I service my own stuff and the Goodman has worked flawlessly for 7 seasons with only annual cleaning ... I use MERV 4 max filters with a spray charger and change the filters monthly, cheap insurance when you have big, hairy dogs ... I have the cheap green pre-filters on the returns in the living areas ....
In the UK, if the gas installation is deemed to be ID (Immediately Dangerous) a meter sealing disc is inserted into the inlet of the gas meter by the visiting operative of the gas transporter company, or a gassafe registerred operative. The gas is isolated from the whole property from the gas meter inlet. The householder then has to employ a gassafe registerred (Licenced) gas operative to investigate/ repair the faulty installation.
Those half assed gas lines, as you call them, look like corrugated stainless steel tube. In the UK we have a few versions available from different manufacturers, one of them is a US company ( Omegaflex (Tracpipe)). The ones used in the UK are sheathed in yellow plastic. They were invented in the 1970s for use in seismic areas like California and Japan, Rigid steel pipe would not be a satisfactory solution when the building is moving about, only to be bought to the ground by a fire or gas explosion. The gas line installation with no pipe support was inexcusable, the contractor should be given a good kicking for this piss poor work.
@@philipread7741 Yes, the lack of support and also the very poor routing (they will have to be disconnected in order to be properly routed behind the existing plumbing and then properly supported). The lines themselves we are used to seeing here and yes they are a good solution when rigid black pipe is not suitable.
Got to love the old standing pilot! I put in mine Feb. 81 still going strong. Way better over the 42 years. Compared to cost to maintain flame sensor equipment! You should get a bucket vacuum.
The white is not for use with gas . The yellow is about 3 times the price of the white and much thicker . Still think the pipe dope is at least as good as tape and may work better in the real world app.
Steve, I’m new to your channel and real enjoy it and subscribed. I started off watching the stuff on your John Deere snow thrower. I have a John Deere gx345. I have all attachments except the tiller. Also, I enjoy the hell out of your service calls. I work for a Natural Gas Utility in Western Mass. I found interesting to see the other side of a red tagged appliance situation. And I wondered why that Gasman didn’t turn off the gas valve. Maybe he did. It doesn’t take much brains for a slumlord or tenant to turn the gas back on. We are required to disconnect the piping at the union and cap or plug it when we red tag. A warning tag can stay connected. That was sloppy work with the CSST tubing. It should be supported every six feet. (It depends on the tubing size.) (Same with black iron pipe.) Hope he plans to come back and add support before the tenant or owner thinks it’s there for hanging things. I’ve seen it all. Anyway, I must compliment you on your skill and thorough work. I have no doubt it gave you the good reputation that you have earned!
Are heat pumps common in your area? I’m a sparky so the most HVAC we do other than industrial was heat pumps, the small wall mounted ones, it gets down to about -10° where I live so it’s not too cold for heat pumps there’s no pipeline gas so propane common for water heating, the main heat sorce is firewood though, then heatpumps, Diesel, coal and propane ect but no natural gas
i few heat pumps mostly is summer homes .with backup heat strips .diffently not the best was to heat a home up north . they might be ok as a backup . but not main source of heat
@@stevenlavimoniere no I wouldent want to have one as my main sorce, I have a pot belly coal burner for that power is expensive here too, like 30c/KWh 😳
15 years of residential and 20 of industrial and I have never red tagged a gas boiler. Maybe did more work or used parts that exceeded the value of the unit but I bought them time. Hot air units on the other hand I have no qualms about disabling a unit with a cracked heat exchanger.
|I watched this right through. Very thorough, not too much, just enough, a few new parts and a gas valve install. I would hire you in a NY minute if you were in Western MA.
@@drodriguez394 Higher CO could be caused by a cold boiler. Remember this started out as a no heat call. A warm or hot boiler will give you a lower CO reading, all things being equal.
Right. The nominal nat gas manifold press is 3.5" +/- 0.3" on many furnaces. 3.5" is the supposed factory setting on a new valves. I just installed a new valve recently and found the manifold press to be 3.7". By conducting a combustion analysis, I found I could not leave it that way and ended up having to reduce the MP.
@@stevenlavimoniere Thanks. I am in the process of getting a gas line to switch to gas. In NYC they made it illegal for new buildings to use NG, beginning in 2024.
Turn the gas valve on and off a half dozen times and it gets the grease moving around barrel and no leak. Gasman probably did that, reason for leaving on , and red tagged to CHA. He was probably still there when you were called.
Question ? Not sure what to do. We made a conversation from oil to gas 12 yrs ago. But , the plumber who did never got the permit. I would like to legalize what can I do in westchester NY
cleaning theses boilers i remember when i lived in Virginia, always cleaned burners new thermocouple and i always pulled the piolet apart making sure the orifice was clear. great to see things done proper. great job
Wow, that gas line job is crap! (Not yours, the flex line). I’d lose my mind if anyone ran something like that in my house! I don’t trust it, either. BLACK PIPE MATTERS!!!!
Hey Steve, you are 100% right about the Teflon tape. Worked for the gas co in new Jersey for 35 years, we were taught never use Teflon on gas. Like you said could get stuck in the has valve. Also maybe the homeowner turned back on the gas? I red tagged stuff and they would turn it back on soon as I left... Love your videos..
Putting the cover on causes the combustion air to preheat more than if left off due to the flame-radiant heating of the cover metal. This will affect the analysis a bit bcuz preheated air has a slightly lower density.
Tape for Plumbing let alone gas work is asking for a problem, it shrinks and causes water leaks, and on gas, the white is not rated for it, the yellow is like he mentioned, but you're still asking for trouble. The blue dope he used is my favorite, old school Green works just a little bit better but it ruins any clothes it touches. I only use it on the city side where you have real pressure.
Second video I've seen from you, looking forward to more. But I wish you'd treat us viewers like total idiots and explain a little more Like those tubes you pulled out and brushed. Saying it won't pass combustion if you don't clean them. What are the tubes? Do they disperse gas? Do the have holes in them? We're you brushing out holes? Etc. Does everybody from Massachusetts sound like they're in the mafia?
