Black smoke from boiler

muffler

My 7 year old Grant condensing oil boiler went on the blink last weekend and I had a guy out on Monday last and he said the fuel pump was done so he replaced it and job done...as I thought. Just 30 minutes ago I noticed there is black smoke coming out of the flue instead of the normal grey/white colour. The wire grill around the flue outlet has also turned black with the fumes so its obviously been like this since Monday.

Like all good plumbers he has his phone turned to voice mail so i cant get him but for now would any of you hazard a guess as to what the problem might be and more importantly is it safe to continue using it?

Wearb

muffler wrote: »

My 7 year old Grant condensing oil boiler went on the blink last weekend and I had a guy out on Monday last and he said the fuel pump was done so he replaced it and job done...as I thought. Just 30 minutes ago I noticed there is black smoke coming out of the flue instead of the normal grey/white colour. The wire grill around the flue outlet has also turned black with the fumes so its obviously been like this since Monday.

Like all good plumbers he has his phone turned to voice mail so i cant get him but for now would any of you hazard a guess as to what the problem might be and more importantly is it safe to continue using it?

Turn it off would be my advice and keep trying to contact him. Call to him if necessary.

btw did he do a pressure check and flue gas analysis after he replaced the pump? My first thought being that he left the pump at too high a pressure.

EDIT: What were the symptoms that lead to the call-out?

jimf

anybody can change a pump but knowing the correct pressure to set it up to is another


sounds like your boiler needs a full service by somebody with the correct equipment


I would second leaving it off for now

Gravelly

He's either set the pressure or mixture wrong (most likely) or you've a faulty nozzle. Don't use until you get it repaired properly. If he set it up wrong he's a muppet.

muffler

Thanks for the replies lads and sorry for only getting back here now again....spuds had to be consumed and unexpected visitors dealt with

Yeah, I switched it off just before posting here and got yer man about an hour later on the phone so he's coming out to me tomorrow morning.

Last weekend the boiler just stopped working. It went into the start up cycle but wouldnt fire up. I had a local "plumber" out on Saturday evening last and while he cleaned this and that and checked the other he couldnt get to the bottom of what was wrong and told me that I would need to get someone who specialises in boiler repairs.

So on Monday morning I managed to locate this guy who services and repairs boilers (no plumbing work) and while Im not sure what tests or anything else he done he did leave it running fine it seemed. I was there when he replaced a jet or nozzle but that didnt work and then he replaced the pump obviously. My wife did tell me earlier that she had seen the grey smoke as she calls it after he left so that would be an indication that it was working normally. In fairness this issue now about the black smoke may have only started today as I hadnt noticed it previously. We'll see what he has to say and do tomorrow.

In the meantime my old trusty Stanley 8 has been lit for the evening so that will keep us in heat and hot water for now

Wearb

I would still like to have a FGA printout after any repair and have the pump pressure and nozzle size written on it.

It shows professional pride and gives some reassurance to customers.

With the expense of a new pump, I would go to all extremes to try to find out why it failed.

jimf

it may be something as simple as a faulty nozzle


any chance you had wrong fuel delivered recently ??

muffler

Wearb wrote: »

I would still like to have a FGA printout after any repair and have the pump pressure and nozzle size written on it.

Didnt get any of that but I'll ask him in the morning

Wearb wrote: »

With the expense of a new pump, I would go to all extremes to try to find out why it failed.

Would it be the pump at all?

jimf wrote: »

any chance you had wrong fuel delivered recently ??

Nah, still using from the same fill I got earlier in the year and tank is about half full so no dirt or anything lifted there.

Wearb

muffler wrote: »

Would it be the pump at all?

That's so hard to answer without knowing how he diagnosed the fault. However if a new pump fixed it he was on the correct track.



Depending on how bad it is, he might need to clean it all out of soot when he calls

agusta

Wearb wrote: »

I would still like to have a FGA printout after any repair and have the pump pressure and nozzle size written on it.

It shows professional pride and gives some reassurance to customers.

With the expense of a new pump, I would go to all extremes to try to find out why it failed.

I agree,Its very very unlikely that a 7 year old riello pump failed for wear in the gear and keyway causing slippage.Op didnt run out of oil so that rules out the spool pistion being stuck out of position.Which only leaves contamination if the pump had failed.

muffler

Just an update. The fellow came out earlier and bottom line is the boiler was "rotten with soot and clogged up" to quote this guy and this is exactly what Wearb said in his last post. He did check pump pressure etc and I have to hold my hands up here and accept a bit of responsibility. When I phoned him on Monday I told him how I had a local so called plumber out a couple of days earlier and he cleaned bits and pieces but I didnt tell him that I needed a service. When I asked him today if he had serviced it the last day he said no, he though the other guy had done this so there was a bit of a breakdown in communication which is mostly my fault. In saying that you would think that when a boiler is basically "broke down" and needs a new pump that a service would be automatically done but I can see why he didnt based on info I supplied.

After he left I noticed a lot of soot particles on the concrete just below the flue outlet but they would most likely have been there since yesterday. He doesnt test for gas or give any paperwork but he's a long time at it and he will stand over his work.Anyhow, all sorted now I hope.

2 little things when Im here. The charge for the call out the last day and to supply and fit the pump was €140. Im assuming most of you guys are based around Dublin so Id take it that the same type of job in Dublin would cost 200 or more?

Secondly I was talking to a lad from Derry a few weeks back and he specialises in boiler service and repairs. He provides printouts showing whatever but he said that it was now necessary to have this for house insurance purposes. As I said he's from Derry so maybe that is a requirement in the UK now but Im wondering if anyone has heard of anything like that happening here in the ROI? I changed insurer in September and went through the usual list of questions and there was no mention of it.

jimf

re needing this for insurance purposes I haven't heard

but without a flugas analyser it is totally guess work as to how the boiler is performing you may have no smoke

but that doesn't say your boiler is running in a safe and efficient manner