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N3OGH
Yo Soy Col. "Bat" Guano
Premium Member
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs

N3OGH

Premium Member

Oil heater chimney repair

OK, I've got oil heat in my house. Thought I would have the money to go with gas in the near future, but that's not going to happen.

The boiler is about 12 years old, no major issues with the unit itself, it's the chimney & venting that's all screwed up.

Boiler is a unit made by Crown. It has a large (I'm at work, so I can't measure it) vent at the top for the chimney. Last year I didn't do the best job of maintaining the unit and a few times when it would light off it would, um explode (sort of). This is no longer a problem, I had that portion serviced. The problem is there's damage to the venting pipe inside the house, and I'm getting some oil fume smell back in the house. the CO detector isn't going off, but it smells B-A-D. The damper is shot, and after examining the chimney, a portion of the terra cotta flue is busted up.

I want to redo the entire venting for the unit. Anyone have any tips? I'm suspecting I should use galvanized for the tubing up the existing chimney. Other than that, it's a somewhat mild hack job.

I'm handy, and can accomplish most tasks given the proper information.

Thanks

alkizmo
join:2007-06-25
Pierrefonds, QC

alkizmo

Member

being handy is one thing, but this kind of repair might require heavy machinery (I don't know, but I can imagine).

I mean, if the plan is to line the old chimney with galvanized tubing, it might be a one piece 20 feet thing (or longer) that would need a crane to drop it down from the top of the chimney.

AMDUSER
Premium Member
join:2003-05-28
Earth,
ARRIS CM8200
ARRIS SB6183

AMDUSER

Premium Member

The other possibility is to go with something similar to this: »www.ventingpipe.com/dura ··· p1760605

[I have no idea if that company is reliable or not..]

N3OGH
Yo Soy Col. "Bat" Guano
Premium Member
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs

N3OGH

Premium Member

After pulling the damaged damper & associated ducting apart, I decided to simply replace the damaged components in the basement for now & install a chimney cap.

The damper was completely inoperative, and the vent going through the wall was completely unsealed. Took some considerable debris from the bottom of the chimney. Enough that IMHO a substantial portion of the fumes were re entering the house.

Assembled a new vent ducting & damper, and used the appropriate cement for the seal between the bottom of the chimney and the ducting.

Everything is back up & running. Decided to clean & tune up the boiler at the same time.

I also purchased a CO detector, my last one took a crap. Something I should have had a long time ago.

Maybe those winter headaches I've been getting will go away now. Sometimes I feel so stupid....

nunya
LXI 483
MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO
·Charter

nunya to N3OGH

MVM

to N3OGH
I re-lined the chimney at my last house. Some Jack Wagon vented the gas furnace into the masonry chimney.
It really wasn't that bad of a job. I used a stainless liner like this: »www.rockfordchimneysuppl ··· mney.php . I rented a lift. It took about 2 hours max. Most of the time was getting everything ready. Pulling the liner through took about 5 minutes.

N3OGH
Yo Soy Col. "Bat" Guano
Premium Member
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs

N3OGH

Premium Member

I'm going to undertake the re lining in the spring, when hopefully my finances are a little better. Right now I just had to keep the fumes from filling the house.

I just got home from a late dinner with friends and the worst of it is the smell of the cement I used to fill the void where the ducting meets the chimney curing. I'm venting the basement with a fan in front of a window to keep the smell down.

I ventilated the house earlier with the whole house fan on the main floor. Opened all the windows and aired the sucker out good. I can notice the change in the air quality all ready.

PSWired
join:2006-03-26
Annapolis, MD

PSWired to N3OGH

Member

to N3OGH
Keep in mind the basement vent components don't need to be 100% airtight for the vent to be effective. You want a free flowing chimney and enough exhaust gas temp in order to ensure that there's a vacuum at the chimney inlet. That way any leaks in the vent piping pull in room air rather than leak out exhaust air.

Adjust your draft control damper properly and make sure the room the boiler is in has provisions to supply combustion air. And make sure the fan you have set up doesn't create low pressure in the basement.
HarryH3
Premium Member
join:2005-02-21

1 recommendation

HarryH3 to N3OGH

Premium Member

to N3OGH
Also pay close attention for any continuing oil fume smell. Many years ago I visited a friend that had oil heat. I mentioned to him that I could smell a very faint "diesel exhaust" odor in his house. A short while later I got an email from him, thanking me for mentioning it. He either a) hadn't noticed it or b) had become used to it. He had a furnace guy check things out and he discovered a cracked heat exchanger that was letting part of the exhaust into the house.