Deteriorating Boiler Flue?

10 years ago

We are trying to do everything possible to make our boiler safe to use. It's old, but runs 209,000 BTUs for the large cast iron radiator system in the house we are restoring. We had settled on using the existent system because the plumber told us it might look bad, but the furnace/boiler was fine to use as long as we replaced the chimney.

We have had it pressurized and filled with water all week with no leakage or anything. We bought all new chimney for it, but when we took the old elbow off the back of the furnace we found that close to the exit from the flue (?) there are flakes, big flakes of metal peeling away.

The firebox itself seems fine. I've gone at it all through with a screwdriver, just seeing if there is any flaking metal and there is not. Only right there in the pictures.

Is there something we can do to make this safe to use? I am afraid of flame setting fire there and it spreading outside of the chimney into the insulation (which you can see exposed around the flue(?).

But shouldn't there be something to seal the chimney to the metal there? So that it could still be used? Please, if there is any safe way to do this I need to know because we have a matter of weeks to get this heating system running and we really, really can't afford a brand new boiler of the size required for the house.

I am posting one pic here and two more to follow. Any help would be much appreciated.

Comments (5)

old_home_lover
Original Author
10 years ago
Another pic
old_home_lover
Original Author
10 years ago
Last one. It just seems (this may be crazy) but it seems like there's plenty of metal still there so I felt like there ought to be a way of using this safely.
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geoffrey_b
10 years ago
You need to clean the flues in the boiler. Maybe you need to remove a side panel. There are different size flue brushes. That boiler is cast iron - you won't hurt it with a flue brush. Maybe you should have a pro look at it.
jackfre
10 years ago
To little info. Before deciding to keep the old system consider the improvements you are making to the home. Siding, windows, insulation all contribute to reduced heat loss in the building. I would suggest you get a Manual J heat loss calculation done on the building. Compare the findings to the capacity of the current system prior to putting any money into the old system.

Is this an oil fired or gas boiler? Natural or LP? If it is oil, get rid of it. If the breech of the boiler is bad I suspect the actual chimney is worse and chimney repairs are pricey. You need to do a bit more research before putting dollar one in the beast.
old_home_lover
Original Author
10 years ago
@ Jack: it's a coal/wood furnace rated at 209,000 BTU. Whether we use this or a new one is not going to change the insulation factor in the house. I am only interested in knowing the safety or lack thereof of using this boiler. We have a good two winters worth of wood sitting at the property as well as some coal. Keeping this furnace means free heating. A chimney rebuild is ready in the budget. I would need one with a new furnace as well. Replacing this with a new boiler means an additional expense of 7-10 grand, so if there's a way to use it I prefer that.