High Efficiency & Condensing Heating Boilers & Furnaces InspectAPedia® -
High efficiency boilers & furnaces: guide to
How to inspect a high efficiency heating boiler or furnace
How to diagnose loss of heat, cold radiators, cold furnace air, noises, smells, all other heating problems
Gas piping hazards, repairs
Carbon monoxide hazards
Condensing or High Efficiency Furnace and boiler hazards, safety recalls
Plastic Condensing Boiler/Furnace Chimney and vent safety, product recalls, inspection; chimney soot & draft problem diagnosis, repair
Questions & answers about high efficiency heating boilers & condensing boilers: inspection, diagnosis, maintenance, & repair advice
High efficiency & condensing heating boilers guide: Here we explain high efficiency oil and gas fired heating boilers & furnaces, condensing boilers, and similar energy-saving equipment.
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This website answers most questions about all types of heating systems and gives important inspection, safety, and repair advice.
Also see CONDENSING BOILERS/FURNACES DAMAGE.
The heating system articles provided at this website explain how to inspect and detect defects and hazards on heating systems, boilers, furnaces, and other equipment. Methods for saving on heating cost and on improving heating safety are included.
Heating safety hazards such as carbon monoxide gas leaks, unsafe furnaces, furnace and boiler recalls are addressed. Our page top sketch of a gas-fired high efficiency heating furnace is provided courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates.
High Efficiency Heating Boiler or Furnace Inspection Methods, Diagnosis, Safety, Repairs
The three heating furnace illustrations, one at page top and two more just below, provided courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates, offer a quick comparison of conventional, mid-efficiency, and high-efficiency gas-fired heating furnaces.
High Efficiency Heating System Reference Manuals, Inspection & Diagnosis Detailed Articles
CONDENSING BOILERS/FURNACES DAMAGE - review of damage to heat exchangers or flues caused by condensation & corrosi9on in high-efficiency furnaces and boilers; what about older heating equipment and duty cycle condensation?
Watch Out for These Unsafe Side-Wall Venting Errors for High Efficiency Gas Appliances
All direct-vented or sidewall vented heating appliances have safety guidelines about placement of the wall-vent. Our photo (above left) shows ice formation below a direct vented appliance - you can see what happens if the vent is not properly pitched or located: ice can block the vent completely - an unsafe condition. Our gas appliance vent condensate freeze up shown at above right may be a more serious safety concern in the making.
Pulse Combustion & High Efficiency Heating Furnaces or Boilers - Visual Inspection
OK so the homeowner was thrilled to see a high-efficiency heater in her new home. But just removing the covers for an inexpert visual inspection raised a question: what about that burn mark? Below, the two images, courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates, describe how a pulse furnace works.
The sketch at below left applies to both conventional and high-efficiency gas fired heating appliances, and does not permit vents to extend outside where combustion gases can re-enter the building through a window, nor too close to the ground where venting could be blocked.
The Carson Dunlop Associates at right adds unsafe sidewall vent locations peculiar to high efficiency heating furnaces.
Our stained wall photo (photo at left ) shows what happens at a direct-vented high-efficiency oil-fired heating boiler if the vent is not properly sloped through the wall.
Condensate accumulates in the vent pipe, dissolves flue gas deposits, and ultimately leaks both outside and back into the equipment.
To repair this mistake the installer will have to disassemble the entire vent system, and either remove a bit of masonry block from the bottom of the present wall opening or change the interior flue vent connector piping to slightly raise the inside end of the through wall vent - one or the other - to obtain proper condensate slope and condensate handling on this equipment.
Venting Requirements & Effects of Long Heat Exchangers & Condensation in High Efficiency Heating Equipment
Heating Cost Reduction Advice: How to Save on Home Heating Costs - Book Review & Actual Heating Savings and Energy Savings Tips for homeowners and service technicians, gas & oil heat money saving tips, thermostat tips, tuneup tips.
Heating Loss Diagnosis: How to diagnose loss of heat, when the oil burner, boiler, or furnace won't run, or when the system runs but heat is not delivered to the living area
Thermal Tracking & Stains & Signs of Heat Loss how to recognize thermal tracking or thermal bridging & how to diagnose Stains on Ceilings & Walls, Building Air Leaks & Insulation Defects, as well as other indoor air quality or building concerns.
Questions & Answers regarding this article
Questions & answers about high efficiency heating boilers & condensing boilers: inspection, diagnosis, maintenance, & repair advice
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Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop. The Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.
Domestic and Commercial Oil Burners, Charles H. Burkhardt, McGraw Hill Book Company, New York 3rd Ed 1969.
National Fuel Gas Code (Z223.1) $16.00 and National Fuel Gas Code Handbook (Z223.2) $47.00 American Gas Association (A.G.A.), 1515 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209 also available from National Fire Protection Association, Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269. Fundamentals of Gas Appliance Venting and Ventilation, 1985, American Gas Association Laboratories, Engineering Services Department. American Gas Association, 1515 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209. Catalog #XHO585. Reprinted 1989.
The Steam Book, 1984, Training and Education Department, Fluid Handling Division, ITT [probably out of print, possibly available from several home inspection supply companies] Fuel Oil and Oil Heat Magazine, October 1990, offers an update,
Principles of Steam Heating, $13.25 includes postage. Fuel oil & Oil Heat Magazine, 389 Passaic Ave., Fairfield, NJ 07004.
The Lost Art of Steam Heating, Dan Holohan, 516-579-3046 FAX
Principles of Steam Heating, Dan Holohan, technical editor of Fuel Oil and Oil Heat magazine, 389 Passaic Ave., Fairfield, NJ 07004 ($12.+1.25 postage/handling).
"Residential Hydronic (circulating hot water) Heating Systems", Instructional Technologies Institute, Inc., 145 "D" Grassy Plain St., Bethel, CT 06801 800/227-1663 [home inspection training material] 1987
"Warm Air Heating Systems". Instructional Technologies Institute, Inc., 145 "D" Grassy Plain St., Bethel, CT 06801 800/227-1663 [home inspection training material] 1987
Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning Volume I, Heating Fundamentals,
Boilers, Boiler Conversions, James E. Brumbaugh, ISBN 0-672-23389-4 (v. 1) Volume II, Oil, Gas, and Coal Burners, Controls, Ducts, Piping, Valves, James E. Brumbaugh, ISBN 0-672-23390-7 (v. 2) Volume III, Radiant Heating, Water Heaters, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, Heat Pumps, Air Cleaners, James E. Brumbaugh, ISBN 0-672-23383-5 (v. 3) or ISBN 0-672-23380-0 (set) Special Sales Director, Macmillan Publishing Co., 866 Third Ave., New York, NY 10022. Macmillan Publishing Co., NY
Installation Guide for Residential Hydronic Heating Systems
Installation Guide #200, The Hydronics Institute, 35 Russo Place, Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922
The ABC's of Retention Head Oil Burners, National Association of Oil Heat Service Managers, TM 115, National Old Timers' Association of the Energy Industry, PO Box 168, Mineola, NY 11501. (Excellent tips on spotting problems on oil-fired heating equipment. Booklet.)
Links to our list of additional information on heating system inspection, repair, maintenance
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