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A boiler leaking gas into its own casing.
During routine service at a New Westminster building, one of two boilers smelled of exhaust and was badly corroded inside. A test fire showed unburned gas escaping from the combustion chamber. We shut it down, made it safe, and left the building a quote to replace it.
The service visit turned up a safety problem.
The building has two boilers. The right one had a history of communication errors, most likely from power outages; we cleaned its condensate trap, cleared the errors and it fired normally.
The left one was different. The corrosion inside the casing was far worse than before, it smelled strongly of exhaust, and its condensate trap was full of large chunks of debris from the combustion chamber. A test fire picked up unburned natural gas leaking from a part of the boiler that can’t be serviced. Where there is gas, there is carbon monoxide. We turned the boiler off and isolated the gas and water.
A replacement quote, not a risky repair.
The leak was in a part of the boiler that can’t be serviced, so a repair wasn’t a safe option. We left the boiler off and isolated, and gave the building a written quote to replace it.
Make it safe, then plan the fix.
An unsafe boiler gets shut off the same day. The replacement can then be planned properly.
Service both boilers
Clean the condensate traps, check the fault history and fire each unit.Test for leaks
Run a test fire and check for gas at the combustion chamber.Shut down safely
Turn off the unsafe boiler and isolate its gas and water.Quote the replacement
Leave the building a written quote for a new boiler.A safe building, and a clear next step.
The leaking boiler stayed off and isolated, with a replacement quote in the building’s hands. The other boiler was showing an intermittent error, so we checked its gas valve and flame sensor, re-gapped the sensor, and replaced its ignition module.
Gas leak found and boiler shut off the same day
Gas and water to the unsafe boiler isolated
Written replacement quote left with the building
Second boiler serviced and its ignition module replaced
Start with the problem. We will help plan the next step.
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