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Venting Boiler room

Ribs | Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on August 28, 2006 03:40am

Hope someone can help. Closed in the boiler (oil, forced hot water) and Water heater (gas) when I refinished the basement. Plan was to bring some fresh air into that room through an outside window in that room. Right now the boiler isn’t on (but it’s time is coming). I had part of the wall still open last year so it wasn’t an issue. That has been closed now.

Question is what type of fan/exhaust can I put in that rooms window that will bring fresh air into that room (preferably triggered to come on when the boiler does) Apparently it is a combustion Air damper (just fund someinfo on it) now I just need to find out how these are sized and installed (my boiler guy was no help, his solution was “well let’s see if runs OK as it is”

I know they have HRV/ERV systems but everything I’ve found seems to be designed for an entire house with forced hot air or existing duct work. Its frustrating trying to make upgrades (even minimal ones) on old systems, seems like all the good stuff is made for new construction. Retrofitting older homes seems few and far between (love to see more of that in the magazine).


Edited 8/28/2006 9:59 am ET by Ribs

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  1. mwilly | Aug 28, 2006 06:08pm | #1

    ribs, this might help you

    I have a  boiler room off my woodworking  shop, enclosed mainly to seal out the dust which would otherwise clog  the burner tubes

    I have a thru-the-wall power vent installed  for the exhaust and between that and the burner it wouldn't have adequate air for proper combustion which is your concern

    I installed a Tjerlund In-forcer, model # PA1-1G thru-the-wall vent fan to bring air into the room from outside

    This unit ties into your boiler control to operate when your boiler runs, has an internal damper and fan proving switch to insure proper air flow when the boiler is operating. The unit has a 3" PVC adapter to allow you to run a PVC pipe to the outside thru your wall so you don't have to use your window

    Check at a larger HVAC supply house or search on the web, you should be able to find one or a similar product fairly easily 

    By the way, I have my water heater indirectly heated thru my boiler so I only have one burner to feed air to. Your water heater will run year round so you might still have to crack the window during warm weather to supply your water heater, or get more complicated with a relay switch to power the air vent for two burners

    Hope this helps!

    Mark

     



    Edited 8/28/2006 11:18 am ET by mwilly

  2. SteveL | Aug 31, 2006 12:54am | #2

    One solution to this is to REPLACE THAT OIL BURNER with something like the Pinnacle Boiler from Peerless (95% efficiency and sealed combustion) and connect an indirect domestic water heater like the Pinnacle Partner and set it up something like this:

    http://www.peerlessboilers.com/home/productcenter/index.cfm?fuseAction=details&psID=19

    1. Ribs | Aug 31, 2006 03:50pm | #4

      Thanks but that definitely is not in the budget. Oil burner is a new Weil Mclein unit that is all of 3 years old and heats the house as well as Hot water. I prefer dealing with the oil companies (which I can change) rather than the big gas companie where I have little or no control. There is a separate hot water tank which is gas fired. I am curious though. This looks like it can work in conjunction with the Oil Burner. What does it run on? The Gas water heater may be due to get changed in the next few years and this may be a good option. Thing that scares me is the price for adding a zone to the system. Checked on that last year for the basement and I think it was 3K for a zone to run about 10 feet with one radiator which to me seems a bit steep.

      1. SteveL | Sep 01, 2006 05:14am | #6

        It is very common to use an indirect water heater for your domestic hot water needs. You can even use the one from Peerless shown before. Another good quality brand is Amtrol.http://www.amtrol.com/pdf/classic.pdfThis unit would have its own zone, need a little re-wiring for its control and will make more hot water faster than any standard water heater out there.PS- I REALLY don't like working on oil equipment in case you were wondering... :) but I definitely agree that you need to be religious about getting your oil burner checked and tuned every year and properly analyzed by a qualified technician who uses a proper combustion analyzer. Eyeballing - especially oil - is just not acceptable.There should also be information in your boiler's literature about "This unit requires XX amount of combustion air which can be supplied by an opening of YY square inches free space" or something like that.

        Edited 8/31/2006 10:26 pm ET by SteveL

  3. User avater
    rjw | Aug 31, 2006 02:02am | #3

    I think Skuttle might make something for that situation.

    >>his solution was "well let's see if runs OK as it is"

    Well, if he's going to be doing combustion analysis on the flue gases, including measuring the draft before the barometric damper, & reading O2, CO and CO2 and flue temps, and return and made temps on the boiler, OK.

    If' he's going to "eyeball" it, get a new heating guy.


    Fighting Ignorance since 1967

    It's taking way longer than we thought

    1. Ribs | Aug 31, 2006 03:51pm | #5

      That was my take on it as well.Thanks

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