Always double check the smallest details!

[OH_Varmntr]

I fired the Central Boiler 6048 up last night. I reburied my ThermoPex last week while I had a trencher here, and ran it through the concrete basement wall instead of up and over the sill plate like I had it before. After reconnecting the plumbing, I started a fire at about midnight last night/this morning. Temps were up to 90ish when I went to bed, then I woke up at 1:30am and it was 170ish. Clicked on the thermostat and went to bed.

This morning when the alarm went off at 6am, the digital water temp readout inside the house was reading 200.7 degrees! I had never seen it much above 191 after it was done firing, so I ran out to find the big girl steaming like a steam locomotive. I could hear it boiling inside, but I still had plenty of water.

Temp controller on boiler. Later found this to be the highest it will read. Water was well above 211 degrees.

I found the draft door to be stuck open about 1/2". This summer I had periodically opened the door to check things out, and a few times I had a BlueJay fly out. Well this time, he apparently got stuck in the draft door opening and died.

The birds body held the draft door open. This was all that's left of him.

Once I verified the door closed, I went to work with the pump still running to get some BTUs out of the water to cool it down gradually. Once I got home, the temp controller on the burner still read 211 and inside the house read 76! I will say this, the Taco 009 pump is one tough pump. The boiling water caused the pump to cavitate, and it ran throughout the day without any water going through the pump. The motor housing was so hot it would boil water off as soon as it touched it. The paint even began to discolor on the motor housing.

I separated the pump to check to see if it would still run and I'll be danged that it still ran, albeit with quite a bit of noise. Well I cooled the pump down so it wouldn't cavitate and put it back together and it started pumping again and quieted down. It's been good since, but I have a replacement cartridge ready to go just in case. I might even buy another motor too.

I should have known to double check everything, but I didn't, and I nearly created a big issue for myself.

 

[crazy4saws]

Glad u caught it time before any real damage was done man! Ive steamed mine a few times by leaving the door open too long after a burn out. I've got a 4030, a far cry smaller than ur 6048 but I too have the same blue breasted birds get into the fire box during the summer along with some black birds. Mid summer I took one dead out, then last weekend i fired it and found 2 blue birds and 3 black birds. I check the damper each year but ur example show me why it's so important. Thanks for sharing

Do u have a temp display in ur house too?

 

[ijon1]

How do the birds get in?

 

[crazy4saws]

T

How do the birds get in?

The birds come in thru the chimney. My boilers chimney cap is on the stack but the guard that goes around it isn't. Took it off bc I figured it would plug up sooner or later.

 

[UpOnTheHill]

I'd put some 3/4" hardware cloth across the cap openings. Big enough that it doesn't plug but small enough to keep the critters out.

 

[OH_Varmntr]

My rain cap is stainless, but the hardware cloth apparently wasn't and rotted off within one season. It would get built up with creosote and I'd have to knock on it a few times to get it clean again or it would cause burning issues. That's how they get in.

Crazy4saws, yes I have a digital temp display inside my house that I got from my CB dealer. It's nice having it.

 

[crazy4saws]

I've always wanted to have one in the house even ran some 5wire shielded cable when I jnstalled the underground. If you don't mind how much did it cost?

 

[OH_Varmntr]

I think it was around $60? For some reason that number sticks in my mind, it could be way off though.

It is battery powered and includes a cable and thermocouple. I installed it in the hot water supply line just before the thermostatic valve in the basement.