new boiler, bad odor
#1
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: massachusetts
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My husband and I rent a home. The landlord recently installed a new boiler (our last one cracked). Now there is a bad smell that accompanies the heat turning on. The water level also seems to go down much more rapidly than it did on our old boiler. The water in the gauge in our old boiler also generally looked clean, while there appears to be rust and particles in the water in the new boiler. Any advice for eliminating the odor (or ideas about what's causing it) and any ideas about why the water is going down so fast would be very helpful. Thanks.
#2
You need to at least tell us a little bit about the boiler...
What make/model?
It sounds like steam heat, is it?
What is the fuel?
One thing to keep in mind though, since you are renting, the equipment is not yours, so any adjustments/maintenance that needs to be done are the landlord's responsibility. There's no harm in you knowing something about it, but just don't 'work' on it... of course if it's a steamer, you do of course have the job of keeping the water level up.
I'm guessing that the system was not properly 'skimmed' after it was installed.
What make/model?
It sounds like steam heat, is it?
What is the fuel?
One thing to keep in mind though, since you are renting, the equipment is not yours, so any adjustments/maintenance that needs to be done are the landlord's responsibility. There's no harm in you knowing something about it, but just don't 'work' on it... of course if it's a steamer, you do of course have the job of keeping the water level up.
I'm guessing that the system was not properly 'skimmed' after it was installed.
#3
When a steam boiler is installed there are many joints that need sealed and it may be the flux or pipe dope smell which goes away after a short period of time.
The landlord has to call the plumber back to take care of the water level issue by having the boiler skimmed.
The landlord has to call the plumber back to take care of the water level issue by having the boiler skimmed.