I went today to a tenant that thought his boiler was working fine. He was so sure it was fine that he’d arranged to meet his parents when I left.
The boiler looked ok from the outside but inside it was very different.
The burner seal had turned from flexible silicone to crumbling dust.
This meant that when the boiler was firing fumes and steam were leaking into the inner case. It’s easy to see the heat marks and corrosion at the top of the round burner door.
If this is left for any length of time serious damage can be done. I’ve seen cables melted by the heat and electrical components short circuited by the steam.
When I removed the burner the top part of the silicone seal disintegrated completely. Luckily for the tenant I keep a spare seal on my van so I soon had it replaced.
With the new seal in place and the burner refitted I could continue the service. From that point I could agree with the tenant that everything was working fine.
fixmyplumbing 