HomeMy WebLinkAboutVail Village Filing 1 Block 4 Lots 1-15 boiler waterheater issues 050511 - Done05/14/2011 16:29 9709496847
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'MRRV SIBLEY PLUDMMQ, INC_
1040 1Maxu Sttaat
P.O. Haas 340 . Mintuz , CO 61645
(976) 827 -5730
o F&Z (970) 827 -5294
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Rich Brown
Po Box 701
Vail, CO 81658
Re: Boiler & Water Heater venting issues of Vail Trail Chalet.
Mr. Brown,
We have completed a full combustion analysis of the boilers & WY
heaters and they are not venting properly. There is a carbon more
rising issues with this entire mechanical system. The lack of prope'
these appliances can cause carbon monoxide to build up in the
mechanical room and it is possible that the carbon monoxide can
the residences above. We need to install barometric dampers or
the boilers and install separate fresh air fans for all boilers. Also, e
boiler and each water heater needs to be vented with their owns
stack.
PAGE 01/02
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First we need to see if the covered opening in the mechanical ro does
go to the roof and if so then each boiler /water heater can have their own
vent stack for proper draft.
We have installed a barometric damper on the Hartley's & Fey's ba er
and we achieved proper and safe draft conditions, but the fresh cir fans
need to be installed, too.
The fresh air fans and barometric dampers will allow us to control t lack
of draft in this mechanical room.
Please refer to the attached documents regarding the equipment
need to install for these appliances. Also, the attached material w
explain why these devices are used in these particular situations.
05/14/2011 16:29 9709496847 PAGE 0
Please let us know if we can help out any further. If this work is no
completed then Jerry Sibley Plumbing will not be responsible for a
Possible health issues that can occur.
Sincerely,
Matthew Duckworth
Service Manager
Note: Jerry Sibley technicians have be educated and trained by tional
Comfort Institute. We specialize in combustion analysis.
Page 1 of 1
Dear Vail Trails Chalet Homeowners,
You have received some e -mails recently regarding the boiler and water heater exhaust systems in the boiler
rooms of Vail Trails Chalet.
We learned on March 11, 2011 that a Vail area heating contractor had been called to work on one of the boilers
in the building. This
contractor wanted to make extensive changes to our boiler rooms stating that the previous work that we had
done was not proper.
Our contractor was contacted that day and assured us that the work was done according to specifications. The
town of Vail had approved
our plans and had inspected the completed work.
Your Board of Managers has considered this issue very seriously. The board met on March 18, 2011 and after
discussion authorized the hiring
of a expert heating engineer from the Denver area to evaluate our exhaust systems and report to the board. This
engineer has visited our
building, has been given the calculations used for the design of our flues and exhaust pipes, and has the
specifications for all our boilers and
water heaters. He will visit the building again next week to conduct a analysis of the exhaust gases. The engineer
has concluded that our flues
and exhaust pipes meet the required specifications. He has suggested that we increase the openings in the ducts
that supply fresh air to the
boiler rooms. This work will be completed tomorrow, April 13.
We, the board, want the engineer's report to be available to all the VTC owners as soon as possible. The engineer
has insisted in being very
thorough in his investigation and continues to make more measurements and tests. For this reason, he has not
concluded his report. As soon
as the report is completed, it will be shared with the VTC owners.
Most importantly, until the engineer's report is completed, safety monitoring will continue to assure that we have
a safe environment. We had
each boiler room tested each day for a time and we also have carbon monoxide detectors in each boiler room as
well as throughout the building.
These tests have not shown any carbon monoxide danger. Regardless of these tests, when the engineer's report
is received, the board will act
prudently to correct any deficiency pointed out by the report.
Sincerely,
David H Reynolds
�) IE C IE 0WFE
MAY 16 %O11
TOWN OF V AIL
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C H A S O N
E N E R G Y
COY1S1dt112g e' lg , - Iee7S
April 25, 2011
Vail Trail Chalet Condo Association
David H. Reynolds
1955 Fox Mountain Point
Colorado Springs, CO 80906
R LD
MAY 16 eon
TOWN OF VAIL
Re: Condominium boilers
Dear David:
I have completed my evaluation of the boiler flue gas situation at Vail Trails Chalet. This letter
presents my findings.
Background
Observations of the flues in 2009 showed that there had been deterioration of the existing 7 inch
diameter clay tiles. Skyline Mechanical installed a 6 inch diameter aluminum flue liner in each
flue in 2010. The new flue liners are Dura -Vent type B. Examination of the Dura -Vent sizing
chart for a 25 foot high flue shows that the 6 inch diameter flue is of adequate capacity for each
installation.
In March of this year Mr. Rich Brown of Brown -Wolin Construction employed Sibley Plumbing to
perform some repair work on Ted Hartley's boiler. In the course of that work, Sibley determined
that excessive carbon monoxide was present in the flue gas of Hartley's boiler. To reduce the
amount of carbon monoxide in the flue. Sibley installed a barometric damper on the boiler flue.
To obtain an independent opinion on the situation, you retained Chason Energy to evaluate the
boiler room installations.
Methodology
On March 31, 2011, 1 met with you and Justin Neilsen of Skyline Mechanical, Inc at Vail Trails.
The existing boilers are Weil- McLain atmospheric units of an early 1960's vintage. Domestic hot
water heaters in the boiler rooms are of varying age and manufacturer, but are also atmospheric.
The 2006 International Mechanical Code requires the amount of combustion air opening for
atmospheric boilers to be in square inch per 4,000 Btu /h of boiler gas input. The Code further
requires 1 opening within 1 foot of the ceiling and 1 opening within 1 foot of the floor of the boiler
room. In each boiler room there was only a single ducted opening from the outside to near the
floor. Skyline Mechanical was directed to add a second opening near the ceiling in each boiler
room. Effective sizes of openings are shown below.
Boiler room
Low opening
( existing)
High opening
new
Required
Openin
Actual Opening
1
260 in.
144 in.
111 in.
270 in.
2
260 in .2
144 in.
156 in.
336 in.
3
230 in.
144 in.
139 in.
336 in.
12
80 in.
60 in.
53 in.
96 in.
i! ^, 8ERGEN PARr.,';nf SUITE M 9301 EVERGREEN Cv 80439
TEL (303) 670 -4430 FAX :303) 459 -2004 WWW.CHASONCONSULTING.COM
Vail Trails Chalet Condominium
Boiler Flue Analysis
Page 2 of 3
In all cases, the existing openings were adequate for combustion. However, the installations
were not code compliant, as there was only a low opening in each boiler room. After Skyline
added the high openings, the boiler room combustion air openings comply with code.
During the openings installations, it was found that there was significant blockage by debris in
each of the outside air intakes. The intakes were all cleaned.
Testing
On April 13 1 witnessed flue gas tests on each of the boiler and domestic hot water flues. A flue
gas analyzer with integral printout capability was used for the tests. Results are shown below.
Boiler
Room
Boiler
Number
Input
BTUH
Oxygen
Carbon
Dioxide
Carbon
Monoxide
1
B -1
67,500
12
5.1
16
1
B -2
90,000
19.2
0
7
1
B -3
50,000
17.7
1.6
11
1
B -4
61,000
22.3
0
18
HW
1
Htrs
175,000
24.9
0
3
2
B -7
145,000
15.6
3
11
2
B -8
67,500
17.1
2.2
12
2
B -9
67,500
16.2
2.7
125
B-
2
10 &HW
94,000
15.6
3
16
2
HW
250,000
17.3
7
0
3
B -13
90,000
17.7
1.2
10
3
B -14
72,000
17.5
1.9
11
3
B -15
67,500
15.4
3.1
7
3
B -16
90,000
16.9
2.3
12
HW
3
Htrs
235,000
12.9
4.6
8
12
B -12
211,000
13.2
4.4
16
Note: Oxygen
and Carbon
Dioxide are expressed as a
percentage.
Carbon monoxide is parts per million.
With the exception of boiler B -9 in boiler room 2, all boilers and hot water heaters tested well
below any lethal dose of carbon monoxide (lethal dose equals 35 ppm or more). None of the
carbon monoxide detectors in the boiler rooms indicated any carbon monoxide escaping from the
flues.
Vail Trails Chalet Condominium
Boiler Flue Analysi,
Page 3 of 3
Recommendations
1. Boiler B -9 should be replaced, as a relatively high level of carbon monoxide was detected in
the flue. The 125 ppm of carbon monoxide is within safety limits of 150 ppm but repair or
replacement is a prudent measure. The boiler is past its useful life, and much of the control
and safety wiring has been jury- rigged.
2. Each boiler room combustion air intake should be inspected on an annual basis to insure that
debris has not collected in the outside wall opening and reduced the effective opening area
3. A flue gas analysis should be performed annually as a safety measure, and to assist in
determining when other aging boilers should be replaced.
4. When conducting firing tests on the domestic hot water heaters, we noted that all of the hot
water heater temperature settings were in excess of 200° F. A high setting such as this is not
only a safety hazard, but is also an energy waster. High water temperature settings can
result in scalding. Domestic hot water heater temperatures should be reset for 120° F.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call.
Sincrely
Russell M. Keeler, PE
Principal C " -
n
L..
A
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