Talked to a boiler tech in Pittsburgh, now I look at soot differently

I was swapping a liner for a guy who does commercial boilers on the side, and he said the color of the soot tells you more about the draft than any gauge you'll carry... he pointed at the crusty flakes in the firebox and said that gray stuff means your draw is lazy. I've been checking flue deposits before I even light a test fire now, it's wild how much it changes my prep routine. Anyone else get thrown off by a simple visual check beating their fancy tools?

2 comments

2 Comments

wells.christopher1d ago

Had a buddy in Youngstown who swore by the same trick. He was doing a tune up on an old furnace and the homeowner had just had some fancy digital draft meter installed by another company. My buddy asked what it said, and the guy rattled off this perfect number. Then my buddy looked at the soot, told him to check the chimney cap. Sure enough, it was half plugged with leaves. The meter was reading fine because it was mounted inside the house, but the flue was still choking. He said that meter would have fooled him for another season if he hadn't looked at the crust first.

williamhenderson22h ago

Funny how the fancy stuff can miss what your eyes catch in two seconds.