I have a Wickes W62 hot water boiler that needs a few replacement parts.

Most important, is a new firebox. The ceramic fiber firebox might be
manufactured 'generic' and come in different sizes to fit applications, but
I don't know of any manufacturers.

The other thing I need is a new fire door. Mine's cracked diagonally across
most of the door.

If anyone can point me to sources for these things, much appreciated.

--
Take care,

Mark & Mary Ann Weiss

VIDEO PRODUCTION . FILM SCANNING . DVD MASTERING . AUDIO RESTORATION
Hear my Kurzweil Creations at: http://www.dv-clips.com/theater.htm
Business sites at:
www.dv-clips.com
www.mwcomms.com
www.adventuresinanimemusic.com
-

"Mark & Mary Ann Weiss" wrote in message
ink.net...
I have a Wickes W62 hot water boiler that needs a few replacement parts.

Most important, is a new firebox. The ceramic fiber firebox might be
manufactured 'generic' and come in different sizes to fit applications,
but
I don't know of any manufacturers.

The other thing I need is a new fire door. Mine's cracked diagonally
across
most of the door.

If anyone can point me to sources for these things, much appreciated.

--

If the fire door is cracked, it may be time for a new boiler.....

I have a Wickes W62 hot water boiler that needs a few replacement parts.

Most important, is a new firebox. The ceramic fiber firebox might be
manufactured 'generic' and come in different sizes to fit applications,
but
I don't know of any manufacturers.

The other thing I need is a new fire door. Mine's cracked diagonally
across
most of the door.

If anyone can point me to sources for these things, much appreciated.

--

If the fire door is cracked, it may be time for a new boiler.....




Not an option, from a financial aspect. And the rest of the boiler is in
beautiful shape. It's cast iron throughout. If it cracked and started
leaking, I would probably have to move to FL and move in with relatives. As
long as it doesn't leak water and it heats the house, I'll try to repair it.
If I had the money to replace my boiler, I wouldn't be asking for free
advice here, now would I? :-)

I can live with the firedoor situation, as it's not in front of the flame,
nor is it leaking flame.
I DO need the vacuum-formed ceramic fiber firebox though. The original is
completely disintigrated and was removed in small pieces during cleaning of
the chamber yesterday.

I've looked into buying some type of fiber ceramic insulation and contacted
ThermalCeramics.com, but I don't hold much hope, as they deal in bulk to
manufacturers of industrial furnaces.

Doesn't anybody make replacement fireboxes for these furnaces? Wickes is out
of the boiler business as of 7 years ago, so they were unable to help me.


--
Take care,

Mark & Mary Ann Weiss

VIDEO PRODUCTION • FILM SCANNING • DVD MASTERING • AUDIO RESTORATION
Hear my Kurzweil Creations at: http://www.dv-clips.com/theater.htm
Business sites at:
www.dv-clips.com
www.mwcomms.com
www.adventuresinanimemusic.com
-

"Mark & Mary Ann Weiss" wrote in message
ink.net...
I have a Wickes W62 hot water boiler that needs a few replacement
parts.

Most important, is a new firebox. The ceramic fiber firebox might be
manufactured 'generic' and come in different sizes to fit
applications,
but
I don't know of any manufacturers.

The other thing I need is a new fire door. Mine's cracked diagonally
across
most of the door.

If anyone can point me to sources for these things, much appreciated.

--

If the fire door is cracked, it may be time for a new boiler.....




Not an option, from a financial aspect. And the rest of the boiler is in
beautiful shape. It's cast iron throughout. If it cracked and started
leaking, I would probably have to move to FL and move in with relatives.
As
long as it doesn't leak water and it heats the house, I'll try to repair
it.
If I had the money to replace my boiler, I wouldn't be asking for free
advice here, now would I? :-)

I can live with the firedoor situation, as it's not in front of the flame,
nor is it leaking flame.
I DO need the vacuum-formed ceramic fiber firebox though. The original is
completely disintigrated and was removed in small pieces during cleaning
of
the chamber yesterday.

I've looked into buying some type of fiber ceramic insulation and
contacted
ThermalCeramics.com, but I don't hold much hope, as they deal in bulk to
manufacturers of industrial furnaces.

Doesn't anybody make replacement fireboxes for these furnaces? Wickes is
out
of the boiler business as of 7 years ago, so they were unable to help me.


Call a service company. They can tell you if there is a chamber available
for replacing the bad one. If there's not, I guess you can move to Florida,
because the boiler is a goner.

Just because the cracked door isn't leaking 'flame' doesn't mean it isn't
leaking Carbon Monoxide.

How old is the boiler?

Call a service company. They can tell you if there is a chamber available
for replacing the bad one. If there's not, I guess you can move to
Florida,
because the boiler is a goner.

I contacted a plumbing supply house locally. Funny, they had in stock what I
could not find on the net except as a bulk wholesale item--Kaowool ceramic
fiber wet blanket. This lines the fire chamber and hardens after the burner
has fired it a few times.


Just because the cracked door isn't leaking 'flame' doesn't mean it isn't
leaking Carbon Monoxide.

As for the door, I'm going to have a welder repair it.


How old is the boiler?

It's a mere 31 years ago that I installed it. Relatively young, compared to
a lot of boilers dating back to the the 1920s.

I did look at a Slant-Fin Liberty II oil fired cast iron boiler while
shopping for insulation at Home Depot. Took a closer look and noted that the
design used a relatively new concept in heat transfer -- 'pin fins' --a
technology developed for improving heatsink efficiency in electronic
applications, and a close spacing of plates. The specifications showed that
the rated output was equivalent to my old burner and that the GPH fuel
consumption was 28% less. I use 750 gallons every 12 months to run the
furnace and the hot water heater (separate Bock 32E installed 7 years ago).
It looks like I could cut my usage to 500 gallons every 12 months by
replacing the furnace. I spoke with a friend of mine who recently had his
furnace replaced. The actual unit cost him $1000, but the labor was $2800.
I'm going to enquire the cost of the furnace I saw at Home Depot and see if
it's in that range. I've been quoted $4,000 by oil professionals to replace
my boiler. OTOH, if the boiler can be had for $1000, I will do the
installation myself, possibly next year. I have to catch up on overdue real
estate taxes first.


--
Take care,

Mark & Mary Ann Weiss

VIDEO PRODUCTION • FILM SCANNING • DVD MASTERING • AUDIO RESTORATION
Hear my Kurzweil Creations at: http://www.dv-clips.com/theater.htm
Business sites at:
www.dv-clips.com
www.mwcomms.com
www.adventuresinanimemusic.com
-

I got the furnace fire door back from the welders today. They did a great
job, despite the age of the iron and it's having been heated and cooled
thousands of times. They did what's called a "V-groove weld", which is to
say that the iron was old and that they had to grind a groove to find some
good iron to weld to. It pays to use a welder who's been in the business 40+
years!

I checked the fit and then removed it and installed the Kaowool ceramic
blanket that I had bought at ASCO Plumbing Supply. That took some effort,
due to pipes and things blocking unobstructed access, and due to the size
and weight of the wet cloth. It did pretty much keep the shape that I formed
it to, so that was a good thing. After I got the shape right, I cut the
opening for the Miller tube (burner blast tube) to go through. Installed
fire door, burner and did the recommended startup procedure (3 min on, 3 min
off for 15 min) to burn off the water content in the Kaowool and harden it.

The furnace runs great now, better than it has in many years. That was
because I had taken it apart to a level where I was able to clean out the
boiler most thoroughly (the scale, rust and soot filled two 16 gallon
industrial vacuums!!!), was able to take apart the burner and spray nozzle
and clean every component in great detail, and check the gaps on the spark
electrodes, clean them, clean the microscreen filter in the nozzle, etc. So
the WHOLE system has been gone through.

Now that the combustion chamber is repaired, I was able to turn the air
intake all the way back up, for a hotter flame (same oil flow, but more air
produces more BTUs of heat) and we should save a significant amount of oil
because of the hotter flame and clean boiler tubing. There was so much
debris in there before that I bet it actually prevented some of the heat
from heating the water!

Anyway, the furnace is running great now. Total cost of repairs: $100 for
parts and welding.
And with the cracked door fixed, and the flue stack properly cemented, the
danger of CO leaking should be alleviated. I was concerned about this
because after rebuilding the cellar wall, it is air-tight. The old wall was
so full of holes that daylight was coming in all over the place, so no
chance of CO buildup. Anyway, the whole house should stay much warmer now
with the leaks eliminated and Amanda's (my daughter's) newly-renovated room
is so well-insulated that a single light bulb will quickly raise the
temperature as if the heater were turned on. I still plan to install heating
convectors, but it's nice to know that a light bulb will increase the room
temperature when the outside is 39ºF.


--
Take care,

Mark & Mary Ann Weiss

VIDEO PRODUCTION • FILM SCANNING • DVD MASTERING • AUDIO RESTORATION
Hear my Kurzweil Creations at: http://www.dv-clips.com/theater.htm
Business sites at:
www.dv-clips.com
www.mwcomms.com
www.adventuresinanimemusic.com
-

"Mark & Mary Ann Weiss" wrote

snipping all but content I am commenting on

The furnace runs great now, better than it has in many years. That was
because I had taken it apart to a level where I was able to clean out the
boiler most thoroughly (the scale, rust and soot filled two 16 gallon
industrial vacuums!!!), was able to take apart the burner and spray nozzle
and clean every component in great detail, and check the gaps on the spark
electrodes, clean them, clean the microscreen filter in the nozzle, etc.
So
the WHOLE system has been gone through.

Sounds like you need to have someone come out and do a clean and service on
it on a regular basis. Should be at least once a year.


Now that the combustion chamber is repaired, I was able to turn the air
intake all the way back up, for a hotter flame (same oil flow, but more
air
produces more BTUs of heat) and we should save a significant amount of oil
because of the hotter flame and clean boiler tubing. There was so much
debris in there before that I bet it actually prevented some of the heat
from heating the water!

Turn the intake all the way up??!! You COULD be O.K. with that, but, see my
comment above.

No offence: I'm happy you go the thing fixed, but it probably broke in the
first place due to improper maintenance and settings.

You really need to get someone out there that has a combustion analyzer.
That way you can tell if the system is running correctly.


"Mark & Mary Ann Weiss" wrote in message
nk.net...
I got the furnace fire door back from the welders today. They did a great
job, despite the age of the iron and it's having been heated and cooled
thousands of times. They did what's called a "V-groove weld", which is to
say that the iron was old and that they had to grind a groove to find some
good iron to weld to. It pays to use a welder who's been in the business
40+
years!

I checked the fit and then removed it and installed the Kaowool ceramic
blanket that I had bought at ASCO Plumbing Supply. That took some effort,
due to pipes and things blocking unobstructed access, and due to the size
and weight of the wet cloth. It did pretty much keep the shape that I
formed
it to, so that was a good thing. After I got the shape right, I cut the
opening for the Miller tube (burner blast tube) to go through. Installed
fire door, burner and did the recommended startup procedure (3 min on, 3
min
off for 15 min) to burn off the water content in the Kaowool and harden
it.

The furnace runs great now, better than it has in many years. That was
because I had taken it apart to a level where I was able to clean out the
boiler most thoroughly (the scale, rust and soot filled two 16 gallon
industrial vacuums!!!), was able to take apart the burner and spray nozzle
and clean every component in great detail, and check the gaps on the spark
electrodes, clean them, clean the microscreen filter in the nozzle, etc.
So
the WHOLE system has been gone through.

Now that the combustion chamber is repaired, I was able to turn the air
intake all the way back up, for a hotter flame (same oil flow, but more
air
produces more BTUs of heat) and we should save a significant amount of oil
because of the hotter flame and clean boiler tubing. There was so much
debris in there before that I bet it actually prevented some of the heat
from heating the water!

Anyway, the furnace is running great now. Total cost of repairs: $100 for
parts and welding.
And with the cracked door fixed, and the flue stack properly cemented, the
danger of CO leaking should be alleviated. I was concerned about this
because after rebuilding the cellar wall, it is air-tight. The old wall
was
so full of holes that daylight was coming in all over the place, so no
chance of CO buildup. Anyway, the whole house should stay much warmer now
with the leaks eliminated and Amanda's (my daughter's) newly-renovated
room
is so well-insulated that a single light bulb will quickly raise the
temperature as if the heater were turned on. I still plan to install
heating
convectors, but it's nice to know that a light bulb will increase the room
temperature when the outside is 39ºF.


--
Take care,

Mark & Mary Ann Weiss

VIDEO PRODUCTION . FILM SCANNING . DVD MASTERING . AUDIO RESTORATION
Hear my Kurzweil Creations at: http://www.dv-clips.com/theater.htm
Business sites at:
www.dv-clips.com
www.mwcomms.com
www.adventuresinanimemusic.com
-

The furnace had gone as much as 15 years without anyone looking at it,
mostly due to family turmoil and much more devastating misfortunes and
illnesses. Now that things are under my control, I will be doing the
maintenance from now on. As for the flame setting, I may get a pyrometer and
measure the temperature. I seek the hottest flame possible for the volume of
fuel used. Next optimization project is to install a Delavan ProTek nozzle,
which shuts off when the oil pressure drops, as in the burner shutting off,
stopping the drizzling and afterburn that conventional nozzles suffer from.
That may save some more oil and slow down the dirtying of the boiler over
time.
I'm rebuilding much more than just the furnace. I'm rebuilding the whole
house, a room at a time, in what I refer to as "surgical demolition", where
I knock down an exterior wall (didn't take much, as the wall was completely
rotted and the only things holding it up were the sheetrock on the inside
and the asbestos exterior siding on the outside), and build a new wall
section on the floor and raise it into position, prefab style. The whole
house is a picture of neglect, but now that it's under my ownership, I'm
fixing it up, little by little. Was going to hire a contractor, but all
contractors gave absurd estimates up to six figures for renovation/repair.
There are times when you just have to do it yourself, because of money,
scheduling and quality issues. I'm actually glad I didn't find contractors
to do the above, else I'd be looking at a mortgage again. No thanks. My tax
bill alone is as big as a hefty mortgage now. ;-}


--
Take care,

Mark & Mary Ann Weiss

VIDEO PRODUCTION • FILM SCANNING • DVD MASTERING • AUDIO RESTORATION
Hear my Kurzweil Creations at: http://www.dv-clips.com/theater.htm
Business sites at:
www.dv-clips.com
www.mwcomms.com
www.adventuresinanimemusic.com
-