First Commercial LPG Job!

[cr0ft]

Why do I always get these jobs lol. 293KW direct air heater running on LPG. Was running it right at the start when I noticed a nice 4" crack in the end of the burner exhaust assembly.

Why do I get the feeling this is about to get expensive for the customer??

And check out the state of the burner before I gave it a good clean. Was disgusting. I swear there were 5 dead people's worth of dust inside the air heater too!

Direct air heater is, wait for it....

24 years old.

And no indication it's ever been serviced lol.

Reassuringly, the manufacturer suggests they can still make the part. Bet it's going to be cheap!!

 

[ShaunCorbs]

this the one in the paint shop?

and how much of a crack could it be welded?

 

[cr0ft]

Yup, that's the one.

I did think about that one tbh. Basically getting the burner out and back into the unit will be the best part of a day's work as most of the wiring from the control unit also needs to come out and go back in and the panel with everything on looks like it weighs a ton.

You can see the crack on the end of the exhaust (right hand side of the first photo). It's at least 4" long.

It probably could be welded as it appears to be cracked along the side of the exhaust rather than across any holes in it, but I doubt the weld would last that long given the power of the burner. If I could find a welder that would sign it off as being fit for purpose then I might try that but to be honest it's a fairly powerful burner and I wouldn't want to sign it off myself. Consequences if the part fails completely are fairly significant aren't they?

Guess we will look at options once we see what the price of the parts are.

 

[Last Plumber]

What make is your CO2 meter Croft?

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Yep was it open flued ?

And if you do go down the road of a repair look for a coded welder

 

[cr0ft]

What make is your CO2 meter Croft?

Anton IAQ 8494 CO2 Detector

 

[cr0ft]

Yep was it open flued ?

And if you do go down the road of a repair look for a coded welder

Yes it is

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Yes it is

What was the supply ventilation like

 

[cr0ft]

Haha, the usual I just open the door when I use it. Tis classed as a process though isn't it rather than a gas appliance so Gas Regs don't apply do they and he can get away with that can't he.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Think some still apply tho (safety things )

 

[cr0ft]

Hmm, I actually asked the tutor about my example because I already knew ventilation was non-existent for the unit. He said that because it's a process Gas Safety regs don't apply. In some circumstances for instance, a factory might want high levels of co2 in a room for example as part of the manufacturing process. Can't think why but that's why they are exempt.

I get the impression with commercial stuff that it's much more about common sense to be honest. He ups the roller door each time he uses the paint booth and knows why he needs to!

But then that said he stands in the paint booth with air coming in from a burner that's not been serviced in 24 years lol..

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Hadn't killed him self yet so can't be too far off

Did you feel nervous when you started?

 

[cr0ft]

Was nervous before I got to the job. Once I got there I worked it all out fairly quickly to be honest. Think I'm going to like commercial work more to be honest. Much more is down to engineering judgement rather than following regulations isn't it?

Out of curiosity, how would you have classified the crack in the burner? I classified it as AR on the basis it wasn't currently dangerous where it was.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Was nervous before I got to the job. Once I got there I worked it all out fairly quickly to be honest. Think I'm going to like commercial work more to be honest. Much more is down to engineering judgement rather than following regulations isn't it?

Out of curiosity, how would you have classified the crack in the burner? I classified it as AR on the basis it wasn't currently dangerous where it was.

Yep and no tight little spaces like on combi boilers and normally people leave you alone

And ar / id depends on ratio if high ppm id

Either way it goes off

 

[Last Plumber]

Yes it is

Open flued?
I thought we were talking about a direct fired Heater, that's why I asked about the CO2 meter.