Heating contractor brought to inspection

[David A. Andersen]

So what about a Combustion analyzer?

What about it, You tell me.

[Brian Dusome]

Thank you everyone for your comments. The home owner and buyer reached a deal on a new furnace. The old furnace was inspected after it was removed and the cracks were very small and mostly rust. They were discovered by using a camera inside the furnace. Direct Energy was the first inspector. By the way I had it wrong about the owners bringing the heating contractor, it was actually the inspector who brought him along after the buyers indicated they were concerned over the age of the furnace which was about 28 years.

[David A. Andersen]

it was actually the inspector who brought him along after the buyers indicated they were concerned over the age of the furnace which was about 28 years.

Good call.! It's nice to see an inspector who knows their limitations and fulfills their clients expectations!

They were discovered by using a camera inside the furnace.

Unlike some who use combustion analyzers to guess at cracks, VISUAL is the only way to go. As with any test device, the results must be verified before reporting the defect. Cameras and fiber optic bore scopes allow you to see the crack. Still however, these devices only see about 45% of the exchanger from the interior. If the equipment is dismantled, you can get at about 95% without removing the cells.

[Vern Mitchinson, CMI]

Did a condo inspection with attached garage last week. Found 2 PPM CO in the furnace room. Reset the meter to 0 and activated the furnace. Meter stayed at 0 PPM. Activated the Water heater while the furnace was running and checked for back drafting of the Water Heater vent. Again reading stayed at 0 PPM. So what to report.
The condo was vacant. Where was the CO coming from?
Possible sources;
1. The attached garage.
2. The neighbour’s attached garage.
Reported that CMHC accepts 2 PPM as normal, Info that came with my meter says 9 PPM is acceptable and Local gas supplier says 35 PPM is acceptable and has testified to that in court.
As far as I’m concerned anything above 0 PPM is too high and always remove vehicle from garage as soon as you start it and close the door when the vehicle is outside.

[Michael Larson]

Originally Posted by vmitchinson

Did a condo inspection with attached garage last week. Found 2 PPM CO in the furnace room. Reset the meter to 0 and activated the furnace. Meter stayed at 0 PPM. Activated the Water heater while the furnace was running and checked for back drafting of the Water Heater vent. Again reading stayed at 0 PPM. So what to report.
The condo was vacant. Where was the CO coming from?
Possible sources;
1. The attached garage.
2. The neighbour’s attached garage.
Reported that CMHC accepts 2 PPM as normal, Info that came with my meter says 9 PPM is acceptable and Local gas supplier says 35 PPM is acceptable and has testified to that in court.
As far as I’m concerned anything above 0 PPM is too high and always remove vehicle from garage as soon as you start it and close the door when the vehicle is outside.

Did you calibrate the CO meter with "zero" gas or at least in an outdoor area away from traffic to establish a zero point?

2 PPM is very small but without knowing the true zero point of your instrument it may be meaningless.

[John Allingham]

Originally Posted by mgratton

http://qwik.com/qwik-detector.jsp

Thanks Marcel.