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[SperleFarms]

My wife and I purchased a Central Boiler E-Classic 2400 last April.  It was professionally installed by a certified Central Boiler dealer.  I took a few vacation days away from work to “oversee” everything, and help out with whatever I could.  Our E-Classic ties into two forced air furnaces as well as our hot water heater, all of which previously used natural gas.  The dealer and I added the correct amount of Corrosion Inhibitor Plus to the boiler, and then immediately filled the system with softened water.  My initial water test was excellent (pH - 9.0 / nitrite - 25 drops).  I re-tested the water again at 30 and 90 day with the same results (pH - 9.0 / nitrite - 25 drops).  I fired up our boiler on Tuesday for the first time.  Prior to doing so I again tested our water.  Our pH level was still at 9.0, but to my surprise and shock our nitrite level was 2 drops by nitrite!  I thought I must have done something wrong so I retested, again 2 drops by nitrite!  Now I was a little freaked.  I went in the house and re-read all of the water testing directions.  I even washed the test tube with a mild dish soap thinking there could have been a carryover of chemicals from previous testing.  After rinsing the test tube I again re-tested the water, and again the result was 2 drops by nitrite.  This being said my water is crystal clear, showing no signs of rust or corrosion.  We haven’t added any water since the initial fill, nor has the system lost any.

We’ve called our dealer who is apparently out of town for a few days.  We’re expecting his call sometime early next week.  We’re hoping our test chemicals have gone bad and a new test kit will solve all our problems.  Any ideas out there?

[Roger2561]

My wife and I purchased a Central Boiler E-Classic 2400 last April.  It was professionally installed by a certified Central Boiler dealer.  I took a few vacation days away from work to “oversee” everything, and help out with whatever I could.  Our E-Classic ties into two forced air furnaces as well as our hot water heater, all of which previously used natural gas.  The dealer and I added the correct amount of Corrosion Inhibitor Plus to the boiler, and then immediately filled the system with softened water.  My initial water test was excellent (pH - 9.0 / nitrite - 25 drops).  I re-tested the water again at 30 and 90 day with the same results (pH - 9.0 / nitrite - 25 drops).  I fired up our boiler on Tuesday for the first time.  Prior to doing so I again tested our water.  Our pH level was still at 9.0, but to my surprise and shock our nitrite level was 2 drops by nitrite!  I thought I must have done something wrong so I retested, again 2 drops by nitrite!  Now I was a little freaked.  I went in the house and re-read all of the water testing directions.  I even washed the test tube with a mild dish soap thinking there could have been a carryover of chemicals from previous testing.  After rinsing the test tube I again re-tested the water, and again the result was 2 drops by nitrite.  This being said my water is crystal clear, showing no signs of rust or corrosion.  We haven’t added any water since the initial fill, nor has the system lost any.

We’ve called our dealer who is apparently out of town for a few days.  We’re expecting his call sometime early next week.  We’re hoping our test chemicals have gone bad and a new test kit will solve all our problems.  Any ideas out there?

Try the new kit before doing anything else.  The chemicals or test strips may have out lived themselves. 

[muffin]

I too would wait on the new kit.  Did you keep it outside?  My dealer told me to keep it inside controlled because they do go bad in weather rapidly.

[Roger2561]

Good point, Muffin.  I should have thought of that.

[SperleFarms]

I too would wait on the new kit.  Did you keep it outside?  My dealer told me to keep it inside controlled because they do go bad in weather rapidly.

I’ve kept everything in the house since the boiler was installed.  I did notice that at the time of delivery the owner’s manual and test kit were inside the firebox.  Per the date on the nameplate located on the side of the boiler the unit was a little over a year old by the time I took ownership.  I’m assuming the owner’s manual and test kit had been in the firebox ever since the boiler shipped from the factory…

[HandyMark]

My dealer stocks the individual chemicals so you may not have to buy a whole kit. Also my dealer will test my sample for free so I could see if my chemicals were bad. It would be worth a call if your dealer is local.

[Scott7m]

This stuff is why I got my own testing gear for my customers.  You have to have some constants to alwyas check your equipment against.  before each test I recalibrate everything to make sure it's dead on, I posted a testing offer in the for sale section if anyone is interested.

[SperleFarms]

My wife and I purchased a Central Boiler E-Classic 2400 last April.  It was professionally installed by a certified Central Boiler dealer.  I took a few vacation days away from work to “oversee” everything, and help out with whatever I could.  Our E-Classic ties into two forced air furnaces as well as our hot water heater, all of which previously used natural gas.  The dealer and I added the correct amount of Corrosion Inhibitor Plus to the boiler, and then immediately filled the system with softened water.  My initial water test was excellent (pH - 9.0 / nitrite - 25 drops).  I re-tested the water again at 30 and 90 day with the same results (pH - 9.0 / nitrite - 25 drops).  I fired up our boiler on Tuesday for the first time.  Prior to doing so I again tested our water.  Our pH level was still at 9.0, but to my surprise and shock our nitrite level was 2 drops by nitrite!  I thought I must have done something wrong so I retested, again 2 drops by nitrite!  Now I was a little freaked.  I went in the house and re-read all of the water testing directions.  I even washed the test tube with a mild dish soap thinking there could have been a carryover of chemicals from previous testing.  After rinsing the test tube I again re-tested the water, and again the result was 2 drops by nitrite.  This being said my water is crystal clear, showing no signs of rust or corrosion.  We haven’t added any water since the initial fill, nor has the system lost any.

We’ve called our dealer who is apparently out of town for a few days.  We’re expecting his call sometime early next week.  We’re hoping our test chemicals have gone bad and a new test kit will solve all our problems.  Any ideas out there?

My dealer brought out a new test kit on Saturday (10/27).  We both re-tested the water and we’re still at 2-3 drops by nitrite, WTF is going on!  My water has now turned a very light brown, almost like ginger ale.  My dealer is absolutely beside himself, never seeing anything like this in his 14 years as a Central Boiler dealer.  The way I see it I have two options.  Flush and re-fill the furnace now (I would need to completely shut down, as I’ve been burning since 10/2), or add enough Corrosion Inhibitor Plus to get my water back where it needs to be, and then flush and re-fill the furnace in the spring.  Any thoughts/advice?   

[boilerman]

If the water is yellowing that is not a good sign. If properly treated, water should stay clear like drinking water. Even after years of use.
I have done many water tests on my CB furnaces and it has never changed like that. If the permanganate (purple stuff) goes bad, it takes extra drops to hold color not less.
Bad timing, but I wouldn't want rust in my new boiler. I would shut down, drain, flush and refill. I'd put the 2 jugs of corrosion inhibitor into it while filling with water myself.

[SperleFarms]

NITRITE LEVEL UPDATE - 1/16/13

Per my Central Boiler Dealer and Central Boiler Corporate, water samples (Well/Hot Water Heater/OWB) were taken and shipped over night to Central Boiler.  The boiler was then immediately (11/2/12) drained, filled, and flushed – TWICE!  The system was then refilled with soft water and Corrosion Inhibitor Plus.  Levels immediately returned to normal ranges, and have continued to stay there.

Central Boiler has since gotten back to me with my water test results.  Their telling me that my water (out of the well) is excessively hard, with very high levels of iron.  I find this very hard to believe, as we have no other signs of hard water/iron in our day to day lives.  I’ve been in homes with iron problems.  You can smell it when you turn on the faucet; you see the stains in sinks/toilets.  We’ve never seen any of these things in our home.  Anyway, their telling me that my excessively hard/iron filled water eventually overtook the Corrosion Inhibitor Plus and started to corrode inside the furnace.  I find this all a little much, and have sent water samples to the Wisconsin State Lab for my own “independent” test.

At the current time all is well, we LOVE our boiler, and look forward to more cold weather!