Insulation stuffed in oil furnace

[Matt Fellman]

I can't say I always open this cover but for some reason I did today.... this can't be right. As best I can tell it's just white loose insulation and I have no idea what it's doing here.

The furnace is newer and has been regularly maintained by a large local heating company.

[Bob Harper]

Matt, it's probably ceramic fiber insulation. Whenever I see where a tech packed something that normally flows air, I think immediately of poor draft conditions. Look for the barometric damper. Is it missing? Sealed up? Are there soot tracks leading out of the chimney connector joints? Look for the service hang tag. Is there a history of more than annual service? What are the notes--changed nozzle sizes/ types? Changed air band settings? Pump pressure? This is where you really need to pull the pipe and inspect the chimney breeching for obstruction and the suitability of the flue. The flue may be intact but oversized, you may have negative pressure issues or a long, torturous connector run. This inspection port is usually used to read the overfire draft as part of combustion analysis.

Any more pics?
Bob

[Bob Harper]

Look at this barometric damper then the flue. This was my church parsonage. Now that it is relined, her headaches have gone away. Read the clues what the installation is tellling you.
HTH,
Bob

[John Arnold]

...a long, torturous connector run...

Bob - We don't torture. At least that's what I hear. Tortuous is probably the word you want, although I've been told by my wife not to use it in reports because no one will know what it means. I have used it to describe dryer vents that snake all over the place.
As I've said before: Sorry, I can't help it. Both my parents were English teachers.

[Matt Fellman]

Thanks for the info Bob... The damper was in place and functional. Everything else did seem to be okay and it was a relatively new installation. There were a lot of service receipts but they were on one of those twice a year plans that the big companies sell.

[wayne soper]

You see that alot with oil fired water heaters where there is actually supposed to be a firebrick plug behind that. The problem is the plugs are fragile and when you drop them on the floor when they are hot during a service they may break at which point the tech throws it in his bag and restuffs the whole with the fireproof insulation. Or they may get shoved right into the fire chamber. And everything was fine until the dambed home inspector screwed it all up as usual.