Oil Burner Questions

[Bull]

I've been pretty undisciplined about servicing my oil furnace; I need to get better about it.

Yesterday, we ran out of hot water. So, I decided that I better start doing the things that I know need to be done.

I drained off a couple gallons of rust/black water from the drain valve. I knew the oil filter needed to be replaced, but wasn't setup to do that yesterday. I pressed the manual start switch on the oil burner and things seemed fine; we had hot water again.

This morning, we were out of hot water. I just replaced the filter and cleaned the filter bowl. It sure was black. I opened the bleed screw on top of the filter housing while the unit was running to see if there were any air bubbles. Their weren't. Is there other bleeding that I need to do?

So far, the furnace has come on a few times, run for a few minutes, then shut off. Is this what it should be doing, or should it be running continuously since it should "know" that the water is not hot?

I still need to replace the nozzle and the ignitors, and clean the soot from the heat exchanger. But these things can't happen today.

 

[willhollin]

Try bleeding the oil pump.

It could have stopped due to a part failure though.

What burner is it?

 

[luvit]

bull, i when i had an oil furnace, i was bad about running out of fuel before i would fill-up. (i hauled my own fuel).
i had to not only bleed the filter near the tanks, but i also had to bleed/prime just inside the furnace's access door.
i may not be using the right oil furnace terminology, but there were times when i just wasn't bleeding enough and had poor consistency.
My fuel line was bout 9ft.. I learned to bleed about 2 full cups on the furnace-siide, which may be overkill, but i had 100% success each time after that. -- Do you allow the fuel to run-out between fill-ups?
.

 

[jayoldschool]

I, too, could use some maintenance advice. I don't let mine run out, but I haven't done anything since I moved in five years ago. It's a Beckett burner. There is an automotive type oil filter on the oil line coming from my tank. The only problem I have ever had was a little water drip from the back of the unit where there is a hose connection (assuming that is a a drain, it's at the bottom). Fixed by simply tightening the handle.



If someone wants to post a list of "must do", "should do" and "think about doing", I would really appreciate it.

 

[philjafo]

I'm an HVAC tech and started with a company that did a lot of oil furnace and boiler services, the easiest way to ensure good dependable operation all season is to get it serviced every year, and talk to your tech go down there with him and ask question. If he is good at his job he will ask you to come with and talk to you about what he is doing and why. He should be cleaning soot from the heat exchanger and vent pipe, change the filter and nozzle, clean the burner assembly, clean and adjust igniter points, clean the fire eye, check the ignition transformer, check and oil all motors that need oil, bleed air from the fuel lines, hook up a combustion analyzer and make fine adjustments to get the best air fuel mix. Then if there are symptoms of poor combustion or failing to light or stay lit there are so many things that could all cause the same symptoms, and oil furnaces can sometimes be real fussy. I suggest you find a good HVAC company and pay them for all their knowledge and experience. Oh and we also check for cracks in the heat exchanger and carbon monoxide in the house, and all this stuff should be done every year, I might have missed something here but there is a lot of work to an annual service for oil burning equipment.

 

[Jackfre]

"Not keeping up with maintenance" on an oil burner is costing you money. At $4 or so per gallon a poorly running system puts you upside down right away. Do you have a boiler with a tankless coil, a boiler with an indirect tank or an oil fired tank water heater? Your air purge is the little ****** at the lower rt portion of the oil pump. Likely, it is not an air problem but a dirty cad cell. Philjafo's advice is correct. You need a "full service" on this equipment. Doing less than that will only cost you more money.

I would suggest that you look into a gas conversion. Does National Grid have service in your area? If so they have some good programs for conversion. Propane would be a much better option than #2. Your local Propane gas assoc has programs for conversion as well. Get out of oil!

 

[D.J.]

Apperantly Jackfre has no idea that the east coast is the largest consumer of fuel oil in the United States, hence why the Texas Eastern pipeline was built years ago. I would run the system as long as the heat exchanger isn't cracked and do the maintenance on it.

 

[Jackfre]

While I currently live in CA, I spent the previous 25 years living in Massachusetts as a manuf representative in the HVAC and P&H industry. I grew up with oil heat. As well, I was on the NFPA-31 Oil Installation Code Committee for 15 years. I thoroughly understand the fuel oil business. Residential oil accounts are dropping rapidly due to the poor economics of oil heating. With gas prices falling and the worldwide demand for oil increasing, oil is, unfortunately, no longer a good option. Given the great number of people I know in the business directly and the affect this has on them, I take no joy in saying it, but the numbers don't lie.

Prior to putting any significant $ into an oil fired appliance, I would examine the options. Among the best options are gas and mini-split heat pumps. I had many customers across New England who would do mshp's in addition to their oil system, if the oil system was in good repair. They would run the mshp down to 15-20* and then turn on the oil. If the oil equipment is in good condition this may be an option. You gain dehu, which you definitely need, cooling and an alternate and more economical heat source. I have a friend whose house overlooks Lake Champlain just south of Burlington VT who runs the mshp/oil radiant combo and is saving 60-70% over straight oil.

 

[bglad]

How would a mshp work in a garage with a lot of dust etc. Would it require a lot of cleaning?

 

[Jackfre]

How would a mshp work in a garage with a lot of dust etc. Would it require a lot of cleaning?

The achilles heel. Yes, it would require a lot of cleaning. If you look at how fine the fin spacing is on the evaporator you will seethat you do not want to be packing it full of dust. A good quality shop vac and a thin compressed air tube, being careful not to damage the coil, to get behind the coil would be best.

 

[willhollin]

Is the US not running bio fuel yet for home heating?

 

[philjafo]

The achilles heel. Yes, it would require a lot of cleaning. If you look at how fine the fin spacing is on the evaporator you will seethat you do not want to be packing it full of dust. A good quality shop vac and a thin compressed air tube, being careful not to damage the coil, to get behind the coil would be best.

If you use compressed air be sure to use a regulator to turn the pressure WAY down the fins on the coil are very easy to bend. There is a foaming coil cleaner that is much safer, just spray it on and run the unit the condensation will rinse it clean.

 

[ratdoggy]

Sometimes the fuel line from the tank gets blocked with sediment. I had to blow the line out once.