OIL burner HELP???

[mypov]

Hello,
Hate to lean on you guys like this, but I have a question about a diesel burning furnace, Beckett furnace heating a mobile home. There is a story that goes with this, please bear with me:

About a year ago I emptied my oil tank into smaller 45 gallon drums. I got these drums from an acquittance of mine, and inquired about some liquid I noticed in the bottom of these drums = the acquaintance promptly stated that these drums will be fine, there is only oil in the bottoms and your furnace will like a little bit of oil, good for the pump he said...

After pumping all the oil, and other unknown liquid, back into the furnace and changed the filter, I bled the line - right away I noticed that the diesel was very dark, and contained some strange colored liquid that was not mixing with the diesel. I bled the line until I thought the water/unknown liquid was gone (as I thought it was at the bottom of the tank), and the diesel appeared clear in color.

We used the furnace like this for a few months and noticed that the furnace frame was getting hotter than normal. I had some Oil burner mechanics inspect the furnace and service it - they apparently adjusted the ignighters, and install a new nozzle...We continued using the furnace as is, thinking the problems were addressed...the mechanics looked down the chimney, and said it should be okay, keep using it. The furnace continued to get hot, and while I was out of town my wife called me in a panic saying the furnace was burning overly hot, and spitting out black smoke out of the chimney. She said it was making loud noises and filling the house with smoke.

NEW DEVELOPMENT>>>

Today, I changed the nozzle again as I thought that the contaminated fuel couldn't have been good for the running issue. While the nozzle was out I noticed that the ignition points were not set up correctly and I did my best to make the necessary adjustments 1/16" in front of nozzle, 5/16" above center of nozzle, and 7/32nd's apart. Don't have feeler gauge, but got as close as I could.
Brought new diesel into equation and omitted the filter (hooked a line into a jerrycan of diesel after filter right into furnace) - crazy running problem now. Almost sounds like a car misfire - it makes popping sounds, and puffs of smoke come into the house. Next thing I was thinking about doing was changing the ignition module? I don't really know what to do?

One more thing worth mentioning, I had the entire guts out and looked into the fire box (I think) I noticed that there appeared to be almost like an insulated liner with ports, but there also seemed to be cracks in the insulation and I am wondering if this is causing the running problem?

Sorry about the novel
Thank you for any advice....

 

[phbsales]

It sounds like your heat exchanger might be sooted up. This could be caused by several things like improper adjustment of the electrodes (intermittent flame failure), improper adjustment of the fuel-to-air mix on the burner (running too lean or rich), or something foreign in the fuel.

The insulation you are describing in the heat exchanger is called a refractory, or "wet pack". It isn't uncommon for cracks to develop here, but is indicative of a possible over-firing of the burner.

It is difficult to try to diagnose what the actual problem might be, without actually observing the system through it's heating cycle.

Best bet is to clean the soot (if needed), install a new oil filter and nozzle, and set up the gaps on the electrodes again. I would go 1/8" above, 1/8'' in front of the centerline of the nozzle, and 7/16" apart.

If this doesn't improve the operation of the system, call the oil burner mechanics.

Best of luck to you!

 

[mypov]

Stupid question, but where am I cleaning the soot? I noticed the chimney appears to have black soot on it - should I also clean the soot out of the fire box? I can't get the furnace to complete a full burn cycle, as soon as it gets any fuel (as in when I close the bleeder screw) it starts to pop and fart (very rapidly) letting smoke into the house. I did some googling and came back with puff backs - but from the google reasearch it sounds like a puff back is more of a major event of unburned fuel exploding, or causing major damage. I don't think that is what is happening, there just seems to be a burning issue. I am wondering if replacing the entire ignition module would be of any benefit?

Thank you for your response PHBSALES...

 

[wolftrucking]

Ill give you some advice but you do this at your own risk I will not be responsiable if anything goes wrong, you wreck somthing, blow up your house, or if you or anybody gets hurt or killed. You assume the responsability.

I bought an oil fired boiler student manual published by Sid Harvey Co. and a Beckett T guage at a local supply house I dropped abbout twenty bucks a few years ago. The book will walk you through everything from Identifying the burner, diagnostics to a complete tear down its easy to follow and no need for a degree in quantum engeneering to understand If you have the time, guts, and tools. It dose get a little high tech when covering electronic controlls you will need specific expensive tools for this anyway. I ve torn down a couple burners since I bought it and it has paid for itself a several times over. You may need to call a heating guy to "dial it in" so it burns properly. a couple hints.... dont go with the cheapest guy and make sure he is experianced with oil burners.

If you ran contaminated fuel you could have blockages anywhere from your tank to nozle. Change out the tank filter, unhook both ends and blow out your line or better yet, replace it, that ends your tank to furnace problem. Make sure you have clean RED fuel coming out of the tank if not have the tank flushed or replaced. oil burners only like #2 home heating oil.

Completely tear down or have the burner torn down, Parts can be purchased and you may be able to find a kit with the pump filter, J Tube, and nozle Every part MUST be spotless or your wasting your time brake cleaner or laquer thinner works best you dont want residue and thost blue lint free shop towles on a roll NO LINT. Replace the pump filter screen, J tube, And make sure the fuel line inside the burner is spotless. New Nozle. Use OLNY CLEAN Fuel oil as assymebly lube. Clean and guage the tips and be carefull putting it together its easy to knock them out of adjustment. if you have carbon or soot on any parts clean it before putting it back together. You might need to have a heating tech dial in in so it burns right, and make sure your heat exchanger, flue, and chimney are intact and clean as part of the service call.



good luck

 

[phbsales]

Stupid question, but where am I cleaning the soot? I noticed the chimney appears to have black soot on it - should I also clean the soot out of the fire box? I can't get the furnace to complete a full burn cycle, as soon as it gets any fuel (as in when I close the bleeder screw) it starts to pop and fart (very rapidly) letting smoke into the house. I did some googling and came back with puff backs - but from the google reasearch it sounds like a puff back is more of a major event of unburned fuel exploding, or causing major damage. I don't think that is what is happening, there just seems to be a burning issue. I am wondering if replacing the entire ignition module would be of any benefit?

Thank you for your response PHBSALES...

If the chimney appears to have soot in it, theres a really good chance the heat exchanger is plugged up. The sound you are experiencing and the puff back effect tells me that the furnace isn't venting properly.

Wolftrucking gave some excellent advice as far as the actual clean-up of the furnace and having an oil burner mechanic come in and "dial it in" with a combustion analyzer.

 

[mypov]

Thank you guys very much! You will be happy to know the running problem has been solved for the moment - and me, the house, and everyone else are fine for the time being...I inspected the nozzle, pump, chimney (again), changed the filter, and re adjusted the ignition tips, bled the line for a longer time this run around and... The furnace runs smooth, without popping or inconsistent burning...I think I will pick up one of those books so I can tackle the cleaning and tearing down of the unit - I have some experience with the electrical end as I was an electrical apprentice for a little over a year, and have some good mechanical abilities, but my knowledge of these burners is very basic...I do need to clean the machine as I'm sure it needs a good cleaning, and after all that I will call in the pro's to do the fine tuning...BUT! We know it runs, and that was the initial step I wanted to figure out, so check another one off for this wonderful forum and the quality people we have on here!

Thanks again.

 

[wolftrucking]

One more thing remember KISS keep it simple stupid I tend to look at the major issues like electronics first then after getting frustrated I realize somthing minor like a nozle. By now you realized they are simple animals if you worked as an electrician app., you wont need to invest in too many tools.

You just reminded me I better do the P.M. on my furnace and water heater.

VERRY Important dirrections.
1 go to your tool box take out your favorite Cressent wrench
2 approach person who told you to ran the crud thruogh your burner
and whack him in the head not too hard, just hard enough to educate him
3 have a cold beer or soda if you dont drink.