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oil heater air fuel ratio question

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paulmars

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On my oil heater adjusting the air band and shutter I see the flame getting larger and larger as i decrease the air. Set to the smallest air intake the flame is the largest. I never see smoke.

I did a complete tune up last season and noticed this condition, then and again this season.

plz look at these videos of my flame and comment:

Imgur

and

Imgur

these are both at the same A/F ratio.

Your thoughts?

thanks,
paul
 
While I appreciate your desire to learn a bit more about your burner I must strongly emphasise that “Playing” with these burners (a term I use for people not professionally trained) can be as dangerous as any gas burner or installation. BeckettCorp or whatever the website you’re using is an American site and I will point out that (assuming you’re American) you use different grade oil to us and CO2 excess air etc all change with fuel and calorific value, so readings we would expect on a particular burner our side of the pond will vary with yours. Fiddling with air affects CO2, CO and efficiency, at the least you’ll end up creating a sooter, affecting efficiency and resulting in a dirty cad cell over time, this will cause lock out problems and worst case scenario you’ll end up with a dangerous CO content. I suggest you call in a decent engineer who has plenty of experience rather than mess about with it yourself. I say this to help you, not to sound like an a***hole
 
over the years ive paid to have it serviced many time. they always set it way too lean, never checked the barometric damper (there is not even a hole for the probe) and there have been other issues. Im now doing all service on it myself. Ive cleaned it out, replaced filters, nozzles, etc. now Smoke test and flue draft ive set.
 
paulmars said:
over the years ive paid to have it serviced many time. they always set it way too lean, never checked the barometric damper (there is not even a hole for the probe) and there have been other issues. Im now doing all service on it myself. Ive cleaned it out, replaced filters, nozzles, etc. now Smoke test and flue draft ive set.
Click to expand...

Smoke test is only one indication of how well an oil burner is operating.
An analyser is needed to check and adjust the C02 and will also show the C0. Both of those are the most important readings.
Getting a fairly clean smoke reading is no proof of complete burning of the oil.
 
Nozzles, filters, pump pressures etc are all basic service replacements and adjusting. While I appreciate you want to save money on engineer costs etc pressure jet burners are not toys, it takes years to train to a level where we have an intimate understanding of the process. I’m not qualified on gas over here, therefore by law I’m not allowed to touch a gas burner, whether I understand them or not. Setting up these burners requires a flue gas analyser, a smoke pump is used to show how the fuel is burning, you could have a low smoke reading but CO2 and CO could still be out, hence the use of a FGA. Best I was mid typing this when you beat me to it ☹️
 
SJB060685 said:
Nozzles, filters, pump pressures etc are all basic service replacements and adjusting. While I appreciate you want to save money on engineer costs etc pressure jet burners are not toys, it takes years to train to a level where we have an intimate understanding of the process. I’m not qualified on gas over here, therefore by law I’m not allowed to touch a gas burner, whether I understand them or not. Setting up these burners requires a flue gas analyser, a smoke pump is used to show how the fuel is burning, you could have a low smoke reading but CO2 and CO could still be out, hence the use of a FGA. Best I was mid typing this when you beat me to it ☹️
Click to expand...

No probs. Great minds think alike. :)
I must admit many years ago when I began working on repairing and servicing oil boilers, I only had an oil pressure gauge. The flame was judged by eye. That was crazy looking back on it, although I learnt a lot in those days.
Then I progressed to the smoke pump and old fashioned Brigon wet and dry kit. Much better, but still not good enough.
The new analysers are so accurate and fast, I wouldn’t be without one now. Really shows some poorly burning boilers out there
 
You sound just like my old man when he was alive lol. He was old school, like you would look at a flame and decide if he was happy. Yes for those who know what to look for ie flame detachment, impingement, how far a flame travels in chamber, colour etc are all good indications to how it’s set up but you can’t get away with it these days and a decent FGA is a must. Anyone touching these things needs these as standard, plus the knowledge to go with it lol
 
America and Canada use number 2 heating oil commonly in domestic appliances apparently. Similar to our kerosene only with a higher flashpoint temperature, different sulphur content and slight more carbon atoms per molecule. I’ve only had a quick read though
 

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