Working on oil boilers

[StillLearnin]

Hi,

Been working on gas for a while now (yes, I'm registered!), but looking to also do oil and recently went on a worcester course which was a nice start. First question then; gas boilers have a data plate, where do you find out the relevant info such as gaps needed on the ignition, etc on an oil boiler?... please don't say the manual as these are never around!


Thanks

 

[dontknowitall]

You'll find many oil boiler manuals on the internet. When I started I printed out one of the Worcester boiler manuals and used that for reference. (Occasionally I still find it useful if I'm caught out.) If you ask for the make and model of the boiler before you visit this helps too. After you've done 4-5 boilers you'll know what to expect.

Main difficulties I found were not having the right nozzle and the flexi oil lines drove me mad. With the oil lines I now have one or two male to male fittings to fit into the pump so if I haven't the correct male end on a flexi I can use a female one.

 

[StillLearnin]

Thought that might be the answer.... thanks. Guess the gaps and co2 won't differ that much between burners? Worcester gave me some nice manuals to start wirth including fault find charts which I think will apply to most machines.

 

[dontknowitall]

Gaps tend not to vary much. Usually 4mm apart and 2mm to 2.5mm away from the front of the nozzle. If it's mentioned the front of the nozzle is usually 10mm in front of the blast tube fins. Rough guide only as different models can vary. CO2 is usually between 11.0% and 12.0%. O2 5.5-6.0%. CO less than 200ppm (but I much prefer to keep it under 50ppm even if it does mean losing a little efficiency.)

If you can find the info then you can conduct a better service and make the boiler more efficient.

I'm not hugely experienced and I suspect that other oil people have their rules they like to stick by and won't agree with mine 100%, so if someone wants to disagree with my points, please shout so I can learn more!!

 

[kimbo]

If you ring the boiler manufacturers they will happily send you their manuals foc, also search their websites. When you go to a boiler for the first time have a look inside the casing a lot of engineers write the settings down in pen somewhere or they may leave a card with the details on. You dont usually need to alter the electrode settings unless there is a problem with ignition. If the boiler has a riello burner a phone call to riello with the code number of the burner will give you the settings.Older boilers will need a CO2 of about 9.5/10%.

 

[aceservicing]

Main big problem wrong nozzle , but remember if your smart enough you can calculate fuel pressure for the closest nozzle you have , remember a 3.00 / 45 at a 100psi is 3gal p/h 45 deg

 

[aceservicing]

Spray pattern . When you go out to larger oil boilers 2.25gal upwards and have loud start up replace nozzle for s type solid spay this will aid firing , been to 4 this week running eh hollow pattern near electrodes explosive ignition while it searches for mix . Remember 100psi all nozzle ratings at this benchmark. A 3.00 gal nozzle @ 100psi is 3.00gal @ 120psi is 3.29 @ 175psi is 3.97 and 300psi is 5.20 get my drift

 

[aceservicing]

Best target is max flue temp and co2 the rest will fall in place . Try recording what you find b4 working on the boiler , then after and sometimes you get a huge grin and wonder who had been there before .

 

[aceservicing]

Remember always be the best , then they got to pay you for it.

 

[Dotty]

Hiya Stilllearning.

Have a squint at this thred, should give you some useful pointers.

http://www.ukplumbersforums.co.uk/plumbing-tools/18376-tools-required-oil-boiler-servicing.html

 

[WHPES]

High CO readings particularly with old boilers was the thing which troubled me soon after I started up, however if you struggle to get the Carbon Monoxide down you can increase the pump pressure a little and adjust the air settings to get your CO2 readings correct.

Remember high CO is due to incomplete combustion and may have 3 causes - too little air supplied for combustion, too much air, which starts to have the effect of blowing the flame out, and poor spray with too large droplets.

Where you come to a boiler with lots of soot evident, check the flue before you do anything else. I regularly find blockages especially with conventional flues. Often the customer needs to get a chimney sweep out before you can do anything. Boiler flues are often neglected when it comes to routine maintenance and sweeping.