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Heating oil additives

Bob_41
Bob_41 Member Posts: 28
in THE MAIN WALL
I used Bell's Atom-IX 950 for years at my old home. Never any problems and when we had the tank decommissioned it looked to be in almost pristine condition (~24yrs old).

Bob

Comments

  • Don_186
    Don_186 Member Posts: 7
    Heating oil additives

    I know there are many heating oil additives out there, Amsoil even makes one. Do these additives actually make the system run more efficiently and burn less oil? Do they pay for themselves?

    How beneficial is keeping the nozzle cleaner when it gets replaced during the annual cleaning anyway?
  • Ragu_5
    Ragu_5 Member Posts: 315
    What I've seen...

    Over time in the systems that have been treated: fewer nuisance calls for plugged nozzles, cleaner oil filters and drawer assemblies, less nastiness in the soot of older units.

    It seems to me that about 5 years ago in one of the trade magazines, there was an article regarding the lowering of the standards for the refining of fuel oil; the basic gist was to treat the oil on the annual maintenance cleaning/tuneup.

    I have had good luck with STR II from Sid Harvey.

    I would love a comment from a petroleum professional!

    To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"
  • Don_186
    Don_186 Member Posts: 7
    Heating oil additives

    And I was not talking about additives that treat sludge in an old oil tank.
  • chapchap70_2
    chapchap70_2 Member Posts: 147


    The benefits of the additives are not necessarily for saving a bundle of cash because of increased efficiency and not having to change nozzles. I worked for a company that used ultraguard and the bosses said it cut the oil related service calls in half. More boilers/furnaces made it through the year with no calls because of clogged oil lines, plugged nozzles, filters, frozen lines, etc.

    In short, untreated oil causes more headaches for the homeowner and the oil company, unless of course there is no contract for burner service. In that case, the oil company charges for the calls that may have been preventable. Of course, the additives are not free but I think a few cents per gallon is worth it to prevent the nuissance of "no heat" because of untreated oil.
  • Ken_40
    Ken_40 Member Posts: 1,310
    Many oil companies offer

    A "premium" oil that has an additive. One such product called "ThermOil" was tested by yours truly and found to be very beneficial to only one person, the oil company profit marging. For an added 2-3 cents per gallon the catalyst (as it was alleged to be) did not reduce soot build up, keep nozzle cleaner, or improve combustion efficiency in any measurable way.

    I have heard a product called "4 in one" made by HTTP (or something similar) made fuel more "stable" and would allow longer periods beyween cleanings, but never used it myself.

    I suspect the diesel fleet owners (UPS, Roadway, Hunt, NEMF, etc) would have some info as should the APA, but damned if I can find it. Then too, diesel engines and boilers have identical fuels, but totally different purposes.

    Or is it that different?
  • Dave_4
    Dave_4 Member Posts: 1,404
    Additives

    www.fuelright.com
  • mtfallsmikey
    mtfallsmikey Member Posts: 765
    I have used

    Penray diesel fuel conditioner for many years in mine and other "problem children" situations. Works great.
  • Dan Goodridge
    Dan Goodridge Member Posts: 62
    additives

    We use Avalux- a fuel oil additive developed by Mobil. It reduces sludge, stabilizes fuel, cleans nozzles and prevents corrosion. After a year, we are getting red oil @ the b4 filters. I have attached a link ( i think ) to Fuel Oil News directory of additives

    http://www.fueloilnews.com/uploads/features/2006/0608_feature3.pdf
This discussion has been closed.

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