Annual Maintenance routine

John@Reliable_13

change filter but I don't fill it. Now I open @ tank, prime pump which will also flush oil line thru strainer, once clear I now pull strainer and clean/replace, next is to clean the inside & outside of nozzle adapter. I feel that the above will help keep the new nozzle clean.

Norm Harvey

I just wrote this up for someone and I though I could post it here fur the oil burner guys to kick around.

Its my usuall maintenance routine for the oil burner part of an annual maintenance for a heating system. This one is for a Beckett or Carlin, but later I think Ill write one up for a Riello.

My main reason for posting this is so that the rest of you can rip it apart and tell me if theres anything I could do better, or if theres anything in there that is just wrong in your opinion.

I didnt include inspection of the oil tank, flue cleaning, control checks, combustion testing etc,.. this is just burner related





Norm's Beckett/Carlin Burner Maintenance Routine


When I arrive at the call after greeting the home owner, and inquiring about their systems performance since the last maintenance and finding out if they have any questions or concerns I go to the heating system.



First thing I do as I approach the system is a visual interpretation of what I see. Is there loose soot anywhere? Is there dryer lint or pet hair in the area? Or anything else that may catch my eye as unusual.



Assuming the HO has no concerns, I shut off the power to the unit. (If the HO did have concerns investigating those is my first priority)



After checking the vacuum gauge and noting the vacuum, I replace the tank filter. (if gravity feed tank I visually inspect the flow coming out of the tank into my bucket while I have the valve manually open. I’m checking to see if the tank outlet is clogged at all)



I replace the burner filter, and fuel pump strainer.



I flip open the igniter, apply a psi gauge to the jet line from the pump, remove the nozzle assembly and visually inspect down the blast tube to see the condition of the end cone, and check for any debris in the combustion chamber that may be impeding combustion. Then I clean the end cone, and if debris needs to be removed from the chamber, I make a mental note to bring in the required tools on my next trip from the van.



I clean the nozzle assembly, clean and remove the electrodes completely and inspect the porcelains for cracks. I then reset the electrodes according to the manufacturers gauge.



I then prime the air from the pump and filters I changed while visually checking the igniters strength across the terminals. Once the prime is complete I shut the prime port and then read the pressure on my gauge. I note the pressure and adjust the pressure regulator making sure that adjustments to the regulator yield appropriate changes in the pressure on my gauge. I then turn of power again and observe the pressure that the gauge falls to. I expect to see the pump drop 40% from its operating pressure and hold there. If it drops more than 40% I suspect the cut off is leaking by. In that case I will leave the gauge on the line while I perform other operations to check again later for more pressure drop.



I then check the igniter with my Ohm meter. Each terminals ohms to the ground screw will be different, but I wan the ohms resistance to be within 100 of each terminal and to be within the specs for that manufacturer.



At this point I clean the burner fan with my brush, return the nozzle assembly to the blast tube, and secure the igniter.



I then remove the primary control to access the motor wire with I test its starting and running amperage and note the results. (a burner motor should draw no more than 3 times its running amperage on start up. Burner motors are usually in the area of 1.6 running amps, so if we round to 2 I should see roughly 6 amps on start up. & is fine,.. but if your getting to 9+ amps the motor will be a problem in the future)



I start the burner again after removing the cad cell eye leads and record the amount of time it takes to lock out on reset. It should be what the control is rated for. 15 seconds, 45 seconds etc,.. depending on the control. I apply my ohms meter to the cad cell leads with the burner off and I should see in excess of 1600 ohms. My meter at this point does not read ohms resistance that high and just displays an open circuit.



I install a 1500 ohm resistor on the cad cell terminals and fire the burner while checking the ohms resistance on the cad cell leads. If I see anything over 800 ohms I replace the cad cell eye and check again. Meanwhile the burner should not be locking out on reset even with the 1500 ohm resistor.



At this point I put everything back together and move on to the rest of the system, circulators, controls, flues, etc,…






To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Lurkin' Murkin'

Hey, you forgot to wipe your shoes!

How about the nozzle - do you change it, check that it is appropriate firing rate and spray angle, etc.?

I like to flush/wipe out the oil filter canister, while replacing the filter - it collects water and sludge at the bottom.

Other areas seem pretty thorough...

Norm Harvey

Thats a great idea!

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Norm Harvey

Yep, I certainly do both of thouse, forgot to write it in there though, Ill edit my copy.

Thanks!

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Darrell_2

How do you check the transformer either pot or solid state?

rucomfy

Blast Tube whats that ???? Perhaps you meant air tube Nice post.. Thanks .. good ideas here.

william_5

Cleaning

Norm
Looks like you have the Base's coved. Some Things to think about
(*) Rember you were the last one there. Should any thing go wrong. THE INS. CO. Will have your but in a sling reading the report from the fire dept they will send some one out to investergate he will pull the smoke pipe what did he find in the chimney base? was it emty, 1/2,5/8 full ? any time you remove the nozzle adj the air,or pump presser even cleaning the fan will change the fire The ins. co. Wants to know what # was the smoke what was the draft. on an a pump you can only get a true pump press reading from the pump portor the bleader port the nozzle port will only show you have a bad or leaking cut off.
William

D107

great stuff

Looking forward to the riello steps, though many are the same I’m sure. And then there’s natural gas. I think when you’re finally done, I hope Dan will put it in the Wall's hot tech topics or the library. I think these kind of documents raise the bar since it puts it out there for contractor and homeowner alike. I think it will also show that this is not an annual $40 30-minute ‘jiffy lube special’ but a good two hours of safety and efficiency maintenance.

Thanks,

David

lee_7

We call it a blast tube here also.

Elmo Firefly

The Long Island Way

Here's how five oil companies on Long Island have done the job over the years I've used them:

Only one, a huge outfit, did it right. All the others, including one that is often mentioned and contributes here on the Wall, did just this:

Come in, ask where the basement is.

Go to oil gun, open transformer, pull nozzle and replace the 1.25 gph nozzle I installed with 1.75 gph. Wipe electrode insulators with rag and look at gap.

The one Brooklyn company that didn't change the nozzle size put the old nozzle in a coffee can with Gum-out, shook it around and re-installed it.

Remove filter and spill oil on the basement floor.

Wipe out filter can with same rag. Replace with felt filter. Bleed pump into the rag and on the floor.

Look at fire. Rub spilled oil into the floor with the rag. Wipe the top of the boiler jacket with the rag. Go upstairs.

Say goodbye, hesitate for tip.

The owners of these companies have to know this routine as they schedule six "tune-ups" per day. Afterall, each year more and more customers convert to natural gas.

Frenchie

Wow!

You guys in Long Island have it made That would be the cadillac service here in Milwaukee area. If you can find someone at all willing to touch oil. If you mentioned checking anything with an ohmmeter they would look at you as if you just landed from another planet!!

ron23

just my opinion

I like to remove smoke pipe and clean the heat exchanger,then open fire the firebox clean it then remove my draw assembly....so im not brushing soot down on my new nozzle and electrodes,then change my filters,nozzle,and strainer....just my opinion

Norm Harvey

Good idea doing the flues first.

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Norm Harvey

I definately clean the chimney base, etc,.. this was a burner/fuel specific.


Thats the first Ive heard of a different pressure in the nozzle port. I'm going to put a gauge on both at the same time for the next few pumps and see if I see any differance.

I believe you, Im just curious to see what kind of differance.

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Norm Harvey

For solid state I do three tests.

1) I want to see the spark jump a 3/4 gap unassisted

2) I test each terminal to the ground screw with an ohm meter making sure they are within 10% or each other and under 100 ohms differance.

3) I set the terminals for a 1/2 inch gap. Wire my multimeter into the igniter circut with the meter set to miliamps (and disconnect the motor lead) I power the igniter and jump out the cad cell and observe operation for 5 minutes. If my meter drops below 300 miliamps, I replace the igniter.


I usually reserve test #3 for a service call type of scenario and just do tests #1 and #2 for an annual maintenance.

For the wire wound transformers I just fo test #1.

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

mike8

How about the draft regulator? It should be removed from the flue pipe and cleaned if necessary to make sure the door operates freely, reinstalled snuggly, and check for level both horizontally and vertically.

B. Tice

Tune-up

Your'e a good man Norm. Your customers are fortunate.

mtfallsmikey

My routine followed Ron's

Take out smokepipe, clean HX first then chamber. Nozzle/filter/xmfr/motor/pump checks last before starting.