Oil Line Sizing

Greg Maxwell

I need to size an oil line for 2 Riello 40F10 burners with a single pipe system. Each burner will have its own Garber fuel filter, and the tank is approx 20' away. I am thinking 1/2", but want another opinion.

icesailor

Oil line sizing:

Use three Garbers. One at the tank and one each at the burners. Run two lines back to the tank. It will help equalize the suction and help stop the burners from trying to rob each other.

Myself, personally, I would use two at the tank. One for each line. That way, there should be NO sucking off the other burner because the tank will have positive head pressure and the individual lines can have negative pressure.

It's a harder sell for the last filter there's no such thing as too much filtration.

IMO.

3/8" OD would be MY choice. Covered of course.

meplumber

Tiger Loop Ultra.

1/2" Line from the tanks to the burner.  Piped, per Maine Fuel Board Laws and Rules, with a single filter at the end of the tank manifold.   Take the 1/2" all the way to the Tiger Loop Ultra, then 2-Pipe from the Tiger Loop to the burner.  I do this with most of my Riello's. Solves a lot of the oil problems that we have been having in the last few years.

icesailor

Oil line sizing:

How can you do that? Last time I read, you could only use one tigerloop on each burner. He has two burners.

You shouldn't use a Tigerloop where you don't need one. If it is gravity flow, why would you use one?

My suggestion on two separate lines with filters was to have equal positive pressure at the tank by the burners. I have done them with one line to the burners and split them off and they would them try to suck off each other. If one was running, the other would often lock out. My solution at the time was to move the tee off back a few feet, tee the line off by running the line from the tank into the branch of the tee, and making the lines to the two burners exactly equal. It didn't ever do it again.

billtwocase

either

two 3/8" lines or a 1/2", common filter at the tank should do it. One 3/8 might work OK, but why chance it

meplumber

One Tiger Loop at each Burner.

I have had problems with multiple draws off a common tank line with the larger Riello's.  Maybe the oil up here is just worse.  Started doing this a while back and some of my problems went away.  Also, just as a practice, we no longer run 3/8" from the tank to the burner, unless it is a really short run.  Like less than 10'.  The oil is just too crappy these days.

icesailor

Oil line sizing

Disbelieve this if you wish. A spin-on at the tank will eliminate this problem.

I've had lines that were sludging up regularly. I would disconnect them and put one end in a bucket and blow the other end with compressed air. So I know what came out. When I started using spin-ons at the tank, I've blown them again just to see. There was no appreciable amount of anything. When I look down the side of the second spin on, it is barely dirty. If the second filter is getting dirty because the first is inferior, what the "*"?

They use multiple Raycor 2 microns on diesel generators. If you are going to use those "other" filters, you might as well put a roll of toilet paper in a coffee can, connect the oil lines to the can and use that. The Pleistocene era ended millions of years ago.

EddieG

Is

Is it going to be a gravity or overhead line? If overhead, don't over size the line. Bigger is not always better. You can issues with getting the air out of the line. Which can be handled with a hand pump, but who wants to deal with that if they run out. I have a 3/8 overhead line that runs 30ft and supplies 2 Riello burners with tigerloops at my own home, with no problems. I agree with Icesailor, more filters the better. We install a empty filter canister (sludge pot) at the tank, followed by a spin on, and a spin on at the burner. No oil issues since we started doing it this way. Clean oil is the key.