High Vac Readings caused by BioFuel 20

D107

Just as a followup on my 'sporadic vac readings' thread, when we had the tuneup last week we found the 50micron tank filter all gunked up. tech reported a waxy buildup lately with alot of the tank filters. Company went from B5 Bio to B20 last year, and that appears to be the culprit. They also changed oil treatment from Avalux to HeatDoc (ODT-21) by Advanced Fuel Solutions specially made for biofuel, so it could be that too. Or it could be that the new treatment is better than the old and is gradually removing some sludge. That may not seem logical since up til now we've never seen sludge in the Roth tank filter or 10 micron burner garber spin.



When tank filter was replaced, vac went from 6 to 3.5 (burner running). When garber spin was replaced, vac decreased from 3.5 to 3.25. Right after filter replacement I watched vac gauge on burner startup. On prepurge vac went from 0 to 1, then gradually up to 3.5 once it fired. It's also very likely that the old suction assembly is pushing vac up one or two notches, but the real question this begs is should I switch to gas since the future effects of bio fuel is unknown? I don't think they'll go higher than B20 but who knows?



So it's the cost of new hard-piped suction assembly, the new Tiger Loop ultra-bio and for-now higher oil costs vs gas conversion of G115 (dual fuel) from Riello 40F3 to Riello 40 G120N and for-now lower natural gas costs. We would get a free gas line into our house via National Grid.

BobC

Could save a lot on fuel

I switched on 2012 because my tank had developed a slight weep and i knew my Burnham v75 boiler was not known for having a long life.The new boiler is roughly the same efficiency as the old and my fuel costs went down by almost 45%.



The cost of natiural gas is not going to stay as low as it is now but oil will get more expensive too; the demand for both is just too great for prices to drop. If you can get the line into the house for zero cost I'd do it in a heartbeat.



If you put a conversion burner in your present boiler make sure they do a thorough job of cleaning the boiler and chimney before and after the first heating season. They will also have to line the chimney in most cases.



Bob

icesailor

Fuel suction:

That vacuum difference is about like the difference between a ice cream Frappe, made with a little ice cream or a lot. Of one of those things they sell you at Burger King or Mickey D's that you eat with a spoon when you get it, or wait for it to melt for a while and you drink it out of a straw.

If you are reading from a Garber Restriction Gauge, it shows green, yellow and red areas. As long as the needle is on the green or yellow, don't worry about it. When the pump is off, take a magic marker and mark a line where "0" (zero) is. Then, when you fire it off with a new filter, mark the running point on the plastic glass.

What's more important than anything else is that the filter traps anything that is coming along. Because if it gets past the filter, it won't be stopped by the pump strainer, but WILL be stopped by the nozzle strainer. And THAT will make it run badly, if at all.

If you put two spin-on's, the first will trap all of what can be trapped. The other one acts as a nozzle strainer but keeps the pump and nozzle clean.

IMO, don't even bother putting a garbage can with a bolt in the top as a primary filter. When the Garber/Spin-on is plugged, the garbage can will be totally plugged. With the garbage can and no spin-on, the nozzle will be plugged.

My old dead boss used to say to never to trust a gauge. There is no such thing as a trustful gauge that you pay under $10.00 for. $30.00+, maybe. I had two vacuum gauges with zero out screws and I checked them on shallow wells. I knew they were accurate. I kept them in a special place for special occasions. Minor vacuum pressure is not a good reason to switch to gas. You're only looking at the suction restriction in the piping.

icesailor

Demand:

" ""The cost of natiural gas is not going to stay as low as it is now but oil will get more expensive too; the demand for both is just too great for prices to drop."" "



The "demand" is driven not by consumer demand, but the demand that the Wall Street Crime Syndicate pay off their Masters with more cash. The Banksters have stolen everything else, they need more sources of revenue.

Techman

BioFuel

Here on L.I.N.Y. the Petro oil co had a massive problem w/ their BioFuel this past winter, the oil filter got plugged up w/ a waxy substance. They changed a lot of filters.

D107

Wax Buildup with Bio

Thanks, that confirms same issue here--also on Long Island. Though a very good tech just told me that bio-fuel tends to clean certain kinds of sludge out so theoretically over time the tank could get cleaner and problem might lessen. (Same thing happens I have heard with even the good oil treatments when they are first applied.)