What Riello oil burner for older Buderus G115/4?

cpkmc

I've been told that the oil burner on my existing Buderus G115/4 needs to be replaced. Current burner is not a Reillo, and is rated between .5 and 1.65 GPM. No chimney, direct vent. The serviceman who came to the house had nothing but great things to say about Riello burners, except he told me they were a bit pricy. Is the Reille 40 F5 the right model for me?

billtwocase

I would say you have a Carlin on your boiler now. Why does it need to be replaced? What issues are there with it?

Bob Bona_4

Buderus specs a Carlin P10, or a Riello BF3, or a Beckett NX for DV on that boiler. Personally I would opt for the NX, and ensure your oil supply is top notch with the best filtration etc.

cpkmc

Yes it is a Carlin. It has been putting out soot Device man has been here three times since October as it now keeps going into shutout mode. He says when he gets the output levels(?) below 12 it doesn't run well and goes onto lockout mode. It is a 10-15 year old unit and he seemed to think the Carlin ez 1hp burner was the culpret. Any thoughts are appreciated

Bob Bona_4

If it's the right Carlin with the correct primary, they run pretty good. What's the oil supply situation? Do you have combustion air?

Ironman

No matter what brand of burner is on there, it MUST be set to Buderus specs. If you replace it with a Riello, get it through Buderus, not off the shelf. They use a reverse turbulator on the OEM burner. It will be Buderus blue; off the shelf Riello is red.

Bob Bona_4

Didn't know about the reverse turbulator. Good tip.

Ironman

Here's a link to Buderus' specs for the Riello burner:

http://www.bosch-climate.us/files/201001220101020.115W-RielloSpecs.pdf

Ironman

cpkmc said:

Yes it is a Carlin. It has been putting out soot Device man has been here three times since October as it now keeps going into shutout mode. He says when he gets the output levels(?) below 12 it doesn't run well and goes onto lockout mode. It is a 10-15 year old unit and he seemed to think the Carlin ez 1hp burner was the culpret. Any thoughts are appreciated

This sounds a little off to me.

cpkmc

Thanks for the feedback. It is definitely a Carlin Ez 1Hp unit on there now. Unit installed in early 2000s. Our house is kind of remote, and I'm a little concerned that the serviceman's choice to replace the whole burner may be driven more by convenience than necessity - - Don't want to drive out here again... He already replaced the ignitor in October. And has been back twice since then as it went into lockout. Is it common for the whole burner unit to need replacing? Any other thoughts/suggestions?

Ironman

There's no assurance that something won't fail on that old burner, but if everything is clean and set properly, it should run fine. I'm concerned that your tech may not have all the knowledge necessary to properly service the burner and would rather approach it by trying to sell you a new one. The Riello is a nice burner, but very touchy to being setup and maintained correctly. If he can't get the Carlin right, what assurance do you have that he'll get the Riello right?

cpkmc

That is my concern as well. I would be more confident if he could point to something specific in the Carlin and say it was failing. I asked him directly, and he just said it is too old, he has no confidence in it, and he doesn't want to keep coming out here. To be clear - I know something needs to be fixed, and I am willing to pay for it. But it is not clear to me what exactly is wrong with the burner, and that it is really necessary to replace the whole unit. Is it common to replace entire burners rather than target specific, failing components?

Ironman

If the burner had significant age and wear on it and needed a major component, then I could see it; but just replacing it because he can't get it right would cause me to look for another tech if I were in your shoes.

cpkmc

Just heard back from the repair service again, and they are now suggesting that it is NOT the burner, but rather I need to install a power vent. Again it is a direct vent system. So this raises the question: if this system worked for 10+ years without a power vent, why does it need one now?

Ironman

Here's a link to the original I&O manual for direct venting your boiler. I would almost guarantee you that your service guy does not have it set to these specs and that's why your having issues.

Read it carefully and confirm that everything that you're able to SEE is in accordance with the manual. Then find a COMPETENT oil tech with a digital combustion analyzer and have him set it to specs.

Have you tried the contractor locator on this site? If there's not one listed on it near you, post your locale and we may be able to recommend one.

http://www.bosch-climate.us/files/201208201508230.115SCIM_G115_Installation Manual_en_12-2006.pdf

RJMCTAFO

If your technician has an electronic combustion analyzer (which he should have without question), have him check the fresh air pipe with the analyzer for flue gas. If the unit has an older Field concentric vent termination there were some issues with cross contamination that would cause intermittent lock outs.
I would be skeptical of anyone that wants to change a complete burner due to intermittent lockouts. The technician should be able to tell you via troubleshooting that a certain component is no good. If all else fails a Genesys control could be utilized as a troubleshooting tool to data log when there is an issue what is happening.

cpkmc

Thanks - I'm bringing someone else in to look at the system, with the hope that it just needs knowledgable adjusting, rather than replacement.