Fishing a detached rubber oil suction tube out of roth tank

D107

During annual tuneup yesterday while tech was bleeding oil lines--repeatedly pressing the button on the pump (reset button?) on our Riello 40 F3 for some reason which fired the burner briefly each time--he found that the hose had detached, from the original floating setup so they replaced the line with a straight copper one which seems to have lowered the vac reading further than before which is fine. Usually techs don't bleed the line they let the tiger loop remove the air. I'm sending before and after photo; do I need some kind of support on this horizontal copper feed line? But main question is what kind of tool can be used to get at the old rubber tube which they say is lying on the bottom? They tried to get at it by using the tank gauge port.

aircooled81

2 fishing lines with hooks?

Paul48

Treble hooks? Fashion a screw, of sorts out of some baling wire. Turn it in a drill, and it should snag it.

D107

Thanks. I was thinking maybe something like the contraption they use in a supermarket to get at the top shelves, where you squeeze a lever below and then the pincers narrow on top--only in this case it would be in the opposite position. Do I need support on that horizontal copper line?

D107

So you mean put the treble hooks at the end of a bailing wire run, and at the other end wrap the bailing wire around a drill bit and work the drill when the hook end hits tank bottom?

Paul48

No....that was 2 different possibilities. The treble hooks could be weighted on string or fishing line. The baling wire can be twisted around something to form a screw. Then you could either spin it in a drill, or turn it by hand. The hose should climb into the twist, like a retrieval head on a drain auger.

deadmansghost

Considering that the Roth tank inner liner is made from polyethylene which is not bullet proof and can be accidentally cut open. I would be inclined to leave the old tube where it is, I doubt its location would interfere with the operation of the tank.
Food for thought.

D107

Good thinking, thanks!

Dave19

Not to sound rude, but how were you supposed to change the filter with that original set up sitting on the tank? Unless I'm mistaking your story, it sounds like they lost something in the tank because they couldn't get the filter off without removing it from the tank. And I would put money on the fact that they are going to bend and kink that new set up when they change it next year. Why didn't they just use a tigerloop ultra at the boiler? And somebody teach that guy how to jump a Riello so he doesn't have to hit the reset 500 times. Seems to me like you should look around for a new company. Just my opinion, no offense to any involved.

D107

Thanks for your response. The original setup was lacking in clearance and most techs didn't like it--they had to bend it slightly for filter change. Not sure how they lost the hose; I thought maybe hitting the reset repeatedly might have messed with the pressure temporarily and dislodged the hose from the Roth assembly. I agree that the new setup doesn't look fully supported to me. Maybe some kind of wall bracket. Not exactly a candidate for a clevis hanger. I have found it hard to get serious oil burner techs on LI. We do have a TIger Loop at boiler; when it's replaced we'll get the Ultra Bio model. While we're at it, how do you jump a Riello. Wouldn't it be done with the manual on switch on the 2107 Logamatic?

New England SteamWorks

In a standard steel tank the filter is attached at the tank outlet. Sometimes guys get confused when confronted with a Roth tank because they still want to put the filter at the tank outlet. It doesn't have to go there. Have them pick up a filter with a side mount and install it on the side of the boiler.

We always use a rigid pickup tube inside a Roth and never heard of a "rubber hose" set up.

What ever is down there is very unlikely to cause harm. I would leave it be.

D107

Thanks, we keep the 50 micron filter at the tank and 10 micron spinon at boiler. I know some believe one spinon is enough, the thought is that the 50 micron picks up the sludge which would plug up the spinon if it got there unfiltered. We change the 50 micron every year and it's usually pretty dirty, although lately it's getting cleaner due to the bio20. (When we got the Roth 10 years ago there may have been some dirty oil put back in the tank; so in another year or so we may be able to go with one spinon.)

Tony Massi

I would leave the rubber hose down there. I don't you can fish it out. How far from the bottom is the copper line?
Also you can give the Riello false light to keep it running.
Better than that Sid Harveys sells a control box eye with a toggle switch that works the best. Once the burner is running and you hear the oil valve click you flip the toggle switch and the burner will stay running with out a flame. This great for priming the burner, better trying to pull oil thru return port on the pump.

D107

I think they told me about 4-5 inches from the bottom which I think is good. I assume any chemical reaction between the Bio-20 and the copper is a very slow one. I think they have some new kinds of tubing out there that is totally inert that I might have preferred, but this setup is likely to last a long time. Most of the oil company techs say no need to prime with a tiger loop....

RJMCTAFO

Can someone correct me because I may be misremembering..... I thought the UL listing for oil burners only certified up to B5. We had so many issues with biofuel 8 years ago we ran from it like our hair was on fire. We use additive and load all fuel from a bio-free rack. Since then I can't remember the last time I went to a plugged fuel filter on a unit that was maintained within the last 3 years. When I change General 1A filters the blue paint on the bottom of the cartridge is still visible after 600 gallons.

GreenGene

Let sleeping dogs lie, I've pulled plenty of old tanks with parts and old gauges laying in the bottom, as stated, Roth is a plastic lined tank, wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more.

Know what I mean?