Anyone nearby collect old oil burners?

vtfarmer

There were two old oil burners in the hay loft of one of the barns on my property when I bought it. As I get ready to maybe sell the place in the next couple of years I am trying to unload some of the stuff that I don't want to move.

Anyone near southern VT collect these things? One is a Branford that I got it working and used for my maple syrup evaporator (see photo). The other is a SUN RAY that is in poor condition but has two interesting things going on: it has a very long air tube (16") and the motor is 1/12 hp. I've never seen an oil burner with a 1/12 hp motor before.

These are free to a collector, my only ask is that I get a tour of your collection. Send me a private message if interested.

HVACNUT

If you don't get any takers on the burners, I'll take the Branford tag.

Click below for a free virtual tour of my esteemed collection.

vtfarmer

HVACNUT said:

If you don't get any takers on the burners, I'll take the Branford tag.



Click below for a free virtual tour of my esteemed collection.

I have my own much more humble tag collection from when I was a kid. These are much smaller and don't leak oil so they're coming with me

Steamhead

@vtfarmer , can you post a pic of the Sunray?

vtfarmer

@Steamhead I was just about to do that, good timing!

Big Ed_4

I still have that transformer on my shelf ... One day I will need it

HVACNUT

Is that a Shell head?

vtfarmer

@HVACNUT it's a no-head: the end of the air tube is missing (looks burned off). What would it look like if it were? Was that an early iteration of a flame retention type setup?

HVACNUT

> @vtfarmer said:
> @HVACNUT it's a no-head: the end of the air tube is missing (looks burned off). What would it look like if it were? Was that an early iteration of a flame retention type setup?

It's the retention head on the nozzle assembly. Much like a large brass bullet with the nose cut off. You'd know it if you saw it. What the...?

Steamhead

If the head looks like the one in this manual, it's actually a flame-retention burner:

https://oiltechtalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ABCSunrayModel-DC_Golden_Cup.pdf

vtfarmer

Interesting, thanks. The sunray definitely does not have that setup.

The Branford does have a big bullet shaped enclosure around the nozzle. The nozzle that was in it when I found it is a brand I've never seen before as well: HARSCH

Steamhead

@vtfarmer , that Branford looks familiar. Not sure if it's a true Shellhead, but it might be a predecessor. ISTR American-Standard used a head that looked similar on their pre-DH burners.

Harsch is a long-gone nozzle manufacturer.

The Sunray chassis pictured looks like a Gulf Econojet, which Sunray also built. The original Econojet didn't use the Golden Cup flame-retention head, but an earlier version. It also used a special nozzle. Later on, Gulf rebranded the Sunray FC Bantam, which did have the Golden Cup head, as the Econojet "Kitten". Can you take a pic of the Sunray head you have?

Big Ed_4

The Shell head was introduced in the 60's and was retrofitted for several burners over the years .The Shellhead had an adjustable secondary air band on the upstream of the cone , The shell pack which was the by-pass patent version did not have the needed air band to fine tune ..The hollow nozzle was designed just for the Shell head burner .. The hollow nozzle which is the most unstable nozzle , a coked up end cone was a common problem with the arangement . The Econo Jet also used a special nozzle with venturi air holes on the end of the nozzle . It was a low speed burner which gave a glow type fire .Which worked best with a higher pump pressure over the normal back then of 100# . The down fall was the cost of the nozzle which was $15 back in the 70's . Which did not fly with our habits of nozzle change .. .Then came the Beckett SR , low speed burner , then the AF . Which no one trusted because everything on it was small .. Back then small was junk. We were so use to the big boat anchors .. Riello made it's debut in the early 80's , Smaller still burner and metric .....

vtfarmer

@Steamhead

Here's what's left of the end of the sunray. The end of the tube may have held something pressed in the end, but it melted off long ago.

EBEBRATT-Ed

I liked the Beckett SR, slow speed flame retention.

@EdTheHeaterMan , when the Beckett AF and the Carlin 100crd came out (around 1970 I think) we thought we were in heaven. Some customers didn't like the "noisy" burners

Big Ed_4

Because it still used the J pump ?

HVACNUT

I can not for the life of me find any info or pics of a Shell Head.

Steamhead

I may have something squirrelled away somewhere....... have to look.

EBEBRATT-Ed

There are pictures and a description in Burkhart's book "Domestic and Commercial oil Burners" Page 38 of a Shell head

Shell Heads were designed by Shell oil Co (obviously") , most older burners had few air handling parts and various retrofit heads were designed to enhance oil and air mixing and it was the start of flame retention.

Not just for retrofit some burners were designed around the shell head. All the older burners used 1725 rpm motors and some were excellent burners and were flame retention.

Monarch had a flame retention conversion head and I installed a few of those. Once to my chagrin I put one in an older burner only to find the old burner didn't have enough fan capacity for the added restriction of the combustion head.

Seems rediculous now to think of putting a conversion head on a burner as when I started you could by a new Beckett AF for under $100 and use the existing stack switch which was common back then.

Don't forget pre embargo oil prices were so cheap you couldn't sell a new boiler or burner, the old boilers and burners were built like tanks and ran forever (made a lot of soot). Unless someones boiler failed they just continued to run the old stuff.

Working on burners installed in the 20s & 30s was common

HVACNUT

I was just surprised a Search with what I thought were good keywords didn't turn up anything other than an ad. Lots of other old burners, but no Shell Head. My sister had a "newer" one in her first house. You'd think it was a Beckett with a quick look. 3450 too. Must have been the last revision.

Steamhead

The Econojet manual is here. You can see the similar chassis, but different head:

https://oiltechtalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Econojet0001.pdf

EdTheHeaterMan

Gulf Econojet advertized the flame was up to 300°F Hotter and saved 15% compared to conventional burners.

Shell Head burner has a sunflower flame for better efficiency

OuterCapeOilguy

Speaking of old oil burners-anyone ever run across Williams Oil-O-Matic low-pressure burners? Hoping eventually to find a model Fifty-Ten.

nahm

I have a Williams Oil-O-Matic low-pressure burner for the asking:
K series
model K-3
serial number: 168335
oil sprial: K605
nozzle: K603A

I personally ran it from 1969 until about two years ago when the transformer became undependable.

Mad Dog_2

I'll  take the Whole Farm!! How many acres? Barns? Horse? Dairy? Chix coops? Ponds?   Near Bennington?   Mad 🐕 Dog