cold spell soon

rabbitsfoot

A cold spell below zero is coming to the midwest soon...do more heating failures or accidents happen at such times?

bburd

Most machinery is more likely to  break down when it’s worked unusually hard.

STEVEusaPA

Actually I kind of find the opposite. Most heating equipment (oil) is way oversized-short cycling, bouncing off high limits, etc.
When it gets near design temp, they seem to purr along, if set up right.
Now things like freezing oil lines, very cold combustion air can cause problems.

Jamie Hall

And there's a perception problem -- one is much more likely to remember being called out at oh dark hundred at 20 below with a 40 mph wind than when it is a balmy day in the 40s...

EdTheHeaterMan

My magic number was 17°F. I knew that when there was 17° or lower in the weather forecast, I would be working overtime thawing frozen fuel lines. In Philadelphia, where most tanks are indoors or buried, I did not encounter many blocked fuel lines. Then at age 25, I moved to South Jersey. It was an unusually cold winter in 1984-85, and there were two cold spells of 7 or 8 days in a row with overnight low temps in the teens. This thing about outside above ground oil tanks was new to me, and there was a fairly quick learning curve about frozen fuel lines. I actually looked in a fuel tank with my flashlight one night and saw whiteish globs of wax floating in the oil. (there was no red dye in those days). "That was the paraffin separating from the fuel" I was told.

I experienced the frozen fuel line with my CO2 cartridge blow-out tool and quickly went thru 3 boxes of CO2 cartridges. Then decided to purchase a hand pump and abandon the CO2. I was still returning to the same customers' frozen fuel tank 3 and 4 nights in a row. That was a real learning experience. I developed a procedure of using my new hand pump to suck fuel treatment from the bottle and force it into the bottom of the tank thru the fuel line at the burner end. This flushed the chemical thru the fuel line where condensation was stuck, which eventually would freeze. For the most part, the oil would flow thru the slushy condensate (water/oil) mixture until the overnight temperature got to 17°. Then it would freeze solid, blocking the fuel line and causing the burner to shut off. My hand-pump would put the fuel treatment where the water was, at the bottom of the tank. With the chemical and enough air pressure developed by the hand pump, I would go outside with a heat gun and thaw the fuel line until I heard the bubbles in the tank indicating the blockage was clear.

Then, I would return to the burner and pump the remainder of the chemical thru the fuel line, replace the oil filter, clean/replace the pump strainer, reconnect the fuel line to the burner, and start the burner. That was it, no more callbacks for at least that fuel tank full of oil during that cold snap. Next year or next fuel delivery could cause the problem the return.

Other than this frozen fuel line issue, I find that a burner that operated with fewer on/off cycles had fewer breakdowns than when they cycled more frequently during mild weather. equipment that was properly maintained had fewer breakdowns than those that were neglected. Those who decided to purchase my service/maintenance agreements (later called Club Memberships) were trouble-free in the cold weather days and all season for that matter.

Yours truly,
Mr.Ed

STEVEusaPA

I never owned/used a CO2 gun.

EdTheHeaterMan

All in the way we were taught @STEVEusaPA. Learning from experience is sometimes the best. I have not used the CO2 gun since 1985. I agree with you that it is not the best tool for oil lines. But you go with what you know until you find a better way.

You know, like Including a Tiger loop on every new installation. Something we can all disagree on. LOL