Beckett not receiving oil.

WhirlingD

MaxMercy said:

WhirlingD said:

I do have the oil tank issue to consider. Tag on it says it was built in 1989.

It seems solid on the outside, but how the heck does one know? It does have some corrosion and rusting of its legs. That’s the biggest obvious problem. Everything else seems pretty solid, but once again how does one really know?

Mine was built in 1993, and it looked great - until I noticed tiny drops of oil on the belly of the tank - nothing on the floor.

WhirlingD said:

I started looking at new oil tanks online, and Home Depot came up with one… And one of the people who reviewed the tanks said they did it themselves and it was easier than they thought.

Seeing that Home Depot wanted basically $1000 for the tank, I figured my local oil dealer might want $1500 or $2000 to put one in.

I don't think you're supposed to talk about quoted price (other than parts), but I installed my tank last spring and it was no big deal - but there was plenty of room to work with. I bought the tank at HD and with delivery, a new filter housing, tank leg kit, two dresser style long couplings, and firematic valve, I was about $1200 in parts (I reused my gauge/whistle because it was only a few years old). I still have to have the old tank removed and most scrappers charge $200-$300 to remove them.

It's not difficult but you need some help. The tank is heavy and delivery is usually at your driveway, not indoors. I have a walk out basement so with a couple of big goons and a hand truck, we got it inside with no problems.

You have to install the legs (you need to set the pitch) and the firematic valve. If your new tank has the top holes in the same place and spacing as your old tank, you can use dresser couplings to avoid doing black iron work (which I both hate and suck at). If the tank has different spacing, you need to do black pipe work. Mine turned out fine with no leaks at the valve or couplings. I had the oil company drop only 100 gallons the first time in case there was a leak.

Having it professionally done will be much more, yes, but worth it if you're not sure you can do this without a leak. If you find a leak at the bottom connection a day or so after you get oil delivered, it's a pain in the butt to address the leak with a tank full of oil.

This is very helpful, thank you Max.

I don’t know yet whether I will have the nerve to take on something like this… My wallet says I should at least investigate the possibility.

If the price to have it done was even a third more than the raw parts would be, I could consider doing it right away… But it’s considerably over double the price. That seems extreme. I don’t have that kind of capital.

Were you able to do it in one fell swoop, like in an afternoon?

Dresser couplings… Can you elaborate on those? Are they like PVC pipe fittings?

I have seen some folks in videos have flex tubing in parts of their system, rather than copper… I wonder what the local codes are for that here in Massachusetts. I wonder if there would be any code restrictions regarding materials leading into the tank? I would think so.

I just had 150 gallons delivered about an hour and a half ago, but I still haven’t fired the thing up, since it hasn’t been cold enough, and I want to conserve as much oil as possible, given it is $5.45 a gallon here. I tried to wait it out to see if something would push the price back down, but when you only have drops in the tank, you have to do what you have to do.

I will certainly be down there looking for drops in all of the places that I was working… :-)

EdTheHeaterMan

When purchasing a new oil tank, best practice indicates that you do not want to pump any oil from the old tank into the new tank. My advise is to have the tank as close to empty at the end of the heating season. even run out of oil if you can. Then install the new tank. then get a fuel delivery of recently refined fuel form a reputable oil dealer. Clean, fresh oil in a brand spankin' new oil tank, new oil filter refill. Flush out the fuel pump with about 1/2 Gallon of fuel thru the fuel line and high pressure (nozzle) line. Now you are sure that the oil is pristine, and will not cause a clogged nozzle, or partially clogged nozzle. You can put the 1/2 gallon of oil you purged, back into the tank... the oil filter will keep any smegums in the tank from getting to the nozzle.

EdTheHeaterMan

WhirlingD said:

Thank you for all your help, Ed.

There’s no doubt you have not been a big fan of me taking on this kind of project, But I think it is a good thing for me to have taken on. Bonus: I didn’t get killed or burn down the house… :-)

I’ve learned a bunch of things that will likely save me money, which is hugely important, since I am approaching senior citizenship with very little assets.

- I can now easily change my own filter and pump screen. Nozzles are next.

- I have learned not to fire any unburned oil into the chamber.

- I know that anything more than this will probably be better served out to a professional…

I do have the oil tank issue to consider. Tag on it says it was built in 1989.

It seems solid on the outside, but how the heck does one know? It does have some corrosion and rusting of its legs. That’s the biggest obvious problem. Everything else seems pretty solid, but once again how does one really know?

When you say Nozzles are next, Mechanically, it is very easy to remove a nozzle and replace it. It is not as easy to keep the air out of the high pressure line and steel pipe the nozzle adaptor is connect to. That tubing and pipe must be dirt and debris free. If there is an air pocket in that section of the oil system (the section of pipe and tubing between the outlet of the pump and the actual nozzle), the pump pressure (at least 100 PSI) will act like a paint ball gun CO2 cartridge and drive everything in the high pressure section thru that pipe and into the back of the nozzle strainer. Like a ram jet, it can force any little debris past the nozzle strainer and partially clog one of the microscopic slots inside the nozzle that form the nozzle spray pattern.

To further explain this phenomenon: If you ever held a new garden hose with a hand held trigger nozzle on the end, then turned on the hose bib to pressurize the hose, there will be a pocket of compressed air in the hose. When you open the nozzle end and let out the air in the brand new hose, the compressed air is released and eventually the water reaches the nozzle. As there are still pockets of compressed air bubbles in the hose, as each bubble is released you feel a hammering effect as the hydraulic pressure of the water is replaced by the release of air pressure and then back to water. This hammering at 100 PSI in the oil line to the nozzle can force debris into a place that will cause problems. As an amateur, you may not recognize this problem when you replace your nozzle and therefore may be operating the burner at a state of lower efficiency or even a state where soot can build up over time and cause more problems than you are able to resolve on your own.

I was taught a procedure to minimize the amount of air in the nozzle assembly. I can go over that procedure if you private message me. It is easy and you only need a small container to hold some pristine oil to charge the nozzle assembly before you insert the nozzle.

...And every time I replaced a nozzle, I would check to see if the combustion measurements were in a safe and efficient operating range. My guess is that you do not have the combustion testing equipment that I depend on to make those adjustments. How do you propose to make those adjustments if you do not have the tools that professionals use regularly. The minimum you will need is a Smoke tester. and something to check the CO2 percentage of the flue gas. The Stack thermometer and draft gauge would complete the test equipment in order to get it right.

I hope this helps!

MikeAmann

EdTheHeaterMan said:

Edit: My brother recovered from the event. Here is an artist rendition of what the little Irish boy from Philadelphia looked like in the ambulance.

Hey, you can't have that image. Bill Cosby bought the rights to The Little Rascals so that they may never be seen again. He determined that it was racist. O'tay.

EdTheHeaterMan

MikeAmann said:

Hey, you can't have that image. Bill Cosby bought the rights to The Little Rascals so that they may never be seen again. He determined that it was racist. O'tay.

That is not who you think it is... as I said, that is my little brother in the ambulance.
What did the courts determine Bill Cosby was?
I still like his comedy. FAT ALBERT ... Hay Hay Hay... it that any way a problem for overweight folks?

DJD775

The courts should have played this clip .
Creepy now that we know the crimes...I mean allegations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA4yuz8qgj4