Beckett AF F3 head heavy thick black soot covering nozzle

ww

This is on an old Delco boiler DB4 with a 1.25 gph nozzle a..hollow. some smoke in basement and shut off and closed oil supply. Inspection hole shows fire in combustion chamber and smoke from chimney.

Next day removed burner and cover and found heavy buildup black material around head and nozzle. cleaned up chamber,grates and head. Put back together runs fine. Been looking and found some possible problems but what do you think?

Inside the cover which I guess acts as the back side of the chamber has a concave indentation toward the burner 6 inches in diameter 2 inches deep..these are the facts...anyone have a read on this one?

A description someone mentioned was a donut on top of the head...and discussion obviously an obstruction buildup and not good..i am monitoring this and don't know how long it will take to happen again but rest assured will do what is needed.

will do a hollywood job as soon as i can figure what is needed.. i can share what i think it may be but after i hear your solution. thanks.

Big Ed_4

Hollow nozzle is your problem , Great fire at first but it does not last .. W is my choice with todays oils .. The B nozzle maybe a better choice with $ and a 1/4 fire ..

ww

ok Ed..thanks..so just get the 1.25 gph W nozzle...and put in with same 100 lb pressure?..i see this is a combo of both hollow and solid. what do you mean b better with $ and 1/4 fire?
thanks..ps...will i notice a difference in anything such as fuel savings,etc or it will just take care of this problem?..this will be easy..just put a new nozzle in..thanks again!

Steamhead

The choice of nozzle depends on the space the burner fires into. A solid nozzle produces a long flame, while a hollow produces a shorter flame. The W is an in-between. A long flame in a short firebox will result in soot, smoke and other nasty things.

I would also check to see if the fuel flow cuts off properly at the end of a cycle. If it does not, the firebox and burner head will soot up like that.

Big Ed_4

You want to run the pressure 120#-140#. .. The higher pressure atomizes the spray . Thinking the Delco boiler was square .. If hitting the rear wall drop the GPH.

HVACNUT

ww said:

ok Ed..thanks..so just get the 1.25 gph W nozzle...and put in with same 100 lb pressure?..i see this is a combo of both hollow and solid. what do you mean b better with $ and 1/4 fire? thanks..ps...will i notice a difference in anything such as fuel savings,etc or it will just take care of this problem?..this will be easy..just put a new nozzle in..thanks again!

Just putting a new nozzle in will not solve your problem. 
Do you have any means of testing? Combustion analyzer, smoke tester, draft gauge? 

ww

yes i do...but will have to wait now since unavailable for me to use at this time...i am looking for a place to buy at decent price...online or local...also looking at pump pressure gauge as well..any suggestions since i have to hold off until i get the test equipment?

STEVEusaPA

ww said:

yes i do...but will have to wait now since unavailable for me to use at this time...i am looking for a place to buy at decent price...online or local...also looking at pump pressure gauge as well..any suggestions since i have to hold off until i get the test equipment?

If only there was a type of tech, you could call, that has all these tools, plus the knowledge and the experience to fix your problem...hmmmm

ww

There are many of them...but what fun would I have doing that?!