Boiler oil burner dripping oil

Usgw

A small drip of oil (it's red) is coming from the oil burner of my boiler. It looks like it's coming from the black plug on the underside, where I indicated with the arrow. What would cause this? Our annual servicing is in 3 months. Is this more urgent than that?
I know nothing about boilers, so want to learn something about the issue before talking to a tech. Thanks!

EBEBRATT-Ed

If it is red it is probably fuel oil as some it is dyed red. I wouldn't call it an emergency, but it should be looked at.

pecmsg

I don’t see any stains on the floor.

Usgw

Thank you Ed!

Pecmsg, It's just out of frame on the bottom of the 1st photo. The white thing at bottom of the photo is an absorbent mat, sitting in a pan, on the floor. I have that catching the drip.

HVACNUT

Dripping from the switch plug but coming from the burner housing. Could be a bad pump cut off. Could be the pump seal. Could be a giant coke ball on the head.

Has your service provider mentioned a PSC motor, a 15 second primary with interrupted ignition, possibly an oil delay valve?

Usgw

I haven't called for service yet, I was hoping to get some ideas of what might be happening beforehand and if it was possible to repair/troubleshoot vs having to replacing the whole burner. Having a boiler is new to me, I'll look up the possibilities you mentioned. Thank you!

EBEBRATT-Ed

No one is saying you need a new burner or boiler. There is only a few things it could be.

Leaking pump seal

mis adjusted or dirty burner

damaged retention head on the burner

Why not call them and see if they can do the service early? Make sure they actually clean and adjust the burner, clean the boiler and do a combustion test.

EdTheHeaterMan

There is always the possibility that there was a leak when the technician worked on it in the past. If the oil found its way inside the burner motor, there is no way to wipe it dry without taking the motor housing apart. That is not done regularly. That oil will just sit there and eventually evaporate away leaving the red stain behind. That would eventually stop dripping.

If the leak is ongoing and shows no sign of stopping, then you have a leak in the pump seal or on the high pressure line, or nozzle after drip. For the oil to build up enough to get into the motor housing is not very common. I would call for service sooner that later if the leak is ongoing. If the leak has stopped, then it can wait.

RTW

In my case, for a Riello F3 oil burner, the solution for the drip required replacing the pump Not the entire burner. Often, technicians dont know how to "fix" things and just replace parts these days

All the best,

RTW

joannelbruno

Our oil burner is the same in the picture. I found a slow drip that seems to be coming from the seam on the white part that has the model number sticker on it. Our burner tech has taken it apart several times and doesn’t seem to know how to stop the leak. Should I get a second opinion from a different oil burner tech? Also, is this dangerous. Does it need immediate attention?

techforlife

I would also check burner pitch. If burner is not level or pitched forward, the after drip could be rolling back down the blast tube into the fan housing.