Propane Burners to replace oil?

Ex Maine Doug

Does anyone make propane burners that would fit in place of AFII's? I know cost of fuel would go up but the boiler and burner would not have to be cleaned avery three months. We thought we had them working corectly but alas, at best only about 6 months max. I think the FieldControls direct vents feed to much exhaust back into the air inlet. On a calm day in the cold weather you can watch the vapor trail.

Perhaps using propane will be clean enough where some exhaust feedback in the direct vent will not create so much maintenance. doug

Robert O'Connor

cross contamination

I think cross contamination would be an issue with propane also. I would try taking your combustion air from a few feet away before I replaced burners/fuels.

Regards,

Robert O'Connor

Unknown

I agree with ...

Bob O'Conner. Before you change burners relocate your air intake if possible. If you change burners the same problem will probably be there. There is an old adage among us gas guys. If you are having problems with the oil system and arbitrarily put in a gas conversion burner you will probably have the same problem. Fix the problem don't replace the burner.

kevin

doug are...

you still having problems w/ the G-10 vega's? Have you called QHT and /or Beckett? What did they say? If all else fails I'd swithch to a Carlin EZ1 before doing the LP thing..93K btu per gal lp vs. 140K btu / gal oil. big differance! kpc.
PS- how long is the post purge time set to on the burner? The longer the better.

Bob Gagnon plumbing and heating

solenoid on the oil inlet

solved my oil burner problems. it allows the motor to get up to speed before sending the oil in. and it runs the motor for a short while after the oil shuts off to clear the chamber and prevent after drip. bob

Ex Maine Doug

Thanks for all the suggestions

I think we will try relocating the intakes and dump the Field Controls direct vents as a first attempt. I did send a note to and called Field Controls earlier and got the same response- referred to another dealer.

There are two vents about 8 feet apart so we can use one for intake and one for exhaust. I am sure that a good stainles frabicator can make a dual pipe exhaust to keep the burners separated. Then we can create two intakes in the other hole in the wall.
Depending on results, the Carlin approach sounds good also.

QHT and others have had their whack at it with no improvements. When I saw (an unnamed person) banging on the oil line with a screwdriver handle to try to move the nozzle in farther, I knew this was a waste. Hell, I am not a burner tech but knew about the stops, it's in the book!! With all their playing they had so much oil in the chamber it sounded and smelled like a tar baby when they finally got it to light. And these are supposed to be quiet????

Some data: pre-purge 15 seconds,
post-purge 2 minutes (maybe I should try 4),
has solenoid valves since day one,
piped primary/secondary
I suspect that in the last go around they lowered oil pressure from the QHT specified 160lbs. Used to get a 10 degree rise thru the boiler, got 6-7 after they finished playing and the flame sounds lighter. Thought we could get a year's service but nope, after 3 months it started its delayed ignition and smoke routine. So after two winters and two summers I think we can conclude that all the attempts so far were a waste.

I will call the stainless wizz this week and see if we can do a better vent design and go from there.

Thanks for all your ideas. I am riding in the other tug next to the one in the picture. Not heating related but a diversion from the daily events.

Dave Palmer

firing pins

Doug, check to see if the pin for the nozzle assembly is the right one.On the back side of the burner door where you remove the nozzle assembly there should be 3 different pins. The pins affect the depth of the nozzle to the end of the blast tube.Each pin is for a different firing rate.If the assembly is out you can see the pin threaded into the side,its just a adjustment but if its off the burner will foul.Good Luck Dave

Bill NTSG

Hey Doug

Sorry to hear you are still having problems. Believe it or not tapping on a firomatic valve is common practice. It is not always necessary but it is a spring loaded [to shut] valve and often times debris or sludge will prevent the valve from seating. Especially at the undertank valve.Dave mentioned the firing pins, good idea, also check the plate on the side of the housing where the nozzle line goes through the burner housing. It may be backwards. Are these AFII85's . The older ones did not have the pins if I remember correctly. Old age is creeping in. Please e-mail or call me.

keith

Afll

adjustments. Ran across 2 direct vent problems. 1 was a mis application, the termination was done properly but the location was bad. The exhuast was on a Northern exposure with the wind coming in off of Long Island Sound. Never was able to correct that one, I believe it was ripped out and a conventional chimney installed. the other on was solved by calling Beckett,they sent out different firing pins, setting the pump pressure higher than the directions called for and changing the nozzle size and pattern. That seemed to do the trick. Good Luck

kevin

Hi again doug...

I know i have talked w/ you before about the AF2 and the g10. I have done a few, the worst case going to the 4 min. post purge has helped TOTAlly. It sounds like a lot buta burner tech who knew his stuff set it up that way. I thought it was too long and changed it to 2 min. ...problems started again.... went back to 4 min.... NO problems.That was with a 6 section G10 & AF2 "150" Do you have the combined intake and exaust? Nice idea but im not so sure it is a great idea w/ the cross contamiation.
When I use the Buderus version of the DV, I always use the Aerocowl split set up.
The other thought I have is because you are so far Down east is there someone at Pensotti in Bangor that could help you. It is practically the same boiler...try www.pensotti-pna.com
Hope this helps....its been a long road, I know. kevin

John@Reliable

AFII / LE boiler

I have put in some of them with no trouble at all,most will run clean for 18 months,after set-up was a combustion test done? the days of seting up by eye are over! We use a Bacharach Pro 125, even gives you a print out of results. Hope this helps

Ex Maine Doug

Lots of Homework

Well guys, I am overwhelmed with things to look at. This is going to be a learning experience, sort of like when I discovered the Wall and went mad with primary/secondary. The last winter with the steam boiler was 2600 gallons for 4 months. Last Aug I bought 1200 gallons and finished burning that at the beginning of June.
Thanks again for the tips. I think I will approach boiler one with camera in hand and do an "opening" and photograph the details of the burner and inside the boiler. Boiler two is carrying the building and bathtub so we can mess with one till maybe when it gets to 6 degrees in Jan/Feb. At that point we need both running. Makes me shiver just thinking about it.

HGTV has indicated that they will be here in Mid/Late November for a segment on adaptive reuse of old buildings. It would be nice to get this cleaned up by then and show radiant at its best, dual boilers, VSI, outdoor reset, panel rads. I think panic over the to-do list is setting in.
Night All.