Wrong Nozzle

James Cavallo

I have a two-pipe oil-fired steam system in my home. I have the system serviced every year. My serviceman has been putting a 2.25 gph nozzle on the burner when the boiler calls for 2.80 or 2.60. He claims it will save fuel. Is he right?

clammy

noz.size

your oil guy could be doing you right you have to take in consideration pump press,and draft across plus by downsizing the nozzle he may be closer to the true output you need on your system,i've seen alot of guys put the max nozzle size rated for the boiler and the box be over fired if you have a service contract and your boiler is going a whole year without getting plugged i would say don't sweat it usally guy oversize your noz . to sell you more oil or make up for undersizing the job

J.C.A.

Clammy,

#1, oil guys want to see their customers as much as the customer wants to see them . #2 , the service guy don't make any money on the oil !

My best guess for down firing the boiler in this case would be to make the steam a little slower, thus avoiding a callback for banging pipes . JMHO . Chris

clammy

jca

not knocking oil guys i was one for a few year and seen alot of horror shows young guy just replacing whats there and or what the boilers rated for ,i know i used to do 24/7 service and do the 8 hrs day before starting the nite callsand boy did i give the guy that was there early grief when i had to clean one at 3;00 am cause they where to lazy no puns intended

Steve Eayrs

We do a fair bit of downsizing of the nozzle,

> I have a two-pipe oil-fired steam system in my

> home. I have the system serviced every year. My

> serviceman has been putting a 2.25 gph nozzle on

> the burner when the boiler calls for 2.80 or

> 2.60. He claims it will save fuel. Is he right?

Steve Eayrs

We do a fair bit of downsizing of the nozzle,

BUT that does not mean the btu output is any less. All nozzles are rated at 100 psi. You can often get better efficiency uping the pump pressure. Their are various charts out there, that tell you exactly what your putting out at different pressure. Example: I believe 130# = adding about 15% to nozzle rating.
Most newer, nicer equipment is operating the pump pressure 140# or more.
Higher pressure also helps spray the oil out better, atomize the droplets, etc.
If your tune up guy doesn't have testing equipment, and can't tell you the CO2, stack temp, eff., etc., then I would question his methods,and find someone else. I've also seen some who put in a smaller nozzle, because the unit is sooted up enough that the correct size will not work right, and they don't want to take the time to clean the boiler. Did he tell you what kind of efficency you are operating at? Any before and after tune up comparisions?
Steve