Vacuum on oil line filter

Mark R.

I have a Beckett AFG burner ( .85 gpm) with a Gar-Ber filter about a foot from the burner. I have a return oil line also. My service man installed a vacuum guage on the filter, and it has been running about 4" hg, with a urge to about 7" at startup. I checked it a few minutes ago and the running vacuum was 15" hg. This filter has only been on since Nov.7,03 and I have used 340 gallons of oil. At what point does the filter need to be changed? I just got an oil delivery yesterday (93 gals in a 300 gallon tank). I would appreciate any comments. Thanks, Mark R.

Weezbo

hummm...

well mark with a two pipe system supply and return and a small tank depending on the fuel oil company's practise in fueling thier trucks and condensation in general you should probably check the tank every so many months with a stick with some water noticing chemical on the end of it to Just See if you are having water in the tank. say for example you have a particularily cold winter,...your water may in fact Freeze Under ground ,in the tank.so...summer is a good time to check. water is Heavier than oil so it sinks into the low end of the tank and hopefully you are drawing off the High end of the tank.however in a realatively warmer region the water may not freeze this is even more of a hassel when you run out of oil....this Stirs up thewater and it floats about in globs...these globs can and often do draw straight into the filter or supply line.so,what does that mean to you the happy home owner?maint.issues...if you have water in the oil filter burner burns erratically if at all.if you have water PUMP THE TANK in summer. for now you could exchange the supply for the return after changing filters..you may luck out and have the return above the supply in the tank where you cannot "see"if it is in oil...then the burner should fire after a few attempts.oil problems such as these may be avoided almost entirely by use of a tiger loop.

joe_17

change

Filter NOW!Suprised burner still operating correctly.You do not want to exceed I believe 12" or 15" vacume max.on a two pipe system.One pipe system 6" to 9" vac. max.What kind of pump do you have,Suntec or Webster.At real low vac. oil starts to vaporize or boil and causes lockouts.

john_35

filter

Yes, the filter should be changed. I believe the fuel pump (if it's a single stage) is only rated to pull 10" Hg. Two stage limit is 15"Hg. A "Tiger Loop" is a good idea too, as it will eliminate the return line (back to the tank) and should drop the running vacuum significantly. At 4"Hg that isn't your main worry though. When you have a two-line set-up the fuel pump is circulating anywhere from 13 to 22 gal per hour thru the oil filter every time it runs. Your oil delivery probably stirred up the sludge in the tank (how old is the tank anyway?) and the pump flow caused the filter to plug up. The main thing you need to do to prevent that from happening is CUT THE FLOW RATE!! The Tiger Loop will allow you to only draw from the tank the amount of fuel you actually burn. That's it's main advantage.

eleft_4

Filter

Mark,
The amount of gallons you filtered is approx 6800.
340 divided by .85 = 400 hrs times 17 gph.
Yes sir you need to change it.


al

Alan_6

Tiger loop

How do you do a Tiger loop.

Mark R.

Thanks for the help!!

Thanks for all your responses and suggestions. I didn't find any water in the filter, but there was a good bit of dark junk in it. I am going to pump off the bottom of the tank and seriously consider a Tiger Loop. The volume of oil through my system is an eye opener!!
Al, you asked about the tiger loop. Check the picture that "eleft" posted in his response to me. He might be a good one ot contact for details.
Thanks for all the help, you guys are great for us homeowners. Mark R.