Better fuel oil \"mileage\"?

Patchogue Phil_27

Just got a delivery of #2 oil... still in sticker shock. And the prices will get higher according to the media.

So is there a way to get better fuel oil "mileage" from my burner?

With a car, they say drive slower don't floor the accelerator. And of course they have computers but that won't help me right now with my burner.

Yes, I can lower the thermostat and pass around sweaters and blankets.

What about the firing rate of my burner? Would dropping down 10% on the nozzle rate save any oil?

I figure there must be an extreme where OVER firing would lose the extra heat up and out the chimney. At some point the water cannot absorb the extra heat before it is lost to the outside, right?

What about settings on my triple aquastat? What affect does the differential play on fuel efficiency? How can I determine what is lowest temp settings for HI and LOW that I can safely use and get better efficiency?

Uni R

Best way...

Is always to start with the envelope. Make it easier for the house to contain heat. For underfiring, there are no universals and the manufacturer probably has the best answers. You can lower the aquastat as long as it doesn't condense and can still heat the house.


Using an electric space heater to increase the temperature of an occupied room to a comfortable level is another option. Even at double the net energy cost, it may be cheaper that heating up the entire house with oil to that level. The obvious cautions of using portable electric heating devices should be followed and I would never leave one on overnight.

Patchogue Phil_27

Envelope

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I am doing things to reduce heat loss of the house itself. That is an ongoing project at my old house.

What I am asking about here is just to the burner/boiler itself. Things that help efficiency of oil use and also things NOT to do that would use more oil. All while still providing heat.

Uni R

Basic things...

Has the boiler been cleaned and serviced lately? The nozzle make a big difference. I would also consider putting an outdoor reset on your boiler and using a setback thermometer since your house most likely isn't high mass and super tight.

Patchogue Phil_27

nozzle

> Has the boiler been cleaned and serviced lately?

> The nozzle make a big difference.


I understand that the correct nozzle specs must be used.
Did you mean just if the nozzle is new or the quality of the nozzle? i.e. certain brands?

Uni R

nozzle

Yes yes... New and the correct size (or slightly underfired if that is possible for you) and the right pattern. The techs would be able to better speak about the quality of different brands.

Constantin

I can think of a couple...

...add an outdoor reset controller to your system and modulate the supply water temperature via a 3- or 4-way valve to prevent condensation in the boiler. An outdoor reset controller only costs a couple hundred bucks, is relatively easy to install and may save between 16%-24% fuel (according to Honeywell).

How do you heat your water? If the boiler is doing that job, make sure it's doing so efficienctly, not using coils but by feeding a well-insulated, quality indirect water heater.

Lowering the firing rate on a boiler does help with AFUE ratings. However, be sure that the nozzle you're intending on using is within the permissible range. Call the manufacturer to be sure and have a professional set the the combustion/damper/etc. to ensure your newly efficienct boiler won't kill you with CO, soot, etc. Plus, the firing rate should not be lowered below what you need on a design day.

Once you've adjusted the firing rate to the minimum possible, take a closer look at the flue gas temperature and determine if it can be safely lowered even more. Some CI boiler manufacturers like Buderus have removable baffles for expressly that purpose. However, only have a professional add or remove these baffles and only use baffles with the express approval of the boiler manufacturer!

Other tasks/options include adding insulation to pipes/floors/ceilings around non-conditioned spaces, wrapping the water heater with extra insulation, reducing the infiltration, etc.

For example, does your fireplace have a first rate damper like the Lymance or the Locktop? Fireplaces suck an amazing amount of heat out of a house... According to HVAC-Calc, even a "Best" fireplace system will result in 6+kBTU/hour heatloss on a design day. Thus, our two fireplaces are projected to account for 12% of our total heatloss (!!!) on such days.

Joe@buderus

Have the boiler cleaned and the burner set up by a GOOD OIL BURNER TECHNICIAN. Try the "Find a Professional" feature on this site to locate a local technician.
Would also suggest inquiring with the boiler manufacture for recommended burner specifications.

Joel M

The boiler should be professionally serviced/cleaned every year. The company I use puts a NEW nozzle in every year along with the cleaning and filter replacement and efficiency check. Too small of a nozzle opening and you will get clogs which will shut the system down requiring a new nozzle. When you look at the flame, it should be bright yellow with no red or orange in it.

hydronicsmike

have you looked into...

...outdoor reset at all? It adjusts the water temperature that is delivered to your space heating application based on outdoor temperature (which in turn changes the heatloss of a building). The lower the water temperature, the less losses you have and the easier it is to maintain with firing the boiler less.

If you are using a Tankless Coil in your Boiler for DHW, you can not really adjust the boiler water temperature, but you could look at doing mixing and change the amount of boiler water you use for it. When it gets milder outside and your heating system could get away with a lower water temperature, a mixing device would use less and less of the boiler water, requiring your boiler to fire less to make up a lesser amount of what is pulled out of it.

I hope this makes sense. If you think I could tell you more about this idea, let me know and email me at hydronicsmike@canada.com.

If I don't hear from you, have a great weekend!

Mike

techheat_2

http://www.beckettcorp.com/heatmanager

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Patchogue Phil_27

HW

Hydronics Mike

I have a coil in the boiler but I use it as a heat exchanger to heat a 50 gal tank (electric tank with elements disconnected) via a bronze small Taco pump.

The boiler is a New Yorker Steel S-118-AP, with a Beckett burner. The tech I had (he got out of the biz so now I am looking for a new one) installed a 1.15 GPH nozzle. He looked up the boiler/gun combo in a book to get that firing rate. Said it was the max recommended. I am thinking of going down a bit to 1.0 GPH.

Patchogue Phil_27

heatmanager

Anyone here actually install heat manager and compared before and after fuel use in the field?

Lee_5

DO a heat loss on your home

No point mucking with the burn rate until you know your heat loss.

techheat_2

Phil

I have just started installing them recently,I don't have a full heating season to go on.However there has been extensive lab testing done and Beckett is putting their money where their mouth is by guaranteeing 10% minimum fuel savings.I have the utmost faith in RW Beckett and their products and have never been disappointed in the past and don't expect to now.Here is a copy of BNL testing http://www.beckettcorp.com/heatmanager/pdf/BNL_Report.pdf

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maine rick

run the heat the same temp 24/7 . works like your car on highway your get better gas milage then around town.

Firedragon_4

3 words!

Insulation, new equipment!

Firedragon_4

That's wrong! That's one of the oldest Urban Legends

out there, that ranks right up there with silver paint on radiators!

Even the DOE has proven at BNL that a one degree set-back per hour is not only efficient and manageable for old equipment, but that the savings can be up to 11%.

READ: http://customer.honeywell.com/Honeywell/CatalogNavigator.aspx?Definition=Application&Catalog=Homes&Category=Thermostats_102&ChannelID={2EB2F178-20ED-44E0-97FB-CCFB4218DD64}

BTW, Honeywell claims savings of up to 33%, but you should READ!

Steve Eayrs

I agree with firedragon....

If that was true you would get the same mpg doing a constant 100mph as you would at 60mph. Not even true with you car.

Outdoor reset will save you $$$. It relys on changing the temp of the fluid circulating thru the boiler and/or radiators/baseboards/whatever, as the outdoor temp. changes.
A simple idea that works, and not really bell and whistles thing as some would say, but based on proof and common sense.

You can gain some fooling with the burner itself, but don't try it without test equipment. All nozzles are rated at 100psi, so keep in mind that if your burner is set up for 140psi your actual output will be higher. You can some times increase the pump pressure, and decrease the nozzle size and improve things some, and still maintain about the same btu output.

The limit on how low you can fire your particular boiler will depend on a lot of factors. Don't exceed these factors or you could end up eating up the steel boiler w/ condensate, or sooting or scaling the heat exchanger, which in the long run, is the equivilant of insulating the heat exchanger, and throwing more $$$ up the stack.


Steve

Uni R

Whoa...

The DOE has certain assumptions and these don't hold true in all cases. If the period of setback is greater than the time it takes the heating mass to lose it's heat, then it will save energy. Otherwise, what it saves when setback is completely lost getting the thermal mass heated up again.

Steve Eayrs

I'm not talking about setback.

I believe you are confusing setback thermostats, with outdoor reset controls, which lowers the temp. of the fluid being circulated. In otherwords, the colder it gets outside the hotter the boiler will run.


Has nothing to do with setback, which just turns things off and on. With reset controls, you can keep your thermostat set in the same place and still save $$$$.


Steve

Uni R

No confusion on my part

My response was to Firedragon's post and not yours.

Patchogue Phil_27

Still curious on this...

What about settings on my triple aquastat? What affect does the differential play on fuel efficiency?

Would changing the differential from 20* to 25* have any effect on how much oil is used to keep the house at the same temp?

sootmonkey

phil

Setting the differential @ 25 from 20, would increace the water temp spreads in the boiler. I think this would lead to better "mileage", as the burner would run longer, but not as often. Also if you get your hot water from a tankless coil, you can turn down the low setting on the control alittle bit each day or so. You will know when it is to low when the females in the house start crabbin about the lack of hot water. The correct setting would be just a hair above crabbin. I tried turning the high limit down with the low, but found that my .7 amps pumps would run much longer and the recovery time from 62 degrees to 68 degrees was to long. I set the high at 180.

joel_19

joel

Your equipment is inherently inefficient. While many of the above steps would help your best bet would be to get new , properly installed equipment. A boiler with an indirect WH and running on outdoor reset.

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joel_19

joel

Your equipment is inherently inefficient. While many of the above steps would help your best bet would be to get new , properly installed equipment. A boiler with an indirect WH and running on outdoor reset.

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joel_19

Whoa

Now thiers two Joels i need a new name

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Patchogue Phil_27

Run what ya got

Right now, new equipment is not in the cards. So, I want to get the most out of what I have now.

In a coupla years I'll be in a better position to replace my boiler.

Dale

Constant circulation

You didn't say what type of piping you have but constant circulation may save you money, turn the pump on in the fall and off in the spring. Doesn't cost much to try it. Just make sure the water has a place to circulate, in other words not against zone valves. Your heating tech will know. I think constant circulation with an indoor/outdoor reset is a good choice after you spend the money cleaning the soot out of the heat exhanger passages and setting up the burner with an analyzer.

Ron Schroeder_2

What is the cost of the HeatManager?

techheat_2

Ron

Send me an email

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techheat_2

Ron

Send me an email

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