Buderus G115 problems

Wild Bill

Hello Wallies,
I just bought a house that has a Buderus G115, Carlin EZ Pro burner, and the "balance flue" vent system. The boiler was cleaned by a reputable oil dealer two weeks ago. Last night, I was in the basement near the boiler and it was making a very strange sound when the burner was firing. It had a pulsating sound, it sounded like a Rambler in bad need of a tune up. I phoned the oil dealer, the tech. that came was sadly quite unfamiliar with Buderus product, the oil burner nozzle was changed and it seems to be OK. He suggested that I call on Monday and schedule another cleaning.

I get the distinct impression from this site that these things either run good or are problematic. Other than making sure it is clean again and set up with combustion instruments, any thoughts out there as to why my unit went south on me two-weeks after my annual tune up????

Thanks in advance for the input,
WIld Bill

Robert O'Connor_6

My experience

experience with the 115 and Carlin has been trouble free . I have installed a few of these.

I would suggest that the rumbling sound is most likely simply an oil burner in need of the proper adjustment and or nozzle.

Further, I would say you have excellent equipment and you need good service people to compliment it.

Regards

Robert

ME

kevin coppinger_4

it could be ...

something as simple as a bad nozzle or an adjustment that got loose. I pretty much only use the 115DV w/ the Carlin set up and have little problems...in fact I only use the Buderus to Direct vent. How long has the boiler been in? kpc

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Mark Walnicki_2

Nozzle!

I've been obsessed with boilers for quite some time now, spend 8+ years in the field dealing with them, but 99.9% were gas. Ironically, I have an oil boiler here.

So I did my research, and in my typical fashion spent months agonzing over my replacement boiler.

I finally settled on the Buderus G115B21, a fine piece of equipment, no refractory, nice wide open design, triple bypass, easy to clean, no "pins" on the sections, a breeze to clean. Partly as an experiment, partly because "the shoemaker's kids go shoeless", I waited 3 1/2 years to clean it, and boy did it need it! But how far down did the efficiency go? I set it up 3 1/2 years ago at 84.5%, and despite the neglect and soot it was still at 79%. My buddy that helped do the cleaning with me was so convinced his test equipment was screwed up he checked it 3 times. Still came out at 79% efficiency each time, and that was with a #7 smoke!

I DON'T recommend anyone do this, and I'll probably go to a yearly cleaning from here on out, but it was still a quite amazing thing to see. I have the Carlin EZ-1 HP burner.

Anyway, I'm not getting to the point of your question. We got all done with the tune-up, cleaning, ignitor change, nozzle change, etc., did our tests and thought we were okay...

The label on the boiler said it called for a 60*, .50 gph, ES nozzle, Delevan. Being as ignorant as I am with oil, I had gone to the supply house and asked for that nozzle. The counterperson looked at me like the ignorant person I was, and said, "You're asking for two different nozzles. ES is Hago; do you want a Hago nozzle or a Delevan nozzle?"

For whatever reason, I like the sound of the Delevan name better, and said, 'Give me a Delevan, it's the Hago equivalent right?'

She assured me it was, and off I went with my Delevan nozzle, pulled out the Hago nozzle during the clean & tune, and installed the Delevan. We did our tests, had the sucker running like a champ, and patted ourselves on the back for a job well done, despite the slight rumble in the burn, which we figured would cure itself, maybe there was still some air in the oil line.

A day later, the burner would start, run for about 30 seconds, and quit, with a whole lot of rumbling and noise before it did. (Too young for a rambler, but I once owned a '76 Malibu that sounded like it a lot)

What the &@#? I re-bled the oil line, re-checked the ignitors, ignitor positioning, chimney draft, overfire draft, reset the primary air band, barometric damper, blower wheel, retention head, made sure the oil line valve was completely open, etc., etc., all sorts of stuff that we had touched, or had possibly been affected by our work the night before. It finally came down to the nozzle.

Then it occurred to me that somewhere in my library I had specs. on the burner, and the nozzles.

Per Carlin's Engineering Manual, and the section on the Carlin Elite Oil Burner, models EZ-1, EZ-2, EZ-3, Table 2, Model EZ-1 Nozzle Specifications:

Delevan 60* B = Solid Nozzle

Hago 60* ES = Solid Nozzle

Both solid, both 60* spray angle.

Both the same nozzle, right? Uh, uh.

The difference, according to the chart?

The Delevan is listed as a very long flame length.

The Hago is listed as a medium flame length.

End result? Threw in the old nozzle, and not a problem since.

Not all nozzles are created equal! If the one that was in there before the clean/tune worked okay, stick with it, and replace it in kind!

Whew! Sorry for the long post, but it was quite a learning experience for me, and I'm still a bit surprised by it all. But the burner has run flawlessly ever since, providing plenty of heat for my recent holiday company, and plenty of heat to my indirect. Two loads of dishes, five consecutive long showers, (and I was #5, and took the longest shower), and never once came close to running out of hot water!

Ted_9

Not making trouble here, but its interesting that you list the problem on the post as a Buderus G115 problem, when its really a Carlin problem and more specificly a maintenance issue.

Its just funny where we point the figure of blame.

PATRIOT HEATING & COOLING, INC.

Mark Walnicki_2

Not a Buderus problem at all!

Things just worked out better with a different (albeit original) nozzle in the Carlin burner.

Unless I missed something in my experience, not all nozzles are created equal, and they do make a difference.

I wouldn't even call it a Carlin problem.

Just a mis-match of the nozzle to the boiler.

An honest mistake, and I blame neither the boiler or the burner, just myself for not knowing more about nozzles!

Live & learn.

Wild Bill

Nozzle

Mark,
Thanks for the informative post. My Buderus literature, oddly enough, calls for a Delavan nozzle, .50g 60degree A pattern. I have a friend at Carlin and will double check with him in the A.M.

dconnors

G115

Depending on the exact model and year will make a difference on the nozzle. we usually use the Carlin P-10 burner for direct vent. This would take the Delavon 50-60 A nozzle. However, it always makes sense to experiment with moderation if conditions at the jobsite are less than lab conditions. All specs we list are under controlled and optimal conditions. Your conditions may vary.