oil line loosing prime

KMD

Does an oil filter have to be installed below the burner? I just had a new oil tank installed in the basement to replace the existing burried tank. the oil tank never had a oil filter. The contractor installed a new tank 7' from the furnace in the basement the supply and return lines (.375") go up to the cieling then there is a general oil filter on the hprizontal run across the cieling going to the furnace, the lines go down about 6" to the burner. The furnace keeps loosing its prime, my question is does the oil filter need to be lower then the burner is the filter at the ceiling causing the oil line to loose its prime? The contractor has been on vacation so when it looses its prime I pull the return line going into the oil tank and hook it up to a small oil pump I have until fuel oil starts to come out then I hook it back up and it is good for about 2 days. I have checked all the fittings and they seem tight. Also I was going to try to tighten the two brass fittings going into the oil pump on the furnace, instead of teflon tape they used a blue type of sealant, this stuff is like concrete I cant seem to budge this fitting to make sure it is not leaking what is this sealant, I am afraid to try to remove this fiting because it seems so tight I am afrain it will break off the fitting before it comes loose.

J.C.A._3

How far does.....

The return line go into the oil tank? It SHOULD terminate within 4" of the tank bottom, so that if the tank dwindles down, it can't suck/work air from the tank into the return line, and is the "bypass plug" installed?

Second question.....If the new tank is 7' from the furnace, why did they choose to pull off the top of the tank? Gravity has, and always will work. If the tank was made in the last 6 years it is a "bottom feed" tank and if the tapping on the bottom of the tank was used, you and the installer could have saved you a ton of problems. BTW, if a fuel system is piped properly, there is absolutely no need for any type of pipe dope or sealing compound. TEFLON IS A BIG NO-NO in any fuel oil system!!!!! Oil eats teflon like a kid eats Christmas cookies. Chris

KMD

the supply and return lines go into a fitting on top of the tank, the fitting has two .375" compression fittings comming out of it, the one marked supply has a dip tube attached to the bottom of it that goes to about one inch from the bottom of the tank. The botom of the tank has a brass valve with a .375 flare end which is capped off. The reason I didnt have the line come off the bottom is the tank is accross the room from the furnace and did not want the oil line going accross the floor. The return line going into the tank just goes about 3" inside the tank are yo saying this needs to go almost to the bottom? I am tring to get ahold of the guy who installed it but he will not be back in town until Monday.

Firedragon_4

It sounds okay to me

and to prevent syphoning during service the return should terminate at the top.

Also, there is an air leak there somewhere and the return line is not needed, FACT!

J.C.A._3

YEP !

The return line should terminate within 4" of the bottom of the tank. Chris

A.J.

Air leak

Are all the connections flare or are they compression ?
Compression fittings can pull air in on the suction side of a oil pump while not leaking any oil,make sure he used all flare connection.

KUPETZ'S PLB & HTG

Weezbo

go get a tigerloop combo.

hook it up to the return line. then connect the tigerloop up to the pump lose the supply line with the general fitting. Done Deal.

oil-2-4-6-gas

Weez Tigerloops are a band-aid or a mask for the real problem i agree it will take care of this issue, i have done it myself but it doesn't address the real problem --if you have compression fittings on top of the tank-thats fine they are just
"slip couplings"the pipe is 1 piece all the way through but if you have compression fittings anywhere else they must be changed ---you have a suction leak -might be a fitting,loose gasket at the filter bad flare connection or someone forgot the by-pass plug in the pump --seen that situation before---the filter location is fine-there were some problems with the filter being installed at the pump --this was termed gasification-but a little uncommon --check all of the joints,gaskets,by-pass plug in the pump and replace any compression fittings with flares

Weezbo

what fittings would be on a return line?

a flare at the return off the pump or in the instance of adding atigerloop combo,(which by the way will actually increase the longevity of the tank)one flare fitting on the combo.or a OSV ahead of it, or if you put a firite and shut off valve ahead of them one flare fitting in the shut off valve. the thing is if you do your work right the first time then no one is Trying to fix problems. and bypassing the entire problem for me is better than going round and round looking for the next well it could be... i also agree with you ..some problem exists..its a loose bolt cracked filter canister or head,hole in the line, loose fitting,loose B nut Bad Flare,fitting threaded wrong,wrong Kind of fitting bad underground silver braze,shut off valve stem leak or maybe it could be....just checking the things i mentioned would require plenty of time and tools to go look for to see if...were i he , bag that ...put it in so it works correctly the first time and lose the problems altogether.i read his post on down the line....bummer....found he said the returns 3" off the top of the tank...well any guesses..... )) it was a could be ))) forget the tiger loop or rplace the return line and ferrel and thistime put the line within 4 " of the bottom of the tank ...:) amen?

Patrick Powers_2

Loosing prime

Disconnect the return line take out the general filter and install a Garber filter. If you continue to have a problem install a tiger loop. Is this take inside?

Firedragon_4

Guys,

return lines going to the bottom is passe. This is a gravity job, it's only 7' away in the basement.

If you add return lines, tiggerloops, etc., you're just masking the problem or creating even more.

Please, do some reading, things have changed, a lot!

Weezbo

ok if i get the drift, there is no problems with pump seals.

ehm....it gets a bit chilly aroind here,:) so, if you did have a return line within 4 " of the bottom of the tank, and O dreary Day the supply(Froze,was installed with dirt in the line,that froze by the time You show,was crimped in a wall or pulled some leaf in the mix that a blow out gun could not get rid of,)or had some new problem here to unforseen my mortal man...it would be great not to have to install a line into a vent across the snow through the wall ,insulation and vapor barrier ,sheet rock,texture and paint.......say for example.

Firedragon_4

On that basis you are right,

but why not a spare boiler, burner, controls, wiring, oh yeah and why not have a tech living in the basement.

It's called the 'Armeggedon Daisy Chain Fail-Safe Principle and JMO Weezbo, it's redundant, but it's JMO!

blackoakbob_2

Air leaking ...

into the oil line is a possiblity. Try this for the weekend,take some heavy duty grease, the thicker, the better and coat each fitting thoroughly, just glob it on and it may stop the air leak for the weekend and then have the installer check and re-flair the fittings. Don't for- get the filter cover and bolts at the top and the nut at the bottom. It worked once for me. Happy New Year..

oil-2-4-6-gas

.

why is everyone wasting soo much time with this-you had a contractor install it --he was paid for the job He needs to fix it---any job i do has to work correctly when i'm done --or i have to correct any problems--period!!FACT unless this was a homeowner--handyman install then --well time to pay a pro to fix it //from the sounds of this it should be a gravity 1 pipe install--period !! we need some serious licensing requirements in this industry--any YO-YO WITH TRANSPORTATION AND A TOOLBOX CAN WORK ON HEATING EQUIPMENT IN ---NEW YORK --just think i work on some large equipment gas,and all grades of oil-{yes even bunker}some burn 600 gallons of oil/day steam process systems -laundramats @ 100 psi steam --gas power burners w/6" gas valves-- ---no lisence, no requirements, no training other than on the job --luckily for most people who live in apartment buildings in WESTCHESTER i care about what i'm doing and have respect for the equipment i work on ----but too many don't

Maine Ken

with a two pipe it should be self priming!!!! Why not use the bleeder port instead of attatching a separate pump to the return and sucking through the pump!!

My guess is that old dirty oil was pumped from the old tank into the new. With the two line it is now got a glogged filter and pump strainer.

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Firedragon_4

The bosses don't want licensing,

they're afraid it will drive up labor costs. Fact is, all it's ever done is cost us customers by not having it and showing a lack of professionalism.

It's not the solution to all of our woes, but it sure helps.

Weezbo

true story. The guy fricked it up he should fix it.

it isnt like some one ran in and split the gasket on the canister bolt ...he should get his tools in the truck get over there and fix it.

Maine Ken

Well?????

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soot_seeker_2

licensing....

on the topic of licensing in new york -

or at least in nassau / suffolk....

is it not required to at least have some sort of county contractor's license (or master plumber's license) AND limited electrical license to do work /installs of heating equipment? at least i think that was true in suffolk 20 years ago. did something change?

ss