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Oil Quality

Jaitch
Jaitch Member Posts: 68
Oil quality has slowly gotten worse. In an effort to get the most "bang per barrell" the refiners have gone "lower" in the fractioning tower to get more heating oil yield. That coupled with the amount of old,old storage tanks that already ahve a lot of "gook" in them (technical term :>)) require a greater effort for filtration. The cleaner you can keep the oil supply at the burner the more stable and efficent the fire. I haven't needed to change the nozzle in my boiler for the last three years. I am using a General 1A25 as a "rock catcher" and filter it through a Garber spin-on filter. I have vac gauges installed on both filters, and when I see the vaccum start to climb, I know it's time to change the filter. The sections on my boiler are white as snow.....
We still need to vac these units out to eliminate any sulfur deposits and other scale, but the job is a great deal easier if you don't have "combustion by-products" (read SOOT) to contend with.
Keep the oil clean and the fire and unit stay clean. Remember that 1/8" of soot = 1" fiberglass insulation.
Maybe this isn't the answer for Joe homeowner in the basement, but it works for me.

Comments

  • Ragu
    Ragu Member Posts: 138
    Have Standards Changed?

    What actually is going on with the quality of oil? At every seminar we attended this summer, we were told to be proactive by installing double and triple filters, oil treatments etc. Are current oil quality problems a result of poor refining? Contamination from transport? I'd like to hear some feedback. Thanks.
  • Keith_8
    Keith_8 Member Posts: 399
    Your right

    The oil does have a tendency to get black and silty.

    According to an oil treatment company I spoke with, the silt is the " heavy ends of the oil falling out" what ever that means and is supposed to be of high btu content. The trick is keeping it from clooging your filter.

    My boiler is set up as a one pipe, off the bottom of the tank. Spin on gerber filter, Im on my 3rd one in 7 years. I do throw in a oil treatement a couple times a year. Seems to work fine.

    Keith
  • Firedragon_4
    Firedragon_4 Member Posts: 1,436
    I agree

    that the oil has changed.

    BUT, if you read the postings here and at the oil burner sites, and of course the magazines, you will quickly determine that oil treatments and lots of proper filtration can make even the worse of the old storage tanks deliver reasonably clean oil to the burners.

    JMO, but when we dump copper lines and go to inert tanks many of these problems will go away.

    BTW, I have an article commissioned by the National Oil Fuel Institute (NOFI) that we use both aluminum lines and aluminum tanks to lower fuel quality problems.

    Who's NOFI?
    The great grandaddy of NORA.

    The date on the article?
    1948
  • soot_seeker_2
    soot_seeker_2 Member Posts: 228
    copper lines

    What does the copper do to the oil? Is the copper line giving up its material? i.e. the copper line wall getting thinner?
  • Firedragon_4
    Firedragon_4 Member Posts: 1,436
    Yes!

    Read this:
    Brookhaven



    Then type oil degradation of copper lines in a search engine and be amazed! Shazam!


  • joel_19
    joel_19 Member Posts: 933
    bad oil

    We just had two customers fill up and both have had problems . both boilers ran perfectly with the same set ups for years we had to radically change things just so they would fire .
  • Firedragon_4
    Firedragon_4 Member Posts: 1,436
    Maybe not so much

    'bad oil', but a different fuel content to it.

    All of the effects of the storms of 2005 have yet to impact oil users. So far, pricing has been the issue, now watch the well source and refinery become one. (Two?)

    I would suggest you read the articles in this month's oil magazines about the problems, JMO!
  • heatboy
    heatboy Member Posts: 1,468
    Another reason why.......................

    even attempting to use a "condensing" oil boiler is foolish.

    There was an error rendering this rich post.

  • Firedragon_4
    Firedragon_4 Member Posts: 1,436
    But, they

    will probably work the nuts if we can get low sulphur (.004) oil before the next century arrives and any oilmen are left!
  • Constantin
    Constantin Member Posts: 3,796
    even if...

    ... you have a credible supply of low-sulfur fuel?

    Perhaps the oil quality issue impacts these low-input boilers a bit more because of their smaller nozzle sizes? Firedragon filters his fuel three times before it reaches the boiler, that may be the answer... a high-performance solution for a high-performance boiler. Not cheap, for sure.

    As much as I liked the idea of installing a condensing boiler, I too opted for a non-condensing model as I wasn't convinced at the time that I would be able to secure a low-sulfur fuel supply for a reasonable price. The market here is finally moving in the direction of offering low (500PPM Diesel) and very-low (40PPM B5) sulfur content fuel, but it certainly is not the norm.
  • heatboy
    heatboy Member Posts: 1,468
    Not worth the little gain............

    in efficiency over what you already have. Clean fuel or not. But, clean fuel would go a long way in making your Vitola run better. Having both gas and oil Vitolas in operation, I'll stick with gas. Almost no difference when both units are new, but with the oil residue, efficincies drop off over a years time. With the gas Vitolas, I open them, have a peek and close them right up.

    There was an error rendering this rich post.

  • Firedragon_4
    Firedragon_4 Member Posts: 1,436
    With all due respect

    I go 4 to 4/12 years between tune-ups and have since 1980. The magic or trick is in the setup

    Before I service my equipment I do a pre-test and normally find it 1 to 1-1/2 % off from the last test. If that's due to residue, I'll take it!

    Don't kid yourself, the high efficiency gas stuff needs maintenance too! In looking at units that haven't been properly setup or cleaned and are in insurance subregation it becomes quite apparent very quickly that knowledge and instrumentation are essential.
  • Constantin
    Constantin Member Posts: 3,796
    No question,

    ... the gain is much more marginal on the oil side of the business than on the gas side. IIRC, the latent heat content of NG flue gases is 14%, Propane is 13% and #2 oil is 9%. So there is less latent heat to harvest in a condensing oil boiler.

    However, if you live in a very cold environment, the savings may add up to the point where the incremental cost of going with a condensing oil boiler is offset positively by the fuel savings.

    This also goes for other emerging control systems on the oil side, like 2-stage burners or perhaps even modulating burners. For many parts of the country, the incremental cost to upgrade is probably hard to justify even if a new burner is needed. On the other hand, the 15% fuel reduction that Firedragon reported in his system sounds promising indeed.
This discussion has been closed.