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One for the oil burner guys

Mikey B
Mikey B Member Posts: 9
You should never paint the inside of any air tube. You are just reflecting more light for the cad cell to read and can cause major problems down the road. On your next call with these guys show them this service pratice. When boiler running do an ohms reading on cad cell. Close the air slowly to burner and watch the ohms creep down. this will prove the theory that you should not paint air tube, It's a band aid for a major problem. Just good quality trouble shooting will fix the problems.

Comments

  • D.S._2
    D.S._2 Member Posts: 4


    Okay guys, time to get some opinions on one of my pet peeves. Why would anybody paint the inside of the blast tube silver on an oil burner??? I have seen this several times (guys in the company I work for do it). They will change the spray pattern, firing rate, or angle, then to improve the flame signal spray the blast tube silver. These are not what I would consider to be older burners, most of them have been installed within the past 10 years. Personally I think it's a liablity, but the boss has no issues with this practice. What do you guys think?
  • Steamhead (in transit)
    Steamhead (in transit) Member Posts: 6,688
    I think

    they need to check their OEM Spec Guides if the burners were matched to the boilers. In some cases down-firing is OK but you need to do it carefully.

    In the Beckett class today, this subject came up and the instructor condemned the silver paint practice.

    If something goes wrong, who would be responsible?


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  • D.S._2
    D.S._2 Member Posts: 4



    exactly my point!!!! Thank you!!!
    Typically they do this on OEM equipment, claiming the burner runs better with the changes, but I don't see it.
  • Steamhead (in transit)
    Steamhead (in transit) Member Posts: 6,688
    Are they using digital combustion analyzers properly?

    That's the only way to know for sure how a burner is running.

    I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't............

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  • D.S._2
    D.S._2 Member Posts: 4


    I wish we had those. We're still using the old school Bacharach kits with the Fyrite. Electronic is much nicer though, I have used them with a previous employer. Can't convince the boss that they're better.
  • Bill Nye_2
    Bill Nye_2 Member Posts: 538
    Silver paint

    Silver paint, white paint......... It shows a brighter light to the cad cell. So, instead of locking out when there is a poor flame , it will continue to run until the boiler soots up and smokes up the basement.

    It is a band aid fix. If the cad cell ohm reading is off the cause should be determined. Not a paint job. Some wannabe burner men paint all of them out of habit. Why? because the "old guy" did it that way.
  • D.S._2
    D.S._2 Member Posts: 4


    But what I will never understand is why change anything when the burner was running fine when it was set up to OEM specs??? why fix what ain't broke???
  • Cosmo_3
    Cosmo_3 Member Posts: 845
    another peeve

    I have known guys always have to wrap thermostat wire around a screwdriver, or plier handle and make a lot of spiral curly cues before going into the wiring device... because it looks neat.

    Then I tell them how they are creating an induction field and I start getting the caveman stare

    Cosmo
  • Cosmo_3
    Cosmo_3 Member Posts: 845
    and another

    This is a big one.

    Guys who replace a boiler, and leave the 30-40 year old oil supply line there, and just change the General 1A25A filter cartridge.

    hey cheapskate, charge a couple bucks for a new oil line from the tank, and give your customer a good filter, like a Garber. Or at least a low micron filter insert for the General.....

    Or here is another one, I was taught to always have a new spare nozzle for the burner left on the job. Every time you do a tune up, replace it. Then in an emergency, or if you don't have one in the truck you have the right nozzle to give the customer heat on a single digit night. It is one of the unwritten rules of the trade in my opinion.


    Cosmo
  • Jim Davis_3
    Jim Davis_3 Member Posts: 578


    It always amazes me how creative contractors can get to minimize nuisances to themselves. The fact that they are using antiquated combustion test equipment shows they have no real commitment to accuracy. They are doing no favors to the customer other than costing them more fuel and potentially making the equipment more dangerous. The things they are doing, other than painting the air tube, are not necesarily bad things. They just don't have any accurate way of verifying what they are doing.
  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 15,452


    The old silver paint trick. What is now condemed was considered a good "trick" years ago to make a burner run.

    A lot of things were done in the old days that would be condemed today--thats progress.

    Personally, I never was comfortable with the paint idea and I don't remember ever doing it but it was fairly common practice years ago. I agree with Bill, it could allow the burner to run with poor combustion.

    Ed
  • Guy_6
    Guy_6 Member Posts: 450
    Paint

    I think that the silver paint trick started in the 70s when a lot of older equipment was being retrofitted with retention head burners. Sometimes, we had to use a long blast tube to get around some obstruction on the front of the boiler. There was also the issue of the heat from the front of those old monsters reaking havoc with the transformers, so we wanted them at a (cool) distance. With that, the light was often far from the eye, causing nuisance lockouts.
    Nowadays, the painting is unnecessary. I would rather see the squirrel cage blower get brushed out, and air tube cleaned well, as that is often overlooked.
  • Big Ed
    Big Ed Member Posts: 1,117
    Induction Field

    Since the current is comming and going to most controls,wouldn't it cross the other out?
  • Big Ed
    Big Ed Member Posts: 1,117
    Good Point

    The practice started with the long blast tubes use in retrofitting obselete boiler like the down fired GE. They also used a speical narrow tube on a Beckett.. That set up, still out there today ....you give the sign of the cross if it is still running ... Any long tube gives trouble to a stock cad cell even on a Riello.. Some guys used paint or moved the eye further down on the draw assembly closer to the fire..
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