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Field Controls Oil Vent Damper

mark schofield
mark schofield Member Posts: 153
Has anyone had experience; and if so, comments on the new Field Controls oil vent damper? From what I understand the older (20 years+) vent dampers were problematic. This unit is a few years old. For a non cold start oil fired CI boiler. Thanks for any opinions. Mark S

<a href="http://www.fieldcontrols.com/pdfs/46567100OVDInstSheetRevA0109.pdf">http://www.fieldcontrols.com/pdfs/46567100OVDInstSheetRevA0109.pdf</a>

Comments

  • Alan R. Mercurio_3
    Alan R. Mercurio_3 Member Posts: 1,620
    Re:Field Controls Oil Vent Damper

    Mark, I have not used any yet but they do seem to have come a long way from the old ones. The only thing I’ll caution you about is that much like many power venters I have found these to be wired in parallel, not in series as they should be.

    This usually happens when the directions are used as a knee pad ;-)
    Your friend in the industry,



    Alan R. Mercurio



    www.oiltechtalk.com
  • mark schofield
    mark schofield Member Posts: 153
    field controls oil vent damper

    Alan; thanks for your reply. Like many others , I'm limited to oil or

    propane. My WM WTGO 3 is 7 years old. The tankless coil outlet feeds an older

    Carlin Aquabank for DHW storage. The tankless coil inlet is fed by a

    solar DHW storage tank. I've insulated the two storage tanks (R19) over

    the existing tank insulation; installed drop tubes on the inlets and

    outlets of both tanks, insulated the boiler on the outside of the boiler

    casing or shell, insulated all the near piping except for the Taco 007,

    and have an outdoor reset. I changed the flue from top to rear. The low

    limit is set at 125, just high enough to keep the Aquabank at a

    comfortable DHW temp for me and keep the aquabank circlator from conatantly running. The differential is 20.The boiler is

    cleaned/tuned professionally yearly and no condensation issues are

    evident. I put an hour meter on the burner a few years ago and during

    the non-heating season the burner run about 20 minutes a day. About

    $10/week at $4/gallon. Because this isn't a cold start boiler and I have

    to maintain a minimum temperature, I think I've exhausted all the

    things I can do except to minimize standby loss up the flue pipe. Thus

    the question about the oil vent damper. They aren't that expensive and

    the technician can re-tune the boiler for any changes in draft. But I did hear bad things about them in the past.   Mark S
  • billtwocase
    billtwocase Member Posts: 2,385
    As Alan said

    They need to be wired right. Also, your flue is 7" on that, and to increase efficiency, I would have that set for rear flue, as they are optional top or rear flue. Carlin EZ-1 also gives better results I find. When your aquabank lets go, your best option would be to have an indirect installed, and maintain next to nothing for temp. Cold start is not the way to go
  • meplumber
    meplumber Member Posts: 678
    Agree on the EZ-1.

    In my experience, the EZ-1 matches up best with a power venter.  As bill and alan stated, proper wiring is the key.
  • Ron Jr._3
    Ron Jr._3 Member Posts: 603
    edited June 2011
    Haven't seen the damper

    on an oil fired boiler yet . But I can tell you by watching my own boiler's temp drop like a stone from loss up the chimney that this unit is a great idea .   



    Any troubles wiring it in with a burner that has post purge ?
  • Ron Jr._3
    Ron Jr._3 Member Posts: 603
    edited June 2011
    double post

  • mark schofield
    mark schofield Member Posts: 153
    post purge

    the instruction/instlation papers indicate a 3 minute "hold open time" after the burner shuts down. The Carlin has a 15 second post purge. I asked my oil/service company for their opinions. One of the techs said that trapping excess heat in the chamber might have adverse effects on the burner head and nozzle when the unit isn't firing.
  • Alan R. Mercurio_3
    Alan R. Mercurio_3 Member Posts: 1,620
    Re:Field Controls Oil Vent Damper

    That’s a pretty sharp tech you have and that was a good catch on his part. I fully agree with his concerns. Perhaps you could install a Beckett GeniSys or a Honeywell control that you could adjust the post-purge to 2 min. Carlin also has a new control that has an adjustable post-purge however I’m not sure if it’s available to the market yet?
    Your friend in the industry,



    Alan R. Mercurio



    www.oiltechtalk.com
This discussion has been closed.