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oil burner tuning

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ChrisJ
ChrisJ Member Posts: 15,672
in Oil Heating
Ok so I finally fixed my puff-back problem.  I had someone service our Burnham V83 steam boiler with Beckett AFG burner back in May and ever since it would light with a whomp.

Boiler manual calls for a .60 60A nozzle and it had a .75 45B installed.  I installed the correct nozzle, set the electrodes and she starts up and purrs like a kitten!



Question I have is, before switched nozzles she burned with a dark yellow flame.  With the correct nozzle its a very bright yellow almost whiteish flame with blue mixed in.  The air band and shutter are set to what Burnham says to set them to which is exactly how I found them.  In my case this is 2 on the band and 10 on the shutter.  The air damper on the stack has not been tampered with since it was set by a service tech.



Should my burner be good to go or should I still have someone come out with tools to adjust the air?  How close to perfect are the "factory settings" from the boiler manufacture? 

Unfortunately this last guy left me pretty unimpressed with paying to have my boiler "serviced".  
Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment

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  • STEVEusaPA
    STEVEusaPA Member Posts: 6,506
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    I would.

    Sounds like you made a change for the better.  Sounds like it's running good (better), but I would still have him come out and use the combustion equipment to dial it in.  Adjusting by eye is a good starting point, but you may be too clean. A tiny nudge of air changes it from zero smoke to a trace.  Don't let him turn it on and tune it.   I would get it running about 10 minutes, adjust draft first, then smoke, etc.  If you're due for an annual/cleaning service, you could wait, since running your boiler when it's 90 out will get it a little toasty in the house.  If you're using it for DHW, you could turn up, or jumper the a DHW call so the house doesnt heat up.
    steve
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,833
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    Definitely get it tuned

    by someone other than the one who messed it up. Try the Find a Contractor page of this site. Don't hire anyone who does not have a digital combustion analyzer. 
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 15,672
    Options
    Understood

    Now once its tuned will it be safe to simply vacuum the boiler and change filters and nozzles from then on as long as nothing else changes?
    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,833
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    No

    your burner must be serviced and tested every year. For example, nozzles can vary a bit and this would affect the tuning. 
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
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