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Used motor oil boiler.

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Harvey Ramer
Harvey Ramer Member Posts: 2,239
edited May 2017 in THE MAIN WALL
I'm looking at a used motor oil boiler replacement. I don't deal with many so I'm wondering what brand is the best, or the most troublefree.

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  • STEVEusaPA
    STEVEusaPA Member Posts: 6,506
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    My limited experience and advice would be to only order one from a place that's nearby or has a factory rep nearby. I'm in Philly and I had a customer who ordered one from California. It was a nightmare to get parts and to address a warranty issue. Had to bring a welder in to fix the heat exchanger. They take a beating so the more filtration the better.
    steve
    Harvey Ramer
  • Tim Potter
    Tim Potter Member Posts: 273
    edited May 2017
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    We use a cleanburn -furnace- to heat our 6 bay auto shop works like a charm, 15 years old, we burn about 1500 gal waste Used motor oil a season. I am very happy with it. they have a boiler version based on a similar design.

    Tim
    Winter Park, CO & Arvada, CO
    Harvey Ramer
  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 22,142
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    I thought Clean Burn use to be out of PA?

    I installed maybe 6 CBs over the year. They work best with a buffer tank, and post purge, especially if you start zoning them much.

    If the combustion chamber fills with ash they tend to over shoot temperature as the ash holds some heat.

    They need to be maintained and cleaned fairly frequently depending on the quality of the oil. Make sure the owner has the ability to maintain them. Ash removal and cleaning isn't a pleasant job.
    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
    Harvey RamerJUGHNE
  • Mark Eatherton
    Mark Eatherton Member Posts: 5,853
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    DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER... you want a "Used Motor Oil" boiler, because it is illegal to burn WASTE oil :wink: (Brought to my attention by a Used Motor Oil Burner manufacturer who was compatible with Buderus 3 pass boilers) And as others have noted, these things require regular maintenance. I worked on two of them at a local concrete pumping facility, and they HATED doing the maintenance because it was SO dirty. And the good Lord knows what all was in the oil. It was hydraulic oil, gear case oil, engine oil and transmission fluid.

    What happened to the first one?

    ME
    It's not so much a case of "You got what you paid for", as it is a matter of "You DIDN'T get what you DIDN'T pay for, and you're NOT going to get what you thought you were in the way of comfort". Borrowed from Heatboy.
  • Harvey Ramer
    Harvey Ramer Member Posts: 2,239
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    That's weird. One word makes all the difference. But hey, who am I to judge :) Thanks for the tidbit though. It could save a person from some unwanted attention.

    The old one was installed in a radiant slab application, with no anti condensation protection. The flue tubes rotted and one now has a pinhole.


    The latest word from the owner is that they are going to have the boiler retubed and then let me replumb it to my satisfaction.
    Mark Eatherton
  • Tim Potter
    Tim Potter Member Posts: 273
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    Thanks Mark for the Tip

    Tim
    Winter Park, CO & Arvada, CO
    Mark Eatherton

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