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air fuel ratio

in Oil Heating
air fuel ratio question.
On my oil heater adjusting the air band and shutter I see the flame getting larger and larger as i decrease the air. Set to the smallest air intake the flame is the largest. I never see smoke.
I did a complete tune up last season and noticed this condition, then and again this season.
Your thoughts?
thanks,
paul
On my oil heater adjusting the air band and shutter I see the flame getting larger and larger as i decrease the air. Set to the smallest air intake the flame is the largest. I never see smoke.
I did a complete tune up last season and noticed this condition, then and again this season.
Your thoughts?
thanks,
paul
1
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Comments
Use the test instruments, not the eye.
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England.
Hoffman Equipped System (all original except boiler), Weil-Mclain 580, 2.75 gph Carlin, Vapourstat 0.5 -- 6.0 ounces per square inch
Co is odorless and it can kill and no one can look at a flame and tell you the Co content
Your playing with fire literally.
I have a manometer. what else do i need?
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England.
Hoffman Equipped System (all original except boiler), Weil-Mclain 580, 2.75 gph Carlin, Vapourstat 0.5 -- 6.0 ounces per square inch
You also don’t know how much air is required because you have no way to quantify and qualify your statements.
You need a professional with proper tools and training. Maybe interview them before you let them into your home and pay them.
Adjusting air by looking at the flame is pure hackery and could damage your equipment and/or completely soot it up.
After confirming proper nozzle, proper head adjustment, proper pump pressure, a proper analysis is:
-Run burner to steady state, confirmed by flue temperature.
-Adjust draft to manufacturer's specification (over fire and at breech).
-Adjust combustion air to achieve true zero smoke, with a smoke gun.
-Insert analyzer and note CO2. Adjust air band to drop CO2 1 percentage point.
If your tech or company can’t articulate that to you then find another.
Adjust the air shutter/band until a trace of
smoke is achieved.
Increase the air to reduce the CO by 1.5 to 2 percentage points.
Recheck smoke level. It should be Zero
The air handler (carrier) "Combustion Check" says:
"1. A test kit to measure smoke, stack draft, over-fire draft, oil pump pressure, CO2, and stack temperatures MUST be used in order to obtain proper air band setting. Although all of the above measurements are required for optimum setup and efficiency data, the most important readings that must be taken are smoke number, over-fire draft, stack draft, and pump pressure.
2. The proper smoke number has been established by engineer-
ing tests to be between 0 and 1. This degree of smoke emission
is commonly referred to as a"trace′′of smoke. It is recom-
mended to use a Bacharach true spot smoke test set or
equivalent."
tks,pa
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England.
Hoffman Equipped System (all original except boiler), Weil-Mclain 580, 2.75 gph Carlin, Vapourstat 0.5 -- 6.0 ounces per square inch
massive cost differences above.
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England.
Hoffman Equipped System (all original except boiler), Weil-Mclain 580, 2.75 gph Carlin, Vapourstat 0.5 -- 6.0 ounces per square inch
"Reducing our country's energy consumption, one system at a time"
Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
Oil & Gas Burner Service
Baltimore, MD (USA) and consulting anywhere.
https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/all-steamed-up-inc
Make sure he leaves a printout of the systems readings and verify they are the proper range.
This is not something to DIY unless you are familiar with these systems, you are correct in worrying about paying a incompetent tech to perform the test.
once you research the proper combustion numbers for your unit you can quiz the tech when he gets there, this should give you an idea if he knows what hes talking about or not.
I'm easily 1.5 hours with a boiler and swing out door, 2 hours if I have to pull the front of the boiler or the burner.
Usually 1.5 hours+ for a furnace.
https://imgur.com/a/FyTEH7R
and
https://imgur.com/a/QCM7pXf
these are both at the same A/F ratio.
I only look into the fire to see if there is fire and if it is impinging on the target wall or sides.