Old oil burner
I have an old oil burner that even with the thermostat set to 55 it makes the house about 70 degrees. The aqua stat was set at 180/160 diff 25 - if I set this to 140/120 diff 15 would it not make the house so hot? It’s almost like my oil burner doesn’t listen to the thermostat ever since it’s set so low, I haven’t heard the thermostat click but sure enough the machine is running. I don’t know much about these things, I’m just trying to find a way to make my house comfortable for my family, but at the same time not eat up all the oil as it tends to use a lot due to its age. I don’t have the money to go about replacing it, just trying to get a middle ground with it until I can save the money for that.
the things I do know about it:
Honeywell aqua stat
Big motor on front provides oil and thing on top provides spark for fire
1 pump - my grandfather ran it this way so all the radiators run into each other and then back to the machine
Works good when it’s colder out - cooks us when it’s like 45 degrees or higher outside.
I’ve been trying to figure this thing out for years when it comes to heating. I do not have to run it in the summer due to an electric hot water heater.
Comments
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Can I turn it back up to the normal temp it was set at and shut the hot water heater off?
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@Chapman9032 can you take a photograph of the "Machine" the "pump" and the honeywell aquastat with the cover off so I can see the wires inside.
From the language you are using, I may need to tell you to call a professional in order to solve your problem, but there is a possibility that the professional you get may not know what to do. It takes an older, experienced oil burner technician to solve this problem. I happen to be a retired older oil burner guy.
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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here’s pictures of it
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Ah folks… first off, that's a perfectly respectable, if a bit old, Beckett. Now. What somebody needs to do is figure out what the thermostat controls. Most likely it controls the pump, possibly through a relay. Does the pump turn off when the thermostat is turned down? It should… if it doesn't, it's not the "machine", it's probably the thermostat or the thermostat wiring.
Br. Jamie, osb
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
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Look on the back side of the green valve. Make sure that the lever is in the "Automatic" or "NORMAL" position. If that valve in the open position, that will be the reason you are getting too much heat. It must be in the normal position
Do you still get your Domestic Hot Water (DHW) for dishwashing and showering from the oil fired boiler (the big machine) tankless coil (the smaller black part with the copper pipes)? or is there a separate water heater for that?
If you are getting your DHW from the boiler, the aquastat settings should be 160° LO then 180° HI and the Diff should be 10°
If you are getting the DHW from a separate gas or electric water heater tank, then you should have that control adjusted for Cold Start Boiler operation
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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When I turn the thermostat up to about 72-74 it does kick the machine on, when I turn it back down to 55 it does turn it back off. I replaced the thermostat and ran a new wire last winter because I thought maybe that was it.
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in the winter time I turn the oil burner on and I leave the hot water heater on, they run into each other, I’m not sure if that’s normal, but I see a pipe connected to the hot side of the hot water heater from the burner. When we use the shower or wash dishes the water gets extremely hot like burning your skin hot.
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the valve you mention is in the normal position.
by the way thank you guys so much for helping me with this. This has been doing this since I was a child, I just wanted to know if there was something wrong or if this just is normal, I appreciate all your time and advice.0 -
I had a saying i used to ask the technicians that worked for me "After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?" I have it as my tag-line now. I wnat you to know that the pert you are replacing IS the reason for the problem. Dont just shoot the parts cannon at the "Machine"
By the way,
- the Machine is called a boiler.
- the part that makes the flame on the front of the machine is the Oil Burner
- the control box with the red reset button on the burner is called the Primary Control
- the aquastat is called the aquastat. You got that one correct
- the small black section with the copper pipes attached is a tankless coil. that is where the DHW for showers gets hot
- The green valve that is in the normal position is called a Flo Valve and it is supposed to keep the heat in the boiler for DHW and will only open to heat hot water into the radiators when the thermostat operates circulator pump to put the heat into the radiators.
The boiler was installed incorrectly back when you were a child. there should be a tempering valve or a mixing valve that will add cold water to the hot water before it leaves the boiler room. By design that tankless coil can make the DHW so hot you can get burned. there is no way around it if you want heat in the winter. The mixing valve has thermostat inside of it to add some cold water to the Scalding Hot water leaving the tankless DHW coil so when it gets to the shower or other spigot, it will be safe to touch.
Someone should have a plumber add a Mixing valve so you don't get burned.
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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Do you have a tank and a tankless coil? Two water heaters? I would like to see a picture of the Hot Water Tank
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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there’s a tank above the burners itself. The pipe for this tank is running into the Flo Valve.
then here is the hot water heater
And then things the pipe that connects from the hot water heater into the oil burner
here’s something else I found - I’m not sure what’s it’s called but it might eliminate anything or it’s just not important for this.
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We need to see if the tankless coil in the boiler that heats (or used to heat the domestic hot water) to your sinks and shower is connected or disconnected and if it is connected to the Reliance HW heater. Maybe the tankless is preheating the electric HWH.
We need pictures of the copper piping between these two items. Stand back and take more pictures
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Here are the names of the parts on your heater.
- As @EBEBRATT-Ed has already stated, the red tank has nothing to do with DHW.
- You know you have a Flow Valve and that it stops the hot water from going up to the radiators when the thermostat is not calling for heat
- The Circulator pump is operated by the thermostat thru the Aquastat.
- The Auto Feed Valve keeps the boiler pressure at 12 PSI if you vent air from the radiators
- You also know tat the "Machine" is actually called the Boiler and that there is a tankless water heater inside the boiler
- You also have an electric water heater that has the electrical cover removed. That's a No No!!
- And there is an oil burner that makes the heat inside the boiler.
You have this electric water heater that can make the DHW for your home. You also have a Tankless water heater for DHW that was installed incorrectly back when you were a kid, because there is no tempering valve or mixing valve.
Some folks will turn off the electric water heater in the winter and use the Tankless water heater, then turn the oil burner off in the summer and use the electric water heater. Some folks will preheat the water going into the electric water heater with the Tankless water heater. And still others will use both the tank and tankless together without the electric elements in the tank connected. It all depends on how the plumber connected the pipes and valves to the tankless and the electric tank. We can't know that until you show us a picture from a little farther back that shows the pipes that connect the tankless and the electric tank in the same picture.
I hope this gets us closer the your overheating problem.
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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Ignore the other hot water heater that is next to the current one! It’s the one that died right before I got the new one.sorry about the hot water heater wires, that’s because when it was installed it was leaking and short circuiting itself into where the wires go, so I pulled them out so they’d stop doing that. The leak was fixed the same day! Just didn’t get a moment to put the wires back in after it dried out.
Hopefully this helps!
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All that crap on top of the boiler is a fire hazard
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I realize that now and will take care of that other stuff. It’s always been there all these years, it does get cleaned internally. I never really thought about that kind of stuff until it’s being pointed out, but I’ll have it cleared off shortly.
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the tankless in to the water heater would fill the water heater with much hotter water and it will stay that way for a day or more, the electric element just won't come on. If it is the other way around the boiler will cool the water from the water heater when the boiler is turned off in the summer.
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From the looks of that "Machine" I believe you have a NewYorker FR series boiler with a tankless water heater. I took the liberty of looking for the Manufacturer's installation manual and found this information that the original installer either did not read, or just ignored the information.
4 Water Piping and Trim (continued)
F. CONNECT TANKLESS HEATER PIPING AS SHOWN IN FIGURE 4-4.
WARNING Install automatic mixing valve at tankless heater outlet to avoid risk of burns or scalding due to excessively hot water at fixtures. Adjust and maintain the mixing valve in accordance withthe manufacturer’s instructions. Do not operate tankless heater without mixing valve.!THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES SHOULD BE FOLLOWED WHEN PIPING THE TANKLESS HEATER:
This was on page 16 of this current manual https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/catsy.782/FR+Series+IO.pdf but I believe that same information is included in the manual for your older model NewYorker Boiler.
The manufacturer seems to believe that a mixing valve is pretty important for the safety of the users of hot water in the home. I don't know how to state this information any more clearly. I apologize if I have not been clear on the importance of this part that you do not have. If for some reason a person in your home does get scalded by that very hot water, I would be mortified that I didn't do my best to make myself perfectly clear about this information.
Please install one of these on your tankless water
Or have a professional contractor do it for you.
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
0
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