Riello Parts

EdTheHeaterMan · September 18

My son is looking for an old Riello chassis.The 40-F3 electric motor air gate is preferred. There is a burner-through-the-door job that has a leaking oil piston. This is the third oil piston over the last 25 years.

This assumes that the old Mectron M3 fire tube bolts up to the new 40-F3 burner.

Since the through-the-door fire tube is secured to the door with a block of castable refractory cement, it would be easier to use the same blast tube. We considered a pre-owned Beckett, but that would mean making another fire door with another castable refractory door brick.

This is for a long-time customer who has limited income — “starving artist syndrome.” I bartered the original oil burner job 25 years ago for the cost of the materials only, with no charge for labor. Her side of the barter was two large paintings of my 3-year-old son and my 6-year-old daughter, way back in the day. and we still have those awesome portraits. Anyone have one laying around in the junk burner pile? I will pay shipping to Cape May New Jersey.

JMWHVAC · September 18

I have had a lot of those pistons leak over the years. Instead of hassling with them I just get rid of the piston and braze the tiny oil line shut.

Big Ed_4 · September 18

Better to reinstall a new pump plug.

EdTheHeaterMan · September 19

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1904131#Comment_1904131

I never thought of that. great Idea. I just sent this photo to my son.

Big Ed_4 · September 19

That is the old style piston , 35 years old ?

HydronicMike · September 19

I think if you’re not replacing the piston, the metric plug is way better than the electric air gate, which also gets bypassed instead of replacing.

Robert O'Brien · September 19

Mectron and F series air tubes are different, not interchangeable

EdTheHeaterMan · September 20

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1904174#Comment_1904174

I was afraid of that. So I think we will just plug off the oil piston port from the pump and set the air gate accordingly.

This person has limited funds and owns the home outright. She will probably live the rest of her life there with a boiler that she is used to. No circulator pump or relay to worry about — just a system that keeps on going like the Energizer Bunny.

The company I sold my business to told her that she needed to get a roughly $20,000 new system because the old one was dangerous. My son went there, did the tune-up, and it is working perfectly. The only problem is the small drip from the piston.

Thirty-five years ago, this boiler was wasting oil big time. Someone had removed all the insulation from the boiler sections, and the old burner was tucked down in the ash pit.

After adding this water-heater insulation blanket and moving the fire up to the original design location, where the coal grates used to be, the fuel usage was cut in half. It has been working as a Riello should — trouble-free — for more than 30 years now. That water heater blanket has no soot residue after 35 years.

Two oil pistons are the only parts I remember replacing over that time.

I just don’t see the logic in this person getting a new boiler, since there probably is not enough time left for her to realize the savings of a ModCon at this stage of her life. the fuel bill is affordable since she only uses about 200 gallons per season.

I’m not a fan of the profit-first mentality of the company I sold my customers to, but that’s life.

Riello Parts

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