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Topics - ageingrodder

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Beckett / I need HELP!
« on: December 02, 2018, 08:10:08 pm »
For my shop heat I have been using an old Rheem furnace with a Beckett burner running a CKBurner preheat / siphon system and a homemade kagi retention head. I burn used motor oil and have ran this system since 2012 with no significant ignition problems until 2017.

Last year I started experiencing problems with startup ignition.  The burner would ignite 3-4 times in rapid succession, giving puff backs, before reaching a steady burn. When this occurred in Jan 2017 I replaced the nozzle o-ring, and subsequently, the nozzle. I saw very little, if any, improvement with these changes but managed to limp through the remainder of the heating season. Over the summer I cleaned everything and checked settings. When I fired the furnace this fall, it started and ran smoothly  This lasted for a month or so, then the faltering start and puff back started again. At first, after a few minutes of puff backs with a lot of smoke which fills my shop, the burning would smooth out and then burn properly until the next start where it would start all over again. While trouble shooting the problem a couple days ago I tried clean #2 fuel and the burner started and ran smoothly but when I went back to used oil the puff backs reoccurred.  I tried used oil from a different tank / source, same problem.

Yesterday the system ceased to achieve any ignition. When the system reaches the proper ignition temperature, the burner system will start the ignition sequence but all I get is steady smoke rolling out of the inspection port.  There are no puff backs at this point. This failure to ignite happens even when I again try clean #2 oil. I have cleaned, inspected, and checked spacing of the probes with no change.  I fired the probes outside the chamber and it appears there is adequate spark.  I have tried a different transformer, different nozzle, adjusted combustion air, adjusted siphon air pressure, and different preheat and damper settings with no luck. I stuck my hand into the firebox in front of the nozzle (without an active ignition source, of course) and my hand gets oily.

Could the depth of the firebox cause this problem?  The Rheem firebox is probably minimum ideal depth even in the OEM configuration.  Last year to avoid continued liner burn through, even with a stainless liner, I modified the firebox by adding a firebrick target to the back of the firebox, reducing the depth to at most 11 inches from the burner.  Looking at my furnace log, it appears this was about the same time the problem originally started.

If the firebox depth is the problem, why do you think the system started the season with no obvious problems and why has the problem continually gotten worse until reaching the point of total failure?

I am at a complete loss as where to go from here. Any suggestions?    :-[

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Waste Motor Oil / Ignition problems
« on: January 21, 2017, 04:38:58 pm »
I have a DIY waste oil burning furnace using a siphon nozzle in a ckBurners heater block in a Beckett burner.  I have been using this setup for about six seasons with minimal problems but recently it has been having problems igniting.  The burner motor start and after about 3-4 seconds it will ignite but immediately go out, then quickly reignite, then go out again, then reignite.  It varies, but sometimes it will do this about five times before it settles into a steady burn.  The PID says it is reaching the proper preheat temperature.  Your thoughts and suggestions?

3
Temp Controllers and Thermocouples / PID help
« on: February 17, 2011, 10:53:55 pm »
I consider myself a guy of reasonable mechanical ability and knowledge, but I am having a hard time wrapping my head around PID's.    I intend to use a PID to control my nozzle heater and have been thinking the PID would come on when there was a demand for heat.  Would I be better off to have the PID hold a constant line temperature of, say 160* whether there was a call from the thermostat or not?  Seems to me this would eliminate the lag time for the system to heat the fuel before ignition.  It should also simplify the wiring schematic.  Am I missing something?

4
Welcome Center / Howdy
« on: February 17, 2011, 08:51:58 pm »
I found and logged on to this site last night for the first time.  I live in the soggy Willamette Valley of Oregon. I hope to retire in two years, so I'm trying to save money and heat my playpen/shop at the same time so I can make things

I have a 70's vintage Coleman with a Wayne burner.  It worked well on HHO.  I originally employed the donna-mike WMO conversion and it worked fairly well as long as it wasn't too cold outside.  Recently I've had a lot of issues and feel my nozzles may be part of the problem.  They are old and I think the bronze screens are semi-plugged. I am planning to install a new one this weekend. 

I've also decided to dump my current short cut WMO method and get more sophisticated.  I made a 1" diameter x 4" aluminum pipe, pre-nozzle heater, that I am going to heat with a Mica heater.  I found a 52 gallon water heater that I have converted to inside oil storage and I have an Auber 2342 PID that was originally going to be used in my powder coating oven (another project).  For now, I hope to use the Auber for heater control once I figure the best wiring method.  At this time I plan to wrap a few coils of copper return line around the stove pipe to help heat the oil in the inside, intermediate tank.  I had thought about using the coiled pipe as a pre-heater but decided that would over work the OEM pump.  I'm hoping that once the shop is kept toasty for a while I won't need a pre-pump heater.  I could use the water heater elements but am reluctant, partially because of the extra electricity usage needed.  We'll see.

Well I've already written too much so I won't continue, I need to look for examples of wiring diagrams anyway.

Mike

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