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Drip System / old german drip system, need grates, advice
« on: October 10, 2011, 10:19:00 am »
Hi
I recently got an old style drip heater that that was made in germany, it is probably about 25 years old. the pump was not working so I cleaned it and go it to work. I have tried the burner twice so far but I have a few questions maybe someone can help me with. I dont know anything about the manufacturer except that it is German. The burner has about a 7 gallon tank on the side of the unit, a two speed pump is located on the bottom of the tank that feeds the drip. At the bottom of the heater is a thermocoupler that needs to reach about 160F before it allows the pump to come on. It also has another tube that comes out of the bottom that empties into a small pot. If that pot become full it presses on another switch that will shut off the pump, I assume that is a safety. It also has a electrical box, the same as a regular oil furnace, that has a place to wire in a CAD cell and a Thermostat. Both of those have been jumpered. It has a cast iron pan that goes in the bottom of the heater that the oil burns in and it has a grate that sits on a ledge about 6 inches above the burn pan. That grate is round and dome shapes with various holes in it. Currently that grate is broken but I have enough that I can make a pattern. After I got the pump working and verified the thermocoupler and safety switch worked I fired it up using old cast flat grates from a grill that I had. Everything seems to work fine and it shut down twice without a problem.
First Question, how critical is it that I have a dome shaped grate? I have a few of these flat grates that I can use and the flame seems to be a nice lazy yellow flame with no smoke at all coming out the chimney.
Second question, can I use the thermostat on a system like this?
Thirdly, How often do I need to shut it down and clean it?
I recently got an old style drip heater that that was made in germany, it is probably about 25 years old. the pump was not working so I cleaned it and go it to work. I have tried the burner twice so far but I have a few questions maybe someone can help me with. I dont know anything about the manufacturer except that it is German. The burner has about a 7 gallon tank on the side of the unit, a two speed pump is located on the bottom of the tank that feeds the drip. At the bottom of the heater is a thermocoupler that needs to reach about 160F before it allows the pump to come on. It also has another tube that comes out of the bottom that empties into a small pot. If that pot become full it presses on another switch that will shut off the pump, I assume that is a safety. It also has a electrical box, the same as a regular oil furnace, that has a place to wire in a CAD cell and a Thermostat. Both of those have been jumpered. It has a cast iron pan that goes in the bottom of the heater that the oil burns in and it has a grate that sits on a ledge about 6 inches above the burn pan. That grate is round and dome shapes with various holes in it. Currently that grate is broken but I have enough that I can make a pattern. After I got the pump working and verified the thermocoupler and safety switch worked I fired it up using old cast flat grates from a grill that I had. Everything seems to work fine and it shut down twice without a problem.
First Question, how critical is it that I have a dome shaped grate? I have a few of these flat grates that I can use and the flame seems to be a nice lazy yellow flame with no smoke at all coming out the chimney.
Second question, can I use the thermostat on a system like this?
Thirdly, How often do I need to shut it down and clean it?