Oil pressure regulator

[ShopSpecialties]

The flame should have a bright body with orange tips and no smoke coming out the stack.

Overfiring is when you have to much oil pressure and blowing smoke out the stack.

With this being some type of coal boiler and not a waste boiler I do not have a clue about the insulation. Is there a mfg nameplate on the boiler ? The insulation should definitely not be burning. Is it soaked in oil and the oil is burning off ? 

[ajparry89]

Well, I did have some flu issues, I fixed those, and no more smoking out the boiler!  I got the air set to about 13psi and the oil set so the smoke is clear coming out the top.  It is running great!   

my only other question is, that piece that broke that i showed a picture of, the piece that opens or closes the air inlet to the fan (i fixed it, JB weld!)....how do i know how to adjust that?  when should it be opened more, or when should it be closed more?

[ShopSpecialties]

You are going to want to adjust combustion air to where you find a happy medium. The more you close it the longer and brighter the flame. Open it up and the flame is short and orange. Having it to much open also pushes more heat out the stovepipe. That combustion air also throws the spark out into the oil stream so you do not want to have it closed off to small either.

Watch your watch flame and slowly adjust it to see how the flame reacts. Also when you open your inspection door you are adding combustion air which will shorten your flame and then it will grow back when you close it. So you need to remember to account for that also.

Good to hear things are improving and getting better.

[ajparry89]

Ok, i will check that and adjust that and see how it goes.

yes, it seems to be running OK.  it will get its first full night run tomorrow night it looks like, according to the forecast for central PA.    Thank you very much for all your help!

[ajparry89]

So i started up the furnace this evening to get it going for tonight.  it fired right up, like usual, then it shut off after about 10 seconds and would not even come close to firing again.    eventually realized that there is no oil spraying.   my pump is on.  oil is coming out the line right before it goes into the regulator.   so i am guessing it is either the solenoid, or the regulator - which is brand new!   

questions are.....
1.  can i test the solenoid just by putting 120 volts to it, to see if it operates?   
2.  when i open the oil line, roughly how much/how fast should the oil be coming out?   mine comes out like a steady flow/stream, but there is not tons of pressure behind it....enough pressure to make a little arch in the oil stream.

[ShopSpecialties]

What is your oil gauge reading ? Plugged nozzle ?

[ajparry89]

i had the gauge set to about 4.5psi.    i started messing with it from time to time after oil stopped coming out.   i opened up the solenoid, and took that plunger out, then put it back together without it.   oil eventually started coming out...and eventually it lit.   and eventually it started running ok again.    i also noticed that the electrical part of the oil solenoid was super hot.    i assume that is maybe not working anymore?   probably shorted inside or something and not working.   i have it running right now without the plunger/valve piece inside the solenoid.   

[ShopSpecialties]

Do not power the solenoid without the plunger installed. If the plunger was not opening oil pressure should go up. If you have any restrictions after the regulator oil pressure should go high. Was the oil gauge steady or did it bounce ?

[ajparry89]

i disconnected the solenoid after i noticed it getting hot.   
i guess i did not pay enough attention to the oil gauge to notice if it was bouncing or spiking or not.   it has been running OK now, plunger removed and solenoid disconnected.   i might have had it powered for a few minutes at one point while the plunger was not installed, maybe thats why it got hot?   (trying to remember the sequence of events)     is the solenoid no good anymore?  did i ruin it?   :/         Ok to let it run for now without the plunger in?   

i really appreciate all your help all the time!

[ShopSpecialties]

The electrical part of the solenoid might be shot now. Leaving the plunger out is not a good idea. With no plunger oil will continue to drip out the nozzle when the burner shuts off. You can bench test the solenoid with just the stem and plunger. Power the solenoid on/off while on the bench to see if the plunger goes up/down.

[ajparry89]

Ok, test it with 120v?

[ShopSpecialties]

Yes 120 volt. An old extension cord and a couple of wire nuts works good. That way you can plug and unplug it easy.

[ajparry89]

tested the solenoid, it still works.   so installed it all again, and it is running fine at the moment.  not really sure why i was not getting any oil out the nozzle last night for that period of time.   i guess we will wait and see how it goes.    thanks for all your help!

also on a side note, it ran fine all last night.   hadn't done that in a while!  haha

[ajparry89]

So everything has been running great!  I have been very happy with it, it has met my "expectations", meaning I dont expect it to be a very efficient machine, but I do expect it to be able to work reliably, which it does.  It seems to be going through oil just as fast last year (again, not outside of my expectations) but is running much more reliably, as i said, I have never had to check on it.

However, I wonder if i could 'expect' more out of it, more efficiency.    I guess the only way that it could be running more efficiently would be if it could produce a hotter flame with still the same amount (or same ratio, i suppose) fuel/air ratio.  more oil pressure means more oil, so turning up the oil doesnt exactly help that cause.  I know we have mentioned adjusting the air inlet.  I have it set where the flame 'looks' pretty good, and the smoke coming out my stack is cleaarrr.  but if i wanted to try and fine turn it a little more to get a hotter flame, how should i do that?  a little more air, and a little more fuel?  just spit-balling.  let me know if anybody has any thoughts. 

[ShopSpecialties]

Ash buildup would be your biggest killer of efficiency.