Building a metering pump

[Russ]

I finally had time to put the pieces together last weekend.  I wasnt sure how to mount the motor and pump so the shafts would line up for the couplers.  The only thing I could think of was to attach pieces of wood together with a thickness of the distance required between the pump and the motor.  3 pieces of plastic decking I had laying around plus a piece of 1/4" plywood did the job.  I used a drill press to get a perfect aligned hole all the way through the block.  Then I used a hole saw to make a perfect size hole for the pump.  I didnt have a size that matched the motor, so I had to go a little bigger on that side.  I fastened the pump first, then aligned the motor and fastened it.  In the end, it actually worked out pretty well.  I am testing right now, but will hopefully attach it to the burner soon.

[Russ]

Well the 3GN18SA gearhead ended up being too slow.  The 18:1 ratio is just too slow to provide enough oil.  I ended up finding a 3GN3KA gearhead and it is working great.  Added another $30 to my cost, but hopefully I can sell the other one.

[doug]

Russ,


 Are you using your pump yet?

[Russ]

I dont actually have it connected to the burner yet.  It is sucking oil out of a 55 gal barrel and pumping it through a couple of filters and then into the holding tank for the boiler.

I think this gearhead is going to work perfect, so I hope to get it moved over soon.

[Russ]

Just an update that is long overdue.  I have been using the pump for several years now with great success.  It is super handy to be able to adjust the RPM of the motor to adjust the fire rate.  Highly recommended.

[GerryADS]

Hey Russ,

I hope you are well, I hope you don't mind me resurrecting this post 

I'm just dipping my toe on the possibility of moving from my constant fill to a metered pump, and wondered if you could help with some more detail please?

I guess the main question is, does the metering pump just pickup the unheated WMO from your WMO supply (already filtered and de-watered) and deliver it to the siphon nozzle without any further heating, other than the nozzle heater? If so did you need to do anything with regards improving the nozzle heater, as in increase the wattage of the cartridge heater, or increase the nozzle temp set point, or does the fact that you are running the siphon nozzle at much higher air pressure, mean that it atomizes and fires easier? Given the increasing air pressure on the siphon nozzle would normally result in a narrower/longer flame, what have been your findings with regards this?

My concern with the angle change, is that I currently use a -9 nozzle, with only 1/2" siphon lift height to generate about 3.2L/h with nearly 80deg angle, due to having a short chamber in my boiler, and from the Delavan charts, I'd be probably have to go down to a -3 nozzle, with 15psi Air but I'd end up with a very narrow angle?

What nozzle, air press & oil flow rate are you running please?

Many thanks,

Gerry

[Russ]

Greetings Gerry,

Yes, the metering pump just takes from a 55 gallon barrel of clean, filtered oil I have in the garage with no further heating.  The oil is always 45 degrees F or warmer from being in the garage and the CK kit handles it just fine.  Actually a siphon nozzle is running at a much lower pressure than a pressure system would.  But yes, the siphon nozzle atomizes very nice and fires nicely.  The nozzle heater keeps up perfectly fine.  I have a shallow burn chamber and was warned that I would have a long flame, but I have had no problems with that.  I positioned the burner as far back as possible with an extended burn tube and with the metering pump and air pressure control can dial in the perfect flame.

It has been so long that I dont remember exactly what nozzle I am running.  It is whatever came with my CK kit.  I thought that I might have to get a wider one, but never did and I don't plan on doing anything different.  I run about 10psi on the air.  As for the flow rate through the pump, I really dont know, I just dial it in to where I like the flame and get a clean burn with the metering pump.

Good luck with your project!

Russ