Oil Furnace Forum

[MagdalenaP]

Can anyone suggest a forum or facebook group for oil furnace issues?

We have an oil furnace for back up. Used it maybe 10 hours last year. After spending about $2500 2 years ago because of "soot" build up, we get him to come every fall and do the regular maintenance on it to prevent this. Low and be-hold, just now...he's claiming there's more soot and is starting to rip it apart and clean it again! Can't pay another $2500 for 10 hours of running, that's insane. I need a forum where I can write detailed info and get some advice please & thank you

 

[DAKSY]

Not sure of whether or not there’s an “Oil Furnace” forum, but I would say your problem is definitely related to combustion air. Your unit is running TOO rich. Sounds like you need an outside air kit (OAK) installed, or your maybe venting is too short. I had this problem with an oil boiler a negative air pressure situation kept the unit starved for air. An OAK installation resolved the issue.

 

[EbS-P]

It took three different techs to realize my nozzle was not the correct size. Ran much better after getting that replaced.

 

[gthomas785]

He needs to check the air band and possibly throw in a smaller nozzle. No way it should be sooted up after 10 hours

 

[hockeypuck]

I am not sure how old your oil tank is, but I have a 30 year old tank in the basement, and the tech told me that over the years they build up sludge. Its a boiler but soot build up was due to a poor burn. This sludge can very quickly clog up the filters and then the strainer at the burner and cause a bad burn which leads to a lot of soot build up. I could hear the poor burn only after about 600 gallons of burn (less than a Year) , but I am not sure I buy the whole sales pitch. They said the only remedy is to change the tank because sucking the bad oil and sludge out will not remove the microbes causing the contamination.