Hi folks,
Please go easy on a curious/desperate amateur.
I've been in this chilly house for 18 years with this set-up providing plenty of heat; the boiler instruction book says 1995. The ageing radiators were flushed about 5 years ago and work fine.
I got a top-up of oil just before Christmas (without running out) and thought I'd add a bit of the Hydra Vulcan additive (which I've used before, but not last time). The burner locked out a few times since then, and on NYE it stopped starting altogether.
Way back in Covid lock-down, I'd had some problems with the fan sticking. The nice man who used to remind us it was time he popped over with the Hoover and his probes and nozzles hadn't been in touch for a while, and we couldn't raise him on the old numbers, nor any other OFTEC person for at least several cold days.
I imagined that I was probably heading for a new burner eventually, and in a nothing-to-lose situation thought that I might as well tear it all down and give everything a clean.
It was quite fun (and would have been more so if there wasn't the threat of running the house on coal and the immersion for a fail). There weren't too many components, and in a fairly OCD way, I pulled apart the pump, marvelled at the mechanism, and ungummed everything until all was spinning freely and quietly. I took apart the motor and saw that all was clean and good there. I got a toothbrush out and cleaned all the rest - fan, electrodes, photocell, oil valve, blast tube. I had a spare nozzle our engineer had left and popped that in for good measure. I ended up with the cleanest 25yo burner in the world, and better than that, it all worked a treat.
I even took a little bit of soot (there wasn't too much) from the boiler before getting Mr OFTEC round for a proper service.
A year or two later, I'm now a bit less scared of the burner, but another dismantle and clean hasn't got it working. Out of desperation over the bank holidays and in the absence of anyone available in the area for another week or so, I've been poking about in a way I'd expect to attract criticism for on here. I've checked the in-line filter, pump filter, cleaned the magic pump discs, primed it, and replaced the nozzle.
This is what happens:
Fan spins nicely. Purges a few seconds.
Spark looks good (the cover where the transformer mounts can unscrew and hinge up to take a peek).
I think I can feel/hear the coil moving the valve, and if I uncouple the tube from pump to the nozzle holder, oil gets pumped out at a fair rate - several ml in the second or two before I shut off the power. No debris. When all connected, locks out after 3-4 seconds.
Some fuel is getting to the nozzle holder; there's a new nozzle and a little on the blast tube, but only a smear - the inside of the boiler isn't wet with oil.. No ignition.
I've tweaked the electrode positions a couple of times but they look just as the book suggests.
What I don't know:
Why it happened - could the addition of the Vulcan have dislodged some muck - if so, why hasn't a good clean helped? I have a bunded plastic tank just a few years old.
How fast the oil should come out of the pump - I can't measure the pressure but haven't ever touched the pressure adjustment screw on the pump and it gushes pretty freely down the bit of plastic pipe I put over the pump outlet to test.
How much oil I should see from the nozzle in the few seconds before lock out?
How the photocell works - I guess it allows continued oil flow if it sees a flame (it's clean).
Could the controller be on the way out?
Most importantly - should I just give up and get an Ecoflam Max1 as a direct replacement and wait for an OFTEC guy to commission it?
Many thanks for your collected wisdom.
Please go easy on a curious/desperate amateur.
I've been in this chilly house for 18 years with this set-up providing plenty of heat; the boiler instruction book says 1995. The ageing radiators were flushed about 5 years ago and work fine.
I got a top-up of oil just before Christmas (without running out) and thought I'd add a bit of the Hydra Vulcan additive (which I've used before, but not last time). The burner locked out a few times since then, and on NYE it stopped starting altogether.
Way back in Covid lock-down, I'd had some problems with the fan sticking. The nice man who used to remind us it was time he popped over with the Hoover and his probes and nozzles hadn't been in touch for a while, and we couldn't raise him on the old numbers, nor any other OFTEC person for at least several cold days.
I imagined that I was probably heading for a new burner eventually, and in a nothing-to-lose situation thought that I might as well tear it all down and give everything a clean.
It was quite fun (and would have been more so if there wasn't the threat of running the house on coal and the immersion for a fail). There weren't too many components, and in a fairly OCD way, I pulled apart the pump, marvelled at the mechanism, and ungummed everything until all was spinning freely and quietly. I took apart the motor and saw that all was clean and good there. I got a toothbrush out and cleaned all the rest - fan, electrodes, photocell, oil valve, blast tube. I had a spare nozzle our engineer had left and popped that in for good measure. I ended up with the cleanest 25yo burner in the world, and better than that, it all worked a treat.
I even took a little bit of soot (there wasn't too much) from the boiler before getting Mr OFTEC round for a proper service.
A year or two later, I'm now a bit less scared of the burner, but another dismantle and clean hasn't got it working. Out of desperation over the bank holidays and in the absence of anyone available in the area for another week or so, I've been poking about in a way I'd expect to attract criticism for on here. I've checked the in-line filter, pump filter, cleaned the magic pump discs, primed it, and replaced the nozzle.
This is what happens:
Fan spins nicely. Purges a few seconds.
Spark looks good (the cover where the transformer mounts can unscrew and hinge up to take a peek).
I think I can feel/hear the coil moving the valve, and if I uncouple the tube from pump to the nozzle holder, oil gets pumped out at a fair rate - several ml in the second or two before I shut off the power. No debris. When all connected, locks out after 3-4 seconds.
Some fuel is getting to the nozzle holder; there's a new nozzle and a little on the blast tube, but only a smear - the inside of the boiler isn't wet with oil.. No ignition.
I've tweaked the electrode positions a couple of times but they look just as the book suggests.
What I don't know:
Why it happened - could the addition of the Vulcan have dislodged some muck - if so, why hasn't a good clean helped? I have a bunded plastic tank just a few years old.
How fast the oil should come out of the pump - I can't measure the pressure but haven't ever touched the pressure adjustment screw on the pump and it gushes pretty freely down the bit of plastic pipe I put over the pump outlet to test.
How much oil I should see from the nozzle in the few seconds before lock out?
How the photocell works - I guess it allows continued oil flow if it sees a flame (it's clean).
Could the controller be on the way out?
Most importantly - should I just give up and get an Ecoflam Max1 as a direct replacement and wait for an OFTEC guy to commission it?
Many thanks for your collected wisdom.
