Sooty smell from oil boiler

Gwynston

Our indoor oil burner smells very sooty when running. I seem to remember this was usually rectified during annual service, although I'm not sure what's done exactly.

However, we had our last service in the Spring, and after not much use over the summer, we now have it on more and it smells very sooty. I wonder if the last service (done by a different, cheaper engineer) was not a good job?

Should I get another service done?
It's not yet 5 years old BTW.

JamesM

Gwynston wrote:

Our indoor oil burner smells very sooty when running. I seem to remember this was usually rectified during annual service, although I'm not sure what's done exactly.

However, we had our last service in the Spring, and after not much use over the summer, we now have it on more and it smells very sooty. I wonder if the last service (done by a different, cheaper engineer) was not a good job?

Should I get another service done?
It's not yet 5 years old BTW.

Check the flue - is it smoking ? If so, the settings are off and it needs to be seen to. (And probably cleaned out)
Jim.

Gwynston

Haven't noticed smoke out the flue.
And I believe when we previously had a decent engineer service it, he said that the smell should be rectified by cleaning out the soot build up. So maybe the last fella just didn't do that...

One other thing - we have the boiler in a cupboard. When we got the kitchen and utility units fitted, we had the boiler put under a counter with a door on the front to hide it away. I hope that doesn't affect circulation, or air getting into the boiler. (Although it's not as if it's completely air-tight)

JamesM

Gwynston wrote:

Haven't noticed smoke out the flue.
And I believe when we previously had a decent engineer service it, he said that the smell should be rectified by cleaning out the soot build up. So maybe the last fella just didn't do that...

One other thing - we have the boiler in a cupboard. When we got the kitchen and utility units fitted, we had the boiler put under a counter with a door on the front to hide it away. I hope that doesn't affect circulation, or air getting into the boiler. (Although it's not as if it's completely air-tight)

If the boiler is burning properly, there should not be any sooty deposit in the boiler, just some light ash and sulphur. Could it be an oil leak that you are smelling ?
When you hear the burner actually running, check the outside vent or flue for smoke. Are you using kerosene ?
Jim.

Gwynston

Yep, kerosene.

Wouldn't I notice a leak after a period of months? The smell is definitely sooty/smokey, not the smell of the kerosene itself.

Or are you saying fuel is getting in somewhere it shouldn't and affecting the burn, thus making it more sooty?

I'll take a look at the outside flue for smoke.

stapeler

Possibly not the service person that caused a problem. Pumps can fail without warning. If the fuel pump fails, the boiler will continue to operate but without a proper fuel mix. This will cause a large sut build up to a point where it stops working. I suggest you get another service person to check it out. You could also run the boiler for a while with the press door open to see if it makes any difference.

Gwynston

Yes, I plan to get another engineer to look at it.

I doubt there's a problem with the fuel pump because the oil tank is 25 yards away and if anything, is slightly downhill from the house. So the fuel wouldn't get to the boiler without the pump!

We often do run it with the cupboard door open, but lately that's just led to the utility room smelling even more, so we've been keeping it shut!

stapeler

The oil is gravity fed from the tank to the pump, the pump increases the pressure to vaporize the fuel. If the pump fails or the adjustment settings oar off on the burner the fuel burn is inefficient causing sut and smoke. Another thing you could do is take off the front panel off the boiler and check the seal between the burner and the boiler.

Gwynston

Update:
Had an engineer do a service and he sorted the problem. I wasn't there, so I only got a slightly muddled report from my wife, but supposedly a small part needed replacing that was allowing exhaust fumes to leak.

Also, the engineer said there was quite a soot build-up which needed cleaning, and that must not have been done last service if it was 6 months ago. Supposedly, he's heard of problems with certain other engineers from his customers.

So watch out for cowboy boiler engineers.....

JamesM

Gwynston wrote:

Update:
Had an engineer do a service and he sorted the problem. I wasn't there, so I only got a slightly muddled report from my wife, but supposedly a small part needed replacing that was allowing exhaust fumes to leak.

Also, the engineer said there was quite a soot build-up which needed cleaning, and that must not have been done last service if it was 6 months ago. Supposedly, he's heard of problems with certain other engineers from his customers.

So watch out for cowboy boiler engineers.....

Glad that you got sorted.
If the settings go off on a boiler, it can be thick with soot in 6 days, not to mind 6 months.
Jim.