Kerosene Boiler for central heating not working properly

ikon · 26-01-2009 4:18pm #1

Hi,

Could somebody help me with the problem I have with my kerosene boiler. The burner wouldn't start in the first place.... when I reset the thermostat it kicks in and runs for as long as I need it. But I see smoke in the exaust the outer cover in the boiler is now turned black as too much smoke coming out from the exaust.

All this started 2days ago, and the initial problem was the burner would not fire at all. The guy I called replaced the nozzle and adjusted the fuel supply valve in the burner. Since then the smoke seems to be coming out and the thermostat trips as well.

I called up the same guy again and he says that the fuel pump is not working properly and it would be better to replace the entire burner unit???

Any guidance on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a Million.

pixbyjohn · 26-01-2009 4:23pm

How old is the burner
With black smoke it means that the mixture of air and fuel is incorrect. too little air to fuel = smoke
or similarly too much fuel to air = smoke

A new burner is approx. 250 Euro.

ikon · 26-01-2009 5:16pm

Thanks a Million for the reply.

The burner is over 6years old... how long the burners lasts normally?? Would it be an apropriate move to replace the burner??? Is there any adjustment to get the air/fuel ratio correct?

If I do have to replace where would I but it in westmeath/meath/kildare/dublin area??

The burner I have at the moment is Riello Burner RDB1 50-90

Thanks again.

JamesM · 26-01-2009 6:20pm

If you run it smoking, it will soot up and probably damage the burner more. The RDB is a good burner, but the oil pump may be giving trouble - no one can tell for sure without seeing what is happening. If the guy walked away and left it when it was smoking, he doesn't know what he is at. White condensation is OK, but any kind of black smoke is big trouble, and any one who knows what they are doing would not leave it running.
Are you sure that it is the thermostat that is locking out and not the control box ? The thermostat is the dial on top of the boiler. If it is locking out, either it is faulty, the stat is set too high, or the boiler has sooted up and is overheating.
Jim.

ikon · 26-01-2009 7:18pm

Yes it is the thermostat which trips after the boiler ran for 2hrs or so... when i reset it it goes ok again. but it trips when i try to start it again.

The thermostat is set at 75deg C at the moment.

Thanks for the reply.

ikon · 01-02-2009 8:02pm

I finally got my burner sorted.

It was basically incorrect nozzle was put in by the plumber and he also messed with fuel supply pressure adjustment valve. He installed nozzle which read 0.6/60H... but as per the burner handbook it should be 0.6/60S. Don't know what is the significance of S and H, but after changing it to the correct nozzle (0.6/60S) and adjusted the kero supply pressure valve (12 half turns from fully IN position) it is running OK with no smoke.

Had to clean up all the soot from the boiler... delighted to have it running with out changing the burner.

Thanks to the forum and all the folks who replied.

Kerosene Boiler for central heating not working properly

Comments