Oil burner not firing - Plumber saying this is form contaminated Oil - PLEASE HELP

adtaustin

We have kerosine fuelled central heating with an Riello 40 Burner.

This has been working like a charm for around a year. We would regularly top up by filling drums at our local Topas garage. It has made for a comfortable winter.

Unfortunately a week last Saturday we accidentally left the heating on and the oil ran below the tap line and therefore ceased to work. We understood that the system required bleeding and sought advise from a registered plumber how to do this.

I purchased 150 litres of oil from the garage i'd been purchasing the oil from for the past year and topped up the tank. Finally after a lot of bleeding, oil was flowing constantly to the motor, but the burner wouldn't light. I then got on to the letting agency who are currently dealing with repairs as our Landlord is ill, who sent out a plumber to deal. I thought as i was a complete beginner, i wasn't doing something right...

The plumber reported to the landlord that the oil tank is contaminated and the oil is mixed with water. He said the burner won't light because its mainly water. He advised that i would need to have it completely drained and this may be an expensive job.

I wasn't in when the plumber came around, but I dispute what he is saying. When bleeding the oil through the motor, I see no water separation at all. it is pure kerosene... I tested a bit by adding water just to satisfy my own believe that water would sit below the fuel and would not mix. To tested out the flammability of the fuel, I set alight to a small drop in a metal bucket... IT BURNS VERY WELL. In my mind the waffle this engineer is saying just doesn't add up.

Could be what the plumber is saying is accurate? I am confident on the quality of the kerosine used, it wasn't from a man with a van... We now feel we have no choice but to move as we are living in a house that doesn't have central heating. Please advise!

Wearb

Either way, its the landlords responsibility to get it going. Who pay for the repairs is where the dispute will begin. In my area, landlords have huge problems with tenants letting oil run out and damaging the pump. I am not saying that this is the same in your case.

It isn't a big problem for a service person to remove water from an oil tank, unless we are taking huge amounts. You would be best asking the landlord to get a second opinion, or do so yourself.
The plumber may be correct, but I would like a second opinion, from someone who doesn't have any contact with the plumber.

Burning the oil like you did tells you nothing, because oil will stay on top anyway. Checking it in a clean transparent jar, will help. Water finder paste even better.

adtaustin

Yes I understand what you are saying... However the landlord advised me to drain it myself, as it was an inconvenience for him. That said, I hadn't a clue what i was doing, I just was very cold and still and was attempting to resolve what i was led to believe was a trivial problem that didn't require (by the landlord) professional intervention.

However to your points, i visually checked the oil that came directly through the burner. NO water was present. This i why I did the test by adding water to visualising the difference. The water separated and was clear to see.

This bring me to my premise for burning the oil. This was to prove that the oil indeed had the capability to burn, as it was clear that the plumber was alluding to the fact that the kerosine i'd purchased was sub-standard an unable to ignite a flame. (Sorry if i didn't make that clear before)

My Landlord, in who i mean the letting agent who is dealing on the landlords behalf advised I could get a second opinion (paid by me) but that it would require draining and losing the €130 euro of oil i have put in in the past few days from a reliable supplier.

I suspect that the issue isn't with the quality of oil, or that it could be contaminated (as it was working fine before my blunder of leaving it to drain) but rather there is something in the mechanism of the boiler that is preventing the boiler from lighting. Could this be possible, because if so i can have this professionally investigated as the landlord just doesn't want to know!

Wearb

Try and get an agreement with the landlord that you will get in a service person and if it was a problem caused by you, that you pay, otherwise he pays.
Get agreement in writing or at least text or email.

agusta

i would have doubts about the plumber opinion due to him not knowing how to separate water from oil.It a simple process.
Water gets into an oil tank from condensation and stays on the bottom of tank.water seeking paste on a timber dipstick would prove if there is water in the tank.
How long did it take to bleed the oil and how many times did you have to press the "red" button on the burner to get the oil through..

ServiceGuy

This seems to be a more common problem where drums of oil are used for filling the tank. I always recommend to the customer to close off the tank isolation valve before adding the drum of oil and then leave for about an hour for the dirt to settle back on the bottom of the tank. What I have found is the dirt in the bottom of the tank is stirred up and if the oil has run out this contaminated liquid goes through the supply line first and into the burner. OP if possible, check the oil filter at the tank to make sure it's not blocked with dirt. Also, do you know if your plumber checked the pressure at the burner?

DGOBS

ServiceGuy, the problem is worse with drum filling because the tank is always almost empty, giving more surface area for water vapour to condense (tank sweating) and leads to more water accumulation in the bottom of the tank.

OP, a professional oil technician would have simply put his 'well used' water syphon and pump into your tank outlet (down to the bottom of you tank) and pumped all the water out into a large container (20 minutes work tops) easy peezy......

Checking filters, in line and pump and sinter filter on the nozzle will show water contamination (a brown scum)

No harm if only partially filling your tank all the time to use a waterdog and replace it every 6 months