Oil fired boiler (Firebird Popular 82)

digger58

Trying to sort out a very neglected system, noticed the feed to the boiler enters at the top and the heated water exits at the bottom of the boiler, surely that is not as it should be? I'm confused .com! It's about 20yrs old and appears not to have been running for a long time. Goes against my thoughts anyway, maybe I'm missing something here. All help welcome.

Tom44

The circulation pump is fitted the wrong way round.
It has an arrow on it's body showing the direction of water flow, your correct, cold goes in the bottom, hot out the top.

Disconnect pump and refit it the right way.

digger58

That way the pump would be pumping hot water straight from the boiler! I believe the idea is that the pump is plumbed so it pushes the cooler return water into the boiler????

Tom44

digger58 wrote: »

That way the pump would be pumping hot water straight from the boiler! I believe the idea is that the pump is plumbed so it pushes the cooler return water into the boiler????

Pump can be on either hot top outlet or colder Return bottom pipe, it's the direction of the water flow that important, hot out the top, cold into the bottom.

digger58

So you say it's OK for the pump to be on the hot circuit? I thought the pump should be on the cool return so its not subject to all the heat!

Tom44

I give up

digger58

Maybe you fitted it first day then because someone obviously gave up and did it wrong, heres the scenario again for you!!!!, when the boiler was fitted, the pump was pumping into the boiler on the pipe going IN AT THE TOP!!!!, The arrow on the pump body was pointing TOWARDS the boiler, that means the return was on the top and forcing the heated water down and OUT the bottom of the boiler. My belief was the pump should be on the return circuit so it isn't exposed to the hot water from the boiler (Which was the case) but that the return (Cooler water) should enter at the bottom and exit heated at the top, that was not the case. Are you still confused?

Wearb

Tom44 wrote: »

Pump can be on either hot top outlet or colder Return bottom pipe, it's the direction of the water flow that important, hot out the top, cold into the bottom.

This

Tom44

Wearb wrote: »

This

Pump on flow is common. Pumping out from boiler of course.
Photo is from google

jimf

Tom44 wrote: »

Pump on flow is common. Pumping out from boiler of course.
Photo is from google

looks like a boiler serviced by a taxi driver :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

digger58

Judging by the state of it was never serviced, It's the installation first day that troubled me! Filter on tank clogged, screen on burner pump was totally covered in muck. I took a full dustpan of rubbish out of the boiler as well.

digger58

Tom44 wrote: »

Pump on flow is common. Pumping out from boiler of course.
Photo is from google

Is it not better to have the pump on the return as it runs cooler?

CoBo55

My circulation pump is on the flow side and it lasted 19 years before it needed to be replaced. Obviously as Tom44 says it is circulating the water in the proper direction, out the top and in the bottom.

Tom44

Digger,
What's your involvement with that oil boiler ?

CoBo55

Tom44 wrote: »

Digger,
What's your involvement with that oil boiler ?

I think that oil soaked fireball running down the road is digger....

digger58

Tom44 wrote: »

Digger,
What's your involvement with that oil boiler ?

In a house I bought.

Tom44

digger58 wrote: »

In a house I bought.

Newer boilers use a lot less oil and heat up houses twice as quickly.
A lot of my customers are claiming a 1/3 saving on fuel after replacing old firebird popular.
To many to make that claim untrue, but others will dispute that

And yes,
I too prefer pump on return, but more to avoid airlocks and keep an open pipe way to expansion tank.
But there's nothing wrong with pump on flow, once it's pumping the right way.
Ring firebird if you don't believe it.




For Jim
I once had a halo, but I'm free now

CoBo55

Tom44 wrote: »

Newer boilers use a lot less oil and heat up houses twice as quickly.
A lot of my customers are claiming a 1/3 saving on fuel after replacing old firebird popular.
To many to make that claim untrue, but others will dispute that

And yes,
I too prefer pump on return, but more to avoid airlocks and keep an open pipe way to expansion tank.
But there's nothing wrong with pump on flow, once it's pumping the right way.
Ring firebird if you don't believe it.




For Jim
I once had a halo, but I'm free now

Free call out? or free installation or a shiny new condenser boiler?
The thread that keeps on giving:D.

digger58

Hi, thanks for that, my instinct was to keep pump as cool as possible and definitely I couldn't understand the flow in the top and out the bottom, maybe the pump was replaced at some stage and fitted like that. I'll work away with the Firebird as is and see how it goes, spent enough already on this place. Maybe in the future I'll get a modern more efficient one. No reason to doubt what you are saying at all, again many thanks for the advice.
Tony

CoBo55

digger58 wrote: »

Hi, thanks for that, my instinct was to keep pump as cool as possible and definitely I couldn't understand the flow in the top and out the bottom, maybe the pump was replaced at some stage and fitted like that. I'll work away with the Firebird as is and see how it goes, spent enough already on this place. Maybe in the future I'll get a modern more efficient one. No reason to doubt what you are saying at all, again manny thanks for the advice.
Tony

Are you going to reverse the pump so the hot water is flowing out the top?

Tom44

CoBo55 wrote: »

Are you going to reverse the pump so the hot water is flowing out the top?

Digger,
Boiler is dangerous if water is pumping the wrong way. Thermostat cannot function properly.
It will only shut off when returning water is up to temperature, risking scalding radiators.

Thermostat is ment to sense the temperature of the water leaving the boiler.

Ring firebird on (026) 45253 if you don't believe you're boiler can be potentially dangerous.

But that's up to you

CoBo55

Tom44 wrote: »

Boiler is dangerous if water is pumping the wrong way. Thermostat cannot function properly.
It will only shut off when returning water is up to temperature, risking scalding radiators.

Thermostat is ment to sense the temperature of the water leaving the boiler.

Ring firebird on (026) 45253 if you don't believe you're boiler can be potentially dangerous.

But that's up to you

Jaysus, ease off Tom I'm only the piano player... It isn't my boiler:D:D