Oil Boiler Question

Battery99

I have a Grant Euroflame Oil central heating boiler , with a Riello RBD burner . I have noticed that when the boiler lights it does so with a burst ( as if the oil is exploding rather than just lighting) , you can see the exhaust hose to the flue shudder slightly when this happens.
My neighbour has the exact same boiler and I noticed that it sounds a lot smoother when its lighting.
I have changed the nozzle ( manual recommeded 0.6/60deg EH , but I could only get 0.6/60 deg S , I was assured this should not cause a problem) and I have experimented with adjusting the oil regulator , I have also checked the ignition probes and confirmed that they are 2 mm in front of the nozzle and 4mm apart as per the manual, and have hovered out the chamber and in general everything looks fairly clean . (although there was a slight covering of soot over the nozzle one week after it was changed , but I suspect this is normal )
Would anybody have any ideas ????????

JamesM

It's really a job for a service engineer.

Could there be anything covering the flue exhaust ?
Are all the baffles sitting correctly ?
Your air adjustment could be open too much. The oil pressure could be too high.
Basically the vibration is caused by too strong a flame trying to get through too small a space.
It is probably the air intake hose that you see vibrating - is it light plastic connected to the top of the burner ? That nozzle should be fine although sometimes an 80 degree nozzle would be smoother.
I presume that you are using Kerosene - not Diesel.
If all is running well, you should not have that soot coating on the nozzle.
Jim.

Honeybunch

As I live in Co. Offaly and Grants operate out of Birr, I would suggest ringing them and getting advice. They are very helpful. Best of luck.

Battery99 wrote: »

I have a Grant Euroflame Oil central heating boiler , with a Riello RBD burner . I have noticed that when the boiler lights it does so with a burst ( as if the oil is exploding rather than just lighting) , you can see the exhaust hose to the flue shudder slightly when this happens.
My neighbour has the exact same boiler and I noticed that it sounds a lot smoother when its lighting.
I have changed the nozzle ( manual recommeded 0.6/60deg EH , but I could only get 0.6/60 deg S , I was assured this should not cause a problem) and I have experimented with adjusting the oil regulator , I have also checked the ignition probes and confirmed that they are 2 mm in front of the nozzle and 4mm apart as per the manual, and have hovered out the chamber and in general everything looks fairly clean . (although there was a slight covering of soot over the nozzle one week after it was changed , but I suspect this is normal )
Would anybody have any ideas ????????

Battery99

Thanks Jim,
Your right of course its the intake hose that shudders. And yes its kerosene.
I'll check the baffles (although I'll have to take the worktop off, to get the top of the boiler off , I had cleaned them a couple of years ago, so you never know). I'll invest in an 80deg nozzle as well and give it a go.
I've tried adjusting the oil regulator already but it did'nt seen to have any effect, but i'll try the air intake and see what happens.
The problem seems to be intermittant , in that some times it lights quite smootly, but most times its to seems too rough.

I'll report back , thanks for you help.

JamesM wrote: »

It's really a job for a service engineer.

Could there be anything covering the flue exhaust ?
Are all the baffles sitting correctly ?
Your air adjustment could be open too much. The oil pressure could be too high.
Basically the vibration is caused by too strong a flame trying to get through too small a space.
It is probably the air intake hose that you see vibrating - is it light plastic connected to the top of the burner ? That nozzle should be fine although sometimes an 80 degree nozzle would be smoother.
I presume that you are using Kerosene - not Diesel.
If all is running well, you should not have that soot coating on the nozzle.
Jim.

Battery99

Thanks, your right I'll get the number off the book and give them a shout , it might be a common problem!

Honeybunch wrote: »

As I live in Co. Offaly and Grants operate out of Birr, I would suggest ringing them and getting advice. They are very helpful. Best of luck.

JamesM

I know that this is a DIY forum, but you do have to be careful when changing oil pressure and the air adjustment. You can very easily end up with a boiler full of soot - baffles burnt out etc.
Jim.

Titainus

check to see if the photocell is not obstructed with dirt. could be a cause of it.

Battery99

JamesM wrote: »

I know that this is a DIY forum, but you do have to be careful when changing oil pressure and the air adjustment. You can very easily end up with a boiler full of soot - baffles burnt out etc.
Jim.

Jim,
I adjusted the air intake down and the boiler start up was a lot smoother , however I noticed exsessive black smoke from the flue !! . Adjusted the air intake back up again and I think now I have a good comprimise between no black smoke and a smoother start up. (was origonally set to 5 now at 4 , black smoke seen at 2 and 3)
I belive I have the oil pressure regulator turned down pretty low ( probably 1/2 t o3/4 of a turn from completely off).
There is sometimes a slight smell of fumes noticleable in that room from the boiler , but it is not excessive and I think all oil boilers are like this , are they not ? ( I have one of those carbon monoxide pads on the walll beside the boiler and it is showing up clear).

Do you think it is Ok to let it run like this. i would presume the clear fumes form the flue indicate that the combustion side of things is OK .

JamesM

I would think that the screw should be in further. I haven't tried to turn back the oil pressure screw and then go forward, so I'm not sure how many turns it should be. If you look at the screw, the outside bit is cone shaped. The cone part of the screw should be slightly into the slot. If you look from the side, most of the cone part of the screw should be visable. 4 is about right for the air adjustment.
I can never remember the different boilers, but I think tha that is the one with a top cover held on by 2 nuts on studs. If you take the cover off (be careful of the gasket, sometimes they break up) and remove the baffles (make sure that they go back in the right order), you can see the flame. Sit the bottom baffle on the top of the boiler, leaving a small gap to see the flame. When you have the oil pressure as I said, open the air adjustment until the flame has a slight blue tinge to it - go slightly back towards yellow - that should be OK. You will see, when you turn the air to 3 or less, that the flame goes very yellow and there are smokey tips. Work back from that until you get it good and clean - as I said almost blue, with clean sharp tips to the flame.
All on your own head of course
Jim.

Battery99

Perfect , just what I neded to know, thanks Jim. I'll set up the flame as described and report back. It might be a while though as I'll have to lift the worktop to take the top off the boiler etc...
Thanks again, its much appreciated.

JamesM wrote: »

I would think that the screw should be in further. I haven't tried to turn back the oil pressure screw and then go forward, so I'm not sure how many turns it should be. If you look at the screw, the outside bit is cone shaped. The cone part of the screw should be slightly into the slot. If you look from the side, most of the cone part of the screw should be visable. 4 is about right for the air adjustment.
I can never remember the different boilers, but I think tha that is the one with a top cover held on by 2 nuts on studs. If you take the cover off (be careful of the gasket, sometimes they break up) and remove the baffles (make sure that they go back in the right order), you can see the flame. Sit the bottom baffle on the top of the boiler, leaving a small gap to see the flame. When you have the oil pressure as I said, open the air adjustment until the flame has a slight blue tinge to it - go slightly back towards yellow - that should be OK. You will see, when you turn the air to 3 or less, that the flame goes very yellow and there are smokey tips. Work back from that until you get it good and clean - as I said almost blue, with clean sharp tips to the flame.
All on your own head of course
Jim.