Airlock in Oil Tank.

ClaretBen

Hi all.
My oil tank ran dry, it has been filled but I think there may be airlock as the radiators have not warmed up.
I'm not used to these tanks having only recently moved to Ireland, so could anyone please tell me how to remove the airlock?
I'm rubbish at stuff like this, so the simpler the better please.:D

ircoha

The simpler the better: move back , could not resist that!

I presume the boiler is not working so that is why you have no heat in rads.

If u could post a few pictures of ur oil burner set up, particularly where the copper pipe from the tank goes into the burner we can do better.

If u can find this point then get plenty paper /old clothes etc and put on the floor under this point, then get a spanner and open the nut on the connection just enough to let the air come out, you should not need to take it off.
Make a note of how many turns u open the nut so as you know how far back u need to go when tightening.

the reason for the paper etc is that the oil will run down the pipe.

A great deal of oil will not come out, u wont get enough to trader February brent futures but the flow needs to get rid of the air.

Ideally u will find an oil filter on the pipeline just before the burner and you can isolate the flow from the tank there as there should be a valve there
the oil filter will be similar to this
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Kerosene-Heating-Oil-Bio-Diesel-Fuel-Filter-3-8-15mm_W0QQitemZ200141807141QQihZ010QQcategoryZ42234QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The other question is, can u see a red light somewhere on the burner to show it has cut out due to lack of oil, normally u press this to reset the boiler.

Hope this helps

ems_12

I had the same prob the other year, as I was at uni never had to deal with it myself!
If it's anything like my boiler, you will see a large red button thats used to reset the boiler.
Look underneath this and you will see a relatively big nut. To give you a more clueless perspective, this looks like it's hidden away and shouldn't be opened, but thats not the case!! Undo this as described by ircoha, you'll hear a bit of a hiss when air comes out, then it starts dripping fuel, then just tighten it up again and boiler should work ok (now you can press the big red button )

Thats the non technical version to go with the more detailed one above!!! lol

mary19

The same thing happened to me, the tank was empty before I knew it and I got oil today, the guy wouldn't' clear the airlock for me told me to get a plumber.. can't afford one.. I took the cover off the boiler and I loosened the part with an allan key and a bit of hissing came out, the heat still wasn't working so I did it again this time oil came with lots of bubbles, I kept pressing the restart motor button and bubbles with oil comes squirting out. I have done this for half an hour not sure if it is supposed to take this long ? should I keep doing it, my neighbour said to suck on the pipe.. ewwwe I'm 6 months pregnant can't really be doing that... I have 3 kiddies here and we're all freezing Help..

10-10-20

Mary, I've asked that this thread be split so that it gets it's own thread. It may improve your chance of getting a response before tonight.

JamesM

Don't suck the pipe :eek:
What you are doing seems right. Let the oil and air bubble out until there is only oil coming out - try to catch the oil to avoid a mess. Tighten the nut and then push the button - this should work - although you may have the wrong nut. It's position depends on the make of burner.
Jim.

mary19

There is a join which has an 'allan key' opening on it, it connects the pipe to the burner, when I loosen this , it was letting out air and now it's letting out bubbles with oil. I have gathered about 2lts of oil in a basin tying to clear it, I just don't know if I should go on doing this or have I got it all wrong ??

mary19

10-10-20 wrote: »

Mary, I've asked that this thread be split so that it gets it's own thread. It may improve your chance of getting a response before tonight.

thank you

bushy...

Can you post up a photo of the burner part ( where the oil pipe goes in ) ?

There is a little pump inside , it has a bleed screw on the front of it , you need to loosen that. It also has an adjusment screw , will cause hassle if you turn that by mistake.
By the sounds of it , you are very near to getting it going , but the little pump can't pump air very well , only oil.

mary19

I went to give it one last try just now and the motor was trying to kick in but would cut out, I tried it a few times loosening the little valve and just as I gave up I pressed the restart button once more and it is still going...

Thanks everyone, I was very nearly sucking a pipe ! lol I am glad I tried again.. yeah warm house..

JamesM

That's great :D:D
There was a lot of air there :eek:
Jim.

delly

I was going to split the thread as requested, but will leave it be now that the problem has been sorted.

paulhannon

Just wondering about split oil. Have a outside burner in one of those steel housings.

I just took off the brass nut (which was so hard to get off i thought i was welded shut) to solve the airlock prob and while the was a little jar to collect the oil that came out a little bit did also spill on to the ground beneath it and on some of the pipes. about half a mug full or less in total.

I know its flammable of course but is it safe to close up the burner housing and switch on the heating? Does it get hot enough inside to cause it to ignite?

any advice would be great thanks.