You've found the famous Dave's Garden website! Join this friendly global community that shares tips and ideas for home and gardens, along with seeds and plants!
Check out the DG homepage for a brief overview of what you'll find in this gardening mega-site.
Login
If you don't have an account yet, visit the registration page to sign up.
I have a small house and burn approx. 500 gal. of oil per year. My furnace is about 19 years old. I'd like to know if it is really necessary to clean the burner every year or is it just a money making gimmick for my oil distributer? I'd rather just have it done every other year. Thanks for any info
Whether an oil fired system needs servicing each year depends on condition of the oil, oil tank(s), oil line(s) filter(s), pump strainer, nozzle and whether or not the burner on the furnace, boiler or water heater was setup properly (correct nozzle size, pump pressure, electrode spacing, air settings and combustion test *zero smoke*) Other things make a difference such as single line oil supplies, oil solenoid shutoff, valves and better quality oil filtration. Some units are also more forgiving due to larger chambers, larger heat exchangers or larger boiler flue passages.
Many of our fuel customers have newer furnaces or boilers with modern burners, dual filtration, clean oil tanks, clean lines/strainers/nozzles and their systems have been professionally serviced and setup with electronic combustion test equipment. Although I don't recommend it, *some* of these systems can go a few years without servicing. The oil fired systems in my own properties generally just need a light brushing and vacuuming, but I still go through motions of replacing the filters, strainers, nozzles, checking pump pressure, checking safety operation and performing an electronic combustion test.
Some of the people that don't service their systems annually don't really save anything since they're furnace heat exchanger or their boiler flue passages are sometimes plugged which destroys efficiency or may cause other problems. The annual service goes beyond just cleaning the unit. Heat exchangers, vent pipes, draft regulators, chimneys, power venters, oil lines, tanks, tank valves, firomatic vallves and safety operation should be checked annually as well. On hydronic systems we check or inspect low water cutoffs, feedwater valves, aquastats, tankless coil gaskets, circulators, zone valves, control panels etc.
wow! That's alot of info. Thanks. I wish you lived in my neighborhood because I'm pretty sure my technician doesn't do that thorough of a job. It sounds like in this case, a penny saved is not really a penny earned and that I should have it done.
Here's alittle update on this subject. I called my oil company to set up an appointment for a burner cleaning. The woman that I spoke to said that it wasn't necessary until I've burned atleast 1,000 gal. from the last cleaning. I only burn about 500 per year. Since I don't have extra money to burn right now, I decided to go with that.
