boiler made loud bang, shook house, smelled of burning oil

[edina]

My boiler heats the house and hot water. Last night it made a big bank that shook the whole house. When I went to the basement to take a look there was a terrible smell like burning oil and the furnace room was hazy.
A lot of service people in the states don't know boilers.
So what are the things in a boiler that could cause this and how serious is this??

 

[wilhelm]

depends on type of boiler., depends how the burner is mounted ie downward firing,
depends when its was serviced last?

and so on and so forth.

 

[edina]

It is serviced every year by a oil company that has been in the business for some time, although last year they went out a few questionable servicemen that left air in the line and such. The boiler is and Emerald made in Pennsylvania. I think the burner is mounted for downward firing?
How many things can go wrong that cause a hugh bomb noise? and burn oil after the noise? I need a differential diagnosis...a few possibles?

 

[wilhelm]

call the people that service your boiler.

they will know. trust me.

 

[Agile]

The usual cause of a mini explosion is late ignition when the boiler is filled with explosive mixture.

Thats usually as a result of needing a service.

Oil boilers can get very dirty if not regularly serviced.

Tony

 

[holty]

if oil, and its a donward burner, it could be a leakage from the burner causing oil to collect at the bottem housing.could be