Oil Boiler Service - did he do it correctly?

[michaels]

Folks,

I have just inherited an old jetstreme oil fired boiler with a new house. I've just had the engineer in to give the boiler a winter service, but I have a few questions with regards to what he did. I didn't watch him undertaking the service, but I did talk to him afterwards. He told me that he had optimised the airflow by observing the colour of the flame. Is this the right way to do this? It seems to me that the air-fuel mixture is critical to the efficiency of the running of the boiler. I don't really want to be spending the next 6months wasting oil. So is it really possible, and accurate enough, to just observe the colour of the flame? Should I get him back in? I peeked through the sight glass thing last night and the flame is yellow.

Thank you in advance
Michael

 

[dal5band]

Don't know anything about oil boilers but yellow flame is usually unburnt carbon at the edges of the flame. Another indication is smoke in the chimmney. Blue flame is good but does this apply to oil boiler ?
Of course you need to look when it's fully warmed up.

 

[Agile]

The correct way is to use a flue gas analyser but I daresay that most people servicing oil boilers regularly will think that they know what the correct flame looks like on any particular model.

On oil its normal to have a yellowish tinge at the end of a bluish flame but its all a question of how much!

Tony

 

[wilhelm]

ideally use a test kit. but with this old boiler there is a cap that you can see flame through, and yes it is possible to see if its ok, it will be a bright yellow flame, with no black wisps of smoke at tips. if you play with the air, its possible to see it go to smoke, and then adjust out of it.

as good a method as any.

dont worry. it is correct.

 

[APHSLTD]

ideally use a test kit. but with this old boiler there is a cap that you can see flame through, and yes it is possible to see if its ok, it will be a bright yellow flame, with no black wisps of smoke at tips. if you play with the air, its possible to see it go to smoke, and then adjust out of it.

as good a method as any.

dont worry. it is correct.

When i did my Oftec with WB the instructor set the combustion by sight on three boilers then checked all three with a FGA all of them were spot on.

So it would seem it can be done if you know what your doing.

 

[Burnerman]

I would have hoped that he would have removed the boiler baffles, and given all the exhaust gas passages a good clean with a soft wire brush (burner out) - and vacuumed away the soot debris....including the flue.
John

 

[martineire]

By right a service should included, remove baffles clean out boiler using a hoover, renew nozzle on burner (make sure correct nozzle is fitted: refer to manufactures spec) clean and reset eletrodes, clean fan on burner, clean photocell. Clean oil filter element in white spirites and finally do a flue gas analyses and set up burner correctly.

 

[Boilerman2]

I shouldn't worry about Efficiency the Jetstreme is one of the most inefficient boilers known to man!! advice- get rid of it as soon as funds allow they are VERY INEFFICIENT BOILERS

 

[chestnutplumbing]

I service oil boilers for a living and your man DID NOT service this boiler properly. You use a flue gas analiser to tune the boiler properly testing for CO, CO2 and approx 6 other gases. You test the oil pressure going into the burner and adjust if too high or low. A proper clean out of the baffles and water jacket to make sure that the heat is transfered properly. The nozzle must be re-newed every year as every oz of oil you burn goes through it and it must be atomized to burn correctly. The flexible oil line from the tap to the oil pump must also be changed every year as if they spring a leak it could deposit all of your oil into your house.
A good service takes 2 to 3 hours so ask if they are only taking 20 mins.

 

[pampers]

As it hasn't been described what he did in total just what was mentioned when talking to the customer who didn't watch him how can you say with any certainty he did or didn't service it properly .

He may have set the flame by eye and then checked with a fga, he may not , he may have sat in the corner banging spanners together you don't know you weren't there he might have fully cleaned baffles replace oil line anything you don't know ,so now customer thinks they have been ripped off with a dodgy service when you have no idea wether hes done it right or wrong .

 

[simond]

I agree with Pampers, there is no point in suggesting that the job wasn't done correctly if both you and the customer were not there.

Our industry has had so much negative publicity thanks to the lazy misrepresentation of programmes like 'Rogue Traders' we hardly need any more ill founded suggetions of scams.

Fact is, as most tradesmen know, we are outnumbered by dodgy punters probably 10:1. It doesn't make such good TV though.

 

[Terrywookfit]

I service oil boilers for a living and your man DID NOT service this boiler properly. You use a flue gas analiser to tune the boiler properly testing for CO, CO2 and approx 6 other gases. You test the oil pressure going into the burner and adjust if too high or low. A proper clean out of the baffles and water jacket to make sure that the heat is transfered properly. The nozzle must be re-newed every year as every oz of oil you burn goes through it and it must be atomized to burn correctly. The flexible oil line from the tap to the oil pump must also be changed every year as if they spring a leak it could deposit all of your oil into your house.
A good service takes 2 to 3 hours so ask if they are only taking 20 mins.

Are you fresh out of the oftec training centre??

You seem to be reciting all the crap they recommend with regards to oil lines and nozzles.

What are the six other gasses you check for and why?
No wonder it takes you so long.

And why answer a post that is over a year old

 

[oilhead]

.

On oil its normal to have a yellowish tinge at the end of a bluish flame but its all a question of how much!

Tony[/quote]
Totally not!!!!!
I've yet to see a photocell that will 'see' a blue flame. Flame should be yellow, without smoke or orange tips.
Experience will teach you what a flame should look like, but FGA needs to be used to be sure.
Withregard to the OFTEC instructor who achieved perfect results by eye, I would think that it's a question of practice on the same boilers more than an inherent eye for all boilers.

 

[Boilerman2]

I can set ANY oil fired boiler by eye from FAP's to Wallflames & Prssure jets HOW? 35 Years Experience worth far more than any Of**c bol***ks

 

[Wangerman]

I can set ANY oil fired boiler by eye from FAP's to Wallflames & Prssure jets HOW? 35 Years Experience worth far more than any Of**c bol***ks

I knew an guy just like you, he could set up a boiler nigh on spot on just by eye, he would still stick a sniffer on it but was always bang on every time

I suppose if you do something long enough you really start to excel in it