rayburn with don oil conversion "problems"

[robthebaker1]

hi, my mothers got a rayburn supreme with an oil conversion by don engineering. been working faultlessly for years. it has suddenly developed a fault whereby it keeps going out due to oil being cut off. engineer is stumped. cleaned and checked all the pipe from the tank to oil control unit. then fires it up and it goes great for about 3 hrs then dies out. oil going into the oil control unit but none coming out! hes disasembled the unit and cleaned it but found nothing obvious. the strange thing is though that after its gone out the oil does eventually pass through again. think the oil flow controller is kaput, but have no idea if we might be able to get a replacement, any ideas would be great, conversion kit is D160.

 

[Biggles..]

Sounds like the solenoids shot.

 

[andytw]

Sounds like the solenoids shot.

My Don converison, when I had one, did not have a solenoid. No electics at all in fact. There is passive control unit bolted to the outside of the Rayburn which is basically a large float chamber. It just maintains the oil level to the burner's wicks. It does sound like it is the culprit.
Has the burner itself been removed from the Rayburn and de-coked, and its oilways been given a good blow through ?

andytw

 

[slapper]

Sounds like the solenoids shot.

My Don converison, when I had one, did not have a solenoid. No electics at all in fact. There is passive control unit bolted to the outside of the Rayburn which is basically a large float chamber. It just maintains the oil level to the burner's wicks. It does sound like it is the culprit.
Has the burner itself been removed from the Rayburn and de-coked, and its oilways been given a good blow through ?

andytw

+1

 

[Corgigrouch]

The burners do coke up badly these days and the coke does trail back into the bund pipe coming from the burner.... I always remove these pipes from the burner and run a long drill down the tube to clear the carbon when I'm servicing them....Failing that it's time to look at the oil control valve... Did your guy measure the oil flow?

 

[robthebaker1]

yes burner has been removed and stripped cleaned oil flow is as it should be but for some reason it shuts down after a period. the burner itself seems fine clean.

 

[oilhead]

If it runs 'perfectly' for 5 hours, and even refills after going out, there has to be a problem with fuel supply prior to the float valve. Is this a wick burner or the aspirated pot burner? Is there a fire valve that is starting to close without snapping completely shut? Have all the filters been checked? If you purge the oil line into a container is there a continuous steady supply for 3 -4 litres? Has the metering column been cleaned?

 

[robthebaker1]

thanks to everyone for your help. sorted it now, it was a faulty fire valve that was closing and opening randomly so it seems. we replaced it and everything is now ok. again thanks.