No heat in radiators


  #1  
Old 10-03-05, 01:04 PM
oilburner80
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Smile No heat in radiators

I tried turning the heat on this weekend. Right now all I know is that
it's an "oil burner".

I rent an apartment (half a house) which has an oil burner. I tried turning
on the heat this weekend to see if everything is working okay.

I turned on the thermostat and could hear the heater kick on. I also noticed
that on the thermostat the temperature rose to what I had set the thermostat to. BUT...the Radiators did not even get warm. I kept it on for awhile...still no
heat in the radiators. So...I turned it off...thinking that I might be ruining something.

One other problem is that I have a new landlord who knows nothing about the
system in the house. (he took over in August.)

I called the former landlord and told him what was going on. He said that it
may be out of oil. I asked him if there was a gauge I could look at to see how much oil is left. He said that I needed to go "bang on the oil tank" and
hear how much is left. Sounds like fun.

Does this sound logical...that it could be out of oil?

Don't oil tanks have gauges on them?

Is there something else I should be checking other than the oil tank...something that a "newbie" could check?

My new landlord lives out of state...so I'm trying to help him trouble shoot this problem.

Please e-mail me at lmk3@lehigh.edu if you have any suggestions.

Thanks in advance.
 
  #2  
Old 10-03-05, 05:54 PM
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Oil burner

On a "cold start" it may take 1/2 hr. to get heat into the radiators.
Banging on the tank is a waste of time. Oil being lighter than water does not have the same sound & can be very hard to tell how much oil is in the tank even for a seasoned pro. A newbie doesn't stand much of a chance. Some tanks have gauges, some don't. Personally I hate gauges. Just another potential place for a leak, especially when the tank is being filled.
Presuming you are responsible for the fuel bill, I suggest you get on an automatic delivery program with the oil dealer of your choice. Repairs & maintenance are usually the landlord's responsibility, you may want to find out if he has any kind of arangements with an oil or service company.
 
 

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