Since the boiler smokes upon ignition we know you are getting fuel. With you having installed new electrodes & ignitor, we can fairly safely eliminate those parts as a source of the trouble, presuming the electrodes & nozzle position are right. That leaves fuel pressure (usually a non-issue unless someone has messed with it), the nozzle, and air setting.

If the tech did not check fuel pressure, you can adapt a 200-300# gauge to 3/16" flare & attach it to small tube which screws onto the nozzle assembly.

According to Beckett's OEM Spec Guide & using a .85x80º B nozzle @ 140# fuel pressure, the air shutter (flat disc against the fuel pump) should be set at 5 & the bulk band (band which wraps around the end of the burner body) should be set on 1.

Has anyone checked the distance from the end cone to the nozzle face? If not, that distance should be 1 1/8" from the outside face of the end cone to the face of the nozzle.

 

Having described the 'character' of the flame so well, I am almost positive that your oil pressure at the pump is set too low, assuming that you are getting good flow to the pump of course. ASSuming the filter, nozzle, AND screen have ALL been changed and that the oil IS flowing well to the pump.

A good try would be to 'increase' the oil pressure and see if it stays running. Remember to adjust it back if it does not help. I would try 2 turns in with the adjusting screw at the pump. You will not cause any damage and it will not be dangerous if you just try this and it doesn't work and you set it back.

Give it a try and let us know. This way you don't have to buy anything right now.

SPUTTERING like you described is USUALLY caused by a bad nozzle, bad oil flow, or low oil pressure.

Charlie

 

its been over 2 days with the new transformer and all seems well. hasnt run like this for a while. im hoping trhe problems are over. it seems the transformer had an intermitant problem from what he said. he put the new one that pumps out 14k volts to make sure i was getting spark. as for a list of stuff that was done.

me-changed oil filter, blew out line, changed nozzle, aligned electrodes, fixed broken door hinge.

him- cleaned pump filter, changed nozzle to smaller stated size, adjusted air flow, replaced transformer and electrodes, adjusted flame by eye.

thats all that was done. he didnt use any guages on anything, he actually gave me some of his he doesnt use anymore. he seemed like a decent guy and it is still running but i think he should have done more and im not sure what he did was right.

 

What kind of gauges did he give you? Some may be of some use to you in the future. BTW, if you are interested, many vocational-technical schools &/or community colleges offer "homeowner" heater maintenance classes. By attending one of these you could get a better idea of the whats & whys of your boiler. Be careful though because sometimes people get hooked & end up buying test equipment & reading all they can about heating systems. NJ Trooper & Radioconnection are a couple of examples. Maybe Who too.

 

he gave me simple stuff. various guages for setting electrodes and nozzles, bunch of charts, some spare parts to tinker with. im looking into the voc. classes now since part time school is way out of my price range. id rather learn to do it myself than pay people to do it for me.

 

Generally they give you a decent foundation upon which you can build. You will probably be introduced into the use of test equipment which is a "must have" for setting up a burner properly. A lot of it can be had quite reasonably on e-bay. Depending on your level of addiction & pocketbook, you can spend from less than $100 to several thousand. The equipment I use at work cost about $1500 & another $300 or so in annual maintenance.

 

I think that new guy Al guy may be in the same boat. :-)

Al.

{P.S., edit in: the pieces I purchased specifically for burner setup was a Dwyer 460 air meter (draft), a Bacharach true-spot (smoke), and an oil pump pressure/vacuum gauge set. I had a j-type thermocouple setup for flue temperature, and an O2 sensor for CO2. I did design & build a probe to pick up flue gases for it though.

I have seen Fyrite setups on ebay to measure CO2. Just be sure it is for flue testing, not incubators or so. }

 

It can become addicting, can't it, Al?

 

Looking back to post #8 I see in BLUE and underlined only
2 items .......mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
I see items #3 & #12.

Ad A Boy Charlie!

How many Ad-A-Boys do I need to cash them in for something? (hehehehe)

BTW: I would have put on a 20kv one set for constant 'iggy'.
(hehehehe----you know who you are hombre')

Charlie

 

My addiction grew out of necessity ! I couldn't find a decent tech to service my system that didn't want to sell me a 'plan' and a oil delivery contract, and then not even use the instruments that he had ! (OR DIDN'T HAVE! the last guy I threw out of here didn't even have a smoke spot gun...)

I did learn something from them though. I learned how to say:

"ARGHHHH, that's a SHARP FLAME! HOMBRE!"

So, now I've got a full wet kit ...

Charlie, be careful! I've also got a TESLA COIL that can send sparks to L.I. !

Al, I wanna know the details of that thang you built, PM me if you wanna share !

 

is right, all too much. We have fuel, air, spark, ignition, then FIRE! How can one not want to play with that (besides, it keep us and the family warm & happy. Even the cats seem to like warm rad's to lay on ).

Al.

 

OK Guys! I confess. I am an addict too! I gotta come clean. I admit it! Yes I am one too. I am addicted. I am addicted to coffee. heheheheHEHEHEHEhahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

What?!?!?! No Crisco?? I have to admit, I too as a kid went for the Crisco. Heck, Mom used it in all of the cookies and cakes, it HAD to be good! LOL. Upon reading your post I was rolling . . .

Al.

P.S. oh, by the way, boiler water tastes about as flat and non-descript as it gets.

Although never did try the grease <G>.