Dunkirk Oil Boiler - Booming


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Old 11-18-09, 09:26 PM
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Question Dunkirk Oil Boiler - Booming

I've got a 7 year old Dunkirk oil burner with a Carlin motor. About 2 weeks ago, it has been booming (making a boom sound from the flame cutting in and out). Today I got it cleaned, replaced the filter at the oil tank and the strainer in the pump, new nozzle, along with whatever else they do when they clean it. What could be causing this? Bad motor or pump?
 
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Old 11-19-09, 03:41 PM
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So what are you saying? The techs came in, did some work, and then left again without it being fixed?

Call them back, and don't pay them again for a job they should have done right the first time.
 
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Old 11-19-09, 10:36 PM
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Haha, well I did ask for a "cleaning", does that imply that other problems should be fixed? Either way, the filter and strainer had a lot of garbage in them. They said it was a lot for a years worth of oil, and they also said that the quality of oil nowadays is pretty poor, any truth to this? They said I should blow out the line from the tank to the boiler with an air compressor to be sure there's no crap in it. Thoughts?
 
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Old 11-20-09, 02:47 PM
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I think I would have specifically asked that the boiler be made to operate properly... did they witness the booming? and just said "Oh well, he asked for a cleaning, he got a cleaning, I'm outta here!" ?

Yes, the oil is 'different', but not just 'now'... this has been going on for quite a few years... a while back most refineries went from a 'straight run distillation' of product to a 'catalytic cracking' process, which yields a higher percentage of refined fuel oil. The problem as I see it is that the cat-cracking process gives a product that is not as stable as straight run is. The 'shelf life' is shorter for one thing... and it seems that when the molecules are 'cracked', they don't STAY cracked. They seem to want to recombine into the crude form. Or at least that's what that SLUDGE in the filters and lines looks like! The bottom line is that 'new' oil seems dirtier than 'old' oil.

You might just be better off replacing the line... if yer not real careful you can make a real mess of things with an air compressor... I don't know that I would blow from the tank to the boiler though... I would probably go the other way... but you need to know if there are any check valves in the line, and you have to be real careful that you don't rupture a line.

Where is your tank located in relation to the boiler? Top feed? Bottom feed? Underground? One line? two lines?
 
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Old 11-25-09, 12:39 AM
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There is one line, about 25 feet from the tank. It is an odd problem because it is very intermittent, which makes me think it's definitely not something in the line. Would crap in a line cause an intermittent problem like that?
 
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Old 11-26-09, 03:43 AM
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When I ran the oil side of my system every time the burner would light it would make a booming sound, I thought that was normal. I decided to adjust the electrodes that burn the fuel, no change. In my neck of the woods most everyone burns gas so a skilled oil man is hard to find. I found a small company and they sent out a very young man who was trained by his father. When he left the burner made the same sound as when you start your car. My electrodes were a little higher above the center of the nozzel than they should have been. I must have been measureing from the wrong point when I set the electrodes. This is how my problem was fixed, you could have a different problem. good luck
 
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Old 12-06-09, 09:49 AM
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I blew out the line backwards as NJTrooper suggested. The burner hasn't had flame sputtering since. A side question... After the igniter ignites the flame, does the flame sustain itself, or does the igniter stay on?
 
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Old 12-06-09, 10:14 AM
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It depends on the controls on the burner.

Some have the ignition on constantly, some have it only on for 15-30 seconds, after which the flame sustains itself.

What 'primary control' is on your burner?
 
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Old 12-07-09, 08:32 AM
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I forgot to mention that all the crap I blew out of the line was sludge, black as the ace of spades. Is this something you would expect to see in a line that hasn't been blown out in 30 years? I would think the filter on the tank would keep this out.

I'm not sure what the primary control is. But before the burner kicks on, you can hear a buzzing in the computer speakers for a couple seconds, then it goes away once the burner is on, so I have to assume that the igniter does not stay on, correct?
 
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Old 12-07-09, 05:04 PM
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Is this something you would expect to see in a line that hasn't been blown out in 30 years? I would think the filter on the tank would keep this out.
One would think... but 30 years of little bits of crud sneaking through a large micron felt filter... yeah, I would expect that.

I'm not sure what the primary control is. But before the burner kicks on, you can hear a buzzing in the computer speakers for a couple seconds, then it goes away once the burner is on, so I have to assume that the igniter does not stay on, correct?
The primary control is the control box mounted on the burner, above the motor... the one with the reset button on it.

It does sound as though you have 'interrupted' ignition from your description. How far is the computer from the boiler? I get some 'sparkles' on my TV pic when the ignitor kicks in.
 
 

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