We just moved into this house about a month ago and have somehow gone through 200gallons of oil in a month?! @ 3.45$ per gallon it doesnt take a wizard to figure out this is nuts. Heres the system...

Pensotti Blueline / Riello burner "40"
Taco SR 504 EXP 4zone

and a superstar ultra stainless indirect waterheater is tied in with the boiler also.

Now this house is fairly new and nice n tight. Windows are top of the line and all 2x6 stick built, so plenty of insulation.

We keep the temp on 64 most of the time and use the hotwater sparingly! Id say the house is roughly 1800sq'

We have a 275gal. oil tank inside. When we got here the tank was at the halfway mark, less then a month later we had to put 50gal. more in. now at the one month mark we are out of the 50gal and need more!!

We live in maine so its cold here like 13months out of the year. Wtf could be causing sooo damn much consumption?!

I figured it out oneday and we are burning close to 6gal. per day?!

Is this crazy or is it the high oil prices? either way im freaking out

if anybody has any insight,tips,comments anything! id apprieciate it!

 

Something's not quite riight.
When was the last time the boiler was cleaned and serviced?
Is there a service tag on it?
If so, report all the numbers on it.
Can you get the exact model number of the boiler.
What are the pressure and temp reading on the boiler?
When you bought the house was there a heating cost statement on the sales info?
IMO you shouldn't be using that much oil until January, especially with the mild weather we've had so far this season.

Peter

 

Was the boiler serviced recently? What size nozzle is on the burner?

Double check the attic insulation. We had critters move 100 sq. ft. of insulation to the other side of the attic to use as nesting material.

Oil heat is expensive but you shouldn't be paying that much to barely heat 1800 sq ft.

 

thanx for the reply Pete. Were actually renting the house as of right now with possibilty to buy. The boiler is running right now at about 165 f and 10psi. not sure last ime it was serviced, but i can find out. Im pretty sure the landlord does most everything himself, hes a really good guy and this house he built is awesum. I did notice that all the copper piping in the basement doesnt have the black foam insulator tubes on them what so ever. The basement stays at about 60 so not sure if those not having the tubes on them makes a huge diff. or not.

Also the hotwater heater isnt wrapped or anything.

 

Something not adding up here... the second statement seems to me to be 100 gallons in a month?

100 gallons works out to an average heat loss for the month to be about 20K BTUH, which, if your weather has been as 'relatively' warm in ME as ours has in NJ does seem a bit excessive.

By comparison, I've burned about 70 gallons since Nov 25. Roughly same size house.

So, which is it? 100 / mo or 200 / mo ?

 

That pressure seems quite a bit on the low side... if the gauge is accurate.

The pressure should really be a minimum of 12 PSI when the boiler is COLD, and perhaps 10 PSI or so higher when HOT (as 165 is hot).

Is the heating in the home OK ? Balanced between all the rooms ? Is this a one, two, three story home?

 

I read this as, 275 half full.
About 130 gallons or so.
It got low in the red and they added 50.
Now it's in the red again and they need more oil.
So i add it as 180 gallons, i think.
Too much in any case.
Wonderif the house has a massive amount of uncoverd windows?

I'm at 60 gallons of oil month to date and about 16 gallons of propane in the gas log stove.

Must be about 25-30% less than an "average" year, so far....

Peter

 

Does the boiler stay hot all the time? Do you hear it running even when there is no demand for heat or hot water? Even a burner out of adjustment should not use 150 - 200 gpm as it has been warmer than normal.

 

Good point rbeck!

Cap'n, do you know which part on the boiler is the AQUASTAT?

If so, tell us what the model number is...

 

ok heres sum more info and thanx for all the help guys. I gotta figure this out or start sellin my body, which aint gunna be good cuzz im hairy asa monkey.

Aquastat - no clue

S/n# 02v851112500019
Code-c8511125

.75 max nozzle @ 160 psi max input .95 Gph

oil burner # PI-100-002

it doesnt seem to run not when needed, but it hums which im sure its just idle.

It sits idle right now at 212deg. and approx 11psi

 

Hello, Capt'n
You gotta take pictures.


Pete

 

ok i just talkd to the missus and she said that the boiler seems to come on quite a bit through out the day when hotwater isnt being used and the temp. is warm outside and getting plenty of sunshine from windows.

Pete what should i take pics of?

 

Everything on or near the boiler.
Close up, far away
Different angles.
Lots of light and a digital camera.
Post picture to PhotoBucket or something similar and link to them from here.

Peter

 

It is common for a house such as yours to consume 1000-1200 gallons of fuel oil per year where I live...there are a lot of factors that can impact the consumption.

1. Does the house have a lot of wind exposure? This can make a HUGE difference.
2. Does the home have a lot of glass? (windows, sliding doors, etc)
3. Any chance it has a soaker tub that the Mrs. likes to use? Domestic hot water can be a big load as well.

Is there a sticker on the boiler from a service company? If there is, please post any numbers/figures that may be written on it like CO2, stack temperature, etc.

 

That pressure is too low. And the temp may be set too high...

When we see the pics we should be able to spot it...

Set up a FREE account at Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket and upload the pics to a PUBLIC album there. Come back here and place a link to your album and we'll have a look.
hint: cell phone pics generally are useless for this purpose.

 

If it comes on frequently when no heat is called for & no hot water being used, you might want to check for a hot water leak somewhere.

 

I guess an oil leak is ruled out ?
Is that 275 gallon tank and the lines running to the burner all above the floor ? (ie, you would notice if you had a slow leak)

 

I had about a ten drop a day leak once, and i could smell it up in the thirrd floor bedroom.


Peter

 

I had a leak once, and the entire neighborhood REEKED!

 

Small Potatos NJT.
The Boston and Maine RR at one time was said to have a 1 million gallon fuel tank burried out by the old Boston Engine Facility just north of North Station on the Sumerville line that was leaking and undeterminable amout of diesel fuel over a period of decades. I believe the time frame was late 50's into the early 70's or later.
I think there was another 100,000 gallon burried tank that was also leaking.
Not to ention from other sources:


it gets better:

"Well i love that dirty water oh oh Boston your my home"


Peter

 

Shouldn't the boiler come down to room temperature when there's no heat requests?

 

Yes, that's why we're asking about the aquastat installed... if it's the one I think it is, it is NOT a triple A'stat... but then, the thing may be wired wrong.

Peter, I admit that this is small compared to stuff you mention, but the hole you see is only about a third of the ultimate excavation, forensics indicate that it was in fact leaking for 'decades'. And the job is still not finished... they haven't started digging up the road or the neighbor's yard yet.

 

OMFC, sheez still diggin omg.
Sorry NJT, was my lame attempt to make you feel better

Peter

 

I know we've hijacked Capn's thread... sorry about that... I am on a vendetta mission to get anyone within earshot to get those underground tanks OUT OF THE GROUND NOW! The EPA ****s are not going to back down! Jump back in and stop us at any time Jack!

Here's a whole album for your viewing pleasure...

Oil Tank Remediation pictures by JeffPicks - Photobucket

oh, that's special... the forum software doesn't like the German "N word".