I have an oil furnace. My question concerns the fact that the furnace consumes thousands of cubic feet of inside warmed air, while at the same time drawing in outside cold air from every crack in the house.

I have heard of four vent solutions; vent pipe from outside to near to the furnace intake, vent pipe from outside with on/off damper to near to the furnace intake, powered vent pipe from outside to near to the furnace intake, or vent pipe from outside direct onto the furnace intake (air boot) with vacuum relief valve. All the solutions have a screen on the outside intake. Many people insulate the vent pipe.

My furnace is in the basement next to an outside wall. So maybe three elbows and eight feet up and the vent pipe is outside. I could put in a damper that opens with the oil preheater. I believe a 4" metal vent pipe with insulation taped to it should be adequate.

Are any of these solutions worthwhile? Does anyone have any advice? Has anyone ever done something like this?

 

I've done quite a few outside air intakes on oil burners. If you install a damper, you will need one with an end switch which won't allow the burner to fire unless the damper is open. Why do you have an oil pre-heater? The only times I've seen a pre-heater on residential equipment was on an outdoor installed appliance.

 

Thank you Grady.

I am not a professional but I love to help family members and friends.

I bought the house with it. It is the first time I ever saw one on a furnace. I had to look it up. The tanks are in the basement too.

There were many "minor" issues with the furnace that I fixed; gauges, pressure regulator/water feeder, relief value, air vents. I also changed the controller with a R7284U. I programmed the heater to turn on first, then the igniters, then the blower/pump.

I can extend the heater wire to open the damper. Then run a pair of wires from the end switch to interrupt the blower/pump, so the blower/pump will not turn on unless the end switch allows it. This will give the damper time to open. If I hear the igniters and not the blower, then I will know the damper is stuck. This is good because I plan on putting the damper near the vent's entry into the house, way up high in the ceiling behind the furnace where it will be hard to see if it is working.

Thank you for helping me from blowing it.

I was also thinking that I should put in two dampers for the gas dryer. One damper to open to draw air in when the tumbler turns on. Another damper with switch to open for the air to go out also when the tumbler turns on. The switch would be use to interrupt the gas valve. So if the dryer doesn't get hot, I know I first need to check the outgoing damper.

What do you think?

 

The first thing I would do with the boiler would be to disconnect the oil pre-heater. With basement oil tanks there is no need & will likley cause more problems than it cures. All of this presumes a pre-heater attached to the drawer assembly of the burner. Pictures would help a lot.

I think your idea of two dampers on the dryer is overkill. One on the intake should be plenty.

 

Thank you Grady. I appreciate your good advice.

Below is an example of what the preheater looks like. Mine is a little bigger made out of white porcelain.

 

Disconnect, remove, & toss. Best advice I can give on that device. They will actually bake oil in the tube.

 

Grady you are the best!! Thank you.

My brother has his tank outside. Should I put it on his system?

 

NO. I wouldn't have one of those things on my burner if you paid me. I've seen too many clogged nozzes due to the baked on oil flaking off the oil tube. In your brother's case, I would suggest 2 large fuel filters inside to give the fuel a chance to warm before going into the buner. If he has two lines between the tank & pump, I have other suggestions.

 

That is like a great idea Grady. When you say it, it is such a simple solution and I wonder why didn't I think of it myself. Thank you again!!

 

You're welcome. If there's anything else you need help wirh, please don't hesitate to ask.