Camray 5 Oil Boiler. Maintenance / good running tips

[Gents]

Hi Guys, i have a question for anyone with Oil boiler experience. although, i am a practical guy, no experience whatsoever with oil boilers. Just inherited a place with a 2007 boiler. As cash is tight, i could do with knowing what things i can do to maintain my heating system and avoid costly call outs.
i.e. Checking system is free of Crap, and what to do if it is. Where to perhaps get any filters or parts that need changing to keep it working well.
Do you have any clever little tips up your sleeve ?

Look forward with anticipation, thanks Guys

P.S. This is my first post so treat me gently. cheers

Gents.

Merry Christmas to All.

 

[Burnerman]

An excellent on line place for parts is www.heating-parts.co.uk
and they have a printed catalogue too.
Spares wise, identify which tank filter you have, and regarding the burner, get hold of a new spare nozzle and the oil pump solenoid coil - the latter being the weakest link. Consider a spare electrode set too.
Make sure any valves in the oil line are operating, and in the summer time when there isn't any need for the boiler, start your investigations.
Find out how the burner is electrically disconnected from the boiler, and see how to undo the fuel line too before withdrawing the burner from the boiler.
The boiler is often serviced from above, so see if you can find a diagram of how the baffles lie, and how they can be withdrawn for cleaning.
An old vacuum cleaner is great for sucking away soot and other debris, and I find that compressed air is best for cleaning the dust out of the burner.
The biggest issue is setting the burner up after work on it....pressure gauges are cheap enough but flue gas analysers are a different story!
John

 

[dcawkwell]

Oil boilers are usually very robust.

If you see any signs of oily smoke coming from the flue it
is time to act the burner is not burning correctly and the boiler is sooting up.

Change the nozzle once a year.

If you have an old steel tank perhaps best to get a paper filter as rust coming from tank could be a problem. Don't run the boiler for several hours after a top up as this disturbs all the stuff at the bottom of the tank.

Don't run out of oil!

Unfortunately without pressure gauges and flue gas analyser you can't check
the actual settings on the boiler but if the motor and pump are working correctly this should not be a problem.

Once a year remove the combustion chamber cover and inspect the seals.
Check the baffles if these are clean leave them in otherwise take them out inspect and clean any dirt and muck off.

Oil boilers are very robust, cheap to fix and last a very long time.
I see quite a few oil boiler in a poor state that are still happily ticking over.

To keep the central heating working nicely I would open a drain cock and allow it to flush out with the central heating running assuming you have a header tank it will top up or use the filling loop to keep pressure.

 

[Gents]

Merry Christmas Day morning, Burnerman,& Dcawkwell,thanks for your valued replies,I will put together a maintenance plan with your tips in mind, thanks & wish you & your families a peaceful Christmas. One thing I forgot to mention, is that the boiler is a Camray 5 year of manufacture, 2007, I don't know if that gives way to any other thoughts.
Regards. Gents.

 

[slapper]

Merry Christmas Day morning, Burnerman,& Dcawkwell,thanks for your valued replies,I will put together a maintenance plan with your tips in mind, thanks & wish you & your families a peaceful Christmas. One thing I forgot to mention, is that the boiler is a Camray 5 year of manufacture, 2007, I don't know if that gives way to any other thoughts.
Regards. Gents.

Lets put it this way!! if it were a car...it would be a BMW

 

[Gents]

Thanks Slapper, Merry Christmas to you and your family,also.
So what we are saying, is its worth maintaining, Yeh!
But could be expensive ?, but then I get the feeling that all heating systems are expensive to maintain & run.