Oil boiler filled with soot

[guju121]

Hi, having as problem with my Firebird C35 where is keeps locking out when trying to start up.
First time it happened I found that the photo sensor was covered in soot causing the lockout
Cleaned it up and it ran ok for about 1 day when the problem reoccured
Again sensor and nozzle were covered in soot
The burner is less than 1 year old and has ran fine before this
I am completely new to oil burners so I don't know how to set up the air damper or oil pressure etc.
Tried adjusting the air damper blindly and found that the lower the setting ( 2 or 3 ) the worse it gets, having to clean it ever couple of hours to keep it going
Can anyone tell me how to setup the air damper properly. I have it set to 6 at the moment and it seems to be running ok for the last day or so. There is no smoke at all out of the flue ( no even white smoke )
Don't know if it makes a difference but it started happening when the whether got very cold the last week

 

[griggs]

I think you will find there is more to it than just the air damper.

If it is that sooted, then the burner and baffles will need to be removed to give the CC a good clean. Also the oil pressure will need checking, smoke #, amongst other things.

Might be best to get an engineer in.

 

[snb]

have had 3 condensing oil boilers with these symptoms. All had evidence of frozen condensates.

You will need to clean all the parts of the combustion chamber,flue,secondary exchanger etc out and then it will need setting up again as you have altered various settings.

This going to cost a bit but get someone in to clean it and set it up.

If you do decide to clean it yourself you might just regret it as it is a bloody messy job. I hate it if i see one.

 

[martineire]

You will need to get an engineer round to clean out your boiler and set the burner up correctly, you will not be able to set the burner up properly yourself unless you have a flue gas analyser, smoke pump and oil pressure gauge. The burner will have to be set up to manufactures spec and then tuned in to suit on site conditions not a DIY job.

 

[guju121]

Thanks for replys guys, I am planning on getting someone in in January, trying to keep it going for the moment over the Christmas.
I haven't had to clean it now for nearly 2 days so looks like the air damper is now set close to what it should be
Just have to find someone you knows what they are doing now, not an easy task in my experience !!!, thats why I prefer to do thinks myself where possible ...

 

[martineire]

I haven't had to clean it now for nearly 2 days so looks like the air damper is now set close to what it should be

By adjusting the air damper open you may of stoped the boiler from sooting up because you are now adding more air for combustion but dont think that the air/fuel ratio is ok now that its not sooting up, your excess air could be way to high thus you will be blowing heat straight up the boiler and out the flue (very inefficient) and the only way to correct this problem is to use a flue gas analyser, smoke pump and oil pressure gauge.

 

[Agile]

I wonder if this mistruct of professionals to do a good job is based on a desire to save money or because of the quite few who really dont know their trade?

Tony

 

[casius66]

Comments from new customers I go to seem to go along the lines of "decent oil men are as rare as hens teeth" - there's a number of fellas out there having been to oftec assessments and then let loose with no experience learning on the job at the customers expense, or plumbers that do a bit of oil (service the boiler but struggle to fix them when they go wrong).
In Ireland oftec are just getting a foot hold which may improve things over there...
Certain customers do not seem to want to pay for the knowledge that an experienced and trained oil man brings to their door and then wonder why they get fleeced by a parts changer.
The trouble is how do you find a decent guy without a recommendation?

 

[martineire]

In Ireland oftec are just getting a foot hold which may improve things over there...

Thats true in the Rep of Ireland there is only 200 oftec registered engineers a long way off where they want to get to, they cant really get a good foot hold until there is 5000 registered engineers and that does not really look like happening anytime soon.

 

[DickFlappin]

OFTEC is a complete waste of money, their training courses are very basic & a can be learned from any DIY book. My advise is save your money.

 

[kevplumb]

OFTEC is a complete waste of money, their training courses are very basic & a can be learned from any DIY book. My advise is save your money.

anything you know dick can be written on the back of a postage stamp

 

[casius66]

Oftec assess your knowledge - they don't train you...

 

[martineire]

When i did my oftec training course they do have practical training on oil boilers, fault finding and servicing taking the burner apart and reassembling it to familiarize yourself with the burner. Your assessment at the end of the course involves, fault finding and fixing the burner and then servicing the boiler aswell as all the written exams.

 

[DickFlappin]

Oftec assess your knowledge - they don't train you...................Yeah, you can say that again!!! They are useless...

 

[casius66]

It may be different over in Eire and I hope Oftec do get it right there (my sister and much of my Dads' family are in the Boyle area) - but over here it seems that fellas turn up for assessments with no training attached (not Oftecs' fault they are there to assess your knowledge of the regs - with gas you have to build up a portfolio and then be assessed but there's no similar confirmation of hands on experience with Oftec)