DIYbanter - View Single Post

wrote:
The heat keeps going off.

I've had the local oil company people come in many times, and they've
replaced the oil pump and filter and other parts. I've had several
different techies from the company come in, and I've watched and talked
with them as they worked, and they all seem professional.

But the heat keeps going off, and I have to keep restarting it.

After one visit there was a reccomendation to get a new tank. The
owner of the company says that sludge is collecting and this is the
problem.

But last week a technician came it to start the heat (since it had
locked up) and could not see anything wrong. He was there for quite
awhile trying to come up with ideas about my problems.

And then the heat stopped again the next day.

So my question is: If there was sludge in the tank (1) wouldn't it
show up in the filter; and (2) wouldn't it take a while to cause
problems again after servicing.

Right now the heat goes off about once a day, and we hit the button
(just once) to get it going again. Takes 5-10 seconds to fire up.

Since a new tank is going to be about $2000, I'm obviously looking for
any other possible solutions.

Also:
The tank is inside the basement.
I had flooding in the basement in the fall, but I also had recurring
burner problems last winter, no problems the previous 10-12 years.
I have a tank-less hot water system in the furnace.
I've also noticed that one of the heating zones is not working (I have
two zones with hot water pipes -- one of these is not working, one zone
with old radiators). The technician said this must be a short in the
thermostat.

Jim

Sounds to me like you need a more competent service company. Oil burning
heating systems aren't eggsackly rocket science these days, they've been
around for nearly a hunnert years now.

Get someone in who knows what they're doing and how to check and test
things to determine if they're ok or not, rather than give you guesses.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"Truth exists; only falsehood has to be invented."