I have a Dunham Bush oil fired hot water boiler with forced blown air
circulation. It is shutting down every 10 minutes. I reset the
Honeywell device that is connected to the stack sensor and the electic
eye. It fires up right away and kicks off within 10-15 minutes. So
far I cleaned the eye, no change. I also noticed soot particles on the
top of the boiler casing near the stack. I checked the stack, it is
clean but I think it is hotter than usual when the boiler is firing. I
was thinking that I probably need to change the oil nozzle. I was told
once that it must be replaced and could not be cleaned. Can it be
cleaned? I need heat to get me through the night because I can't get
parts where I live at this hour. Anyone know how I can keep it running
through the night safely. Also, does anyone have any suggestions to
what else the problem could be if not just the oil nozzle and what
other maintenance I could perform?

Thanks, Ron

MRnice wrote:

I have a Dunham Bush oil fired hot water boiler with forced blown air
circulation. It is shutting down every 10 minutes. I reset the
Honeywell device that is connected to the stack sensor and the electic
eye. It fires up right away and kicks off within 10-15 minutes. So
far I cleaned the eye, no change. I also noticed soot particles on the
top of the boiler casing near the stack. I checked the stack, it is
clean but I think it is hotter than usual when the boiler is firing. I
was thinking that I probably need to change the oil nozzle. I was told
once that it must be replaced and could not be cleaned. Can it be
cleaned? I need heat to get me through the night because I can't get
parts where I live at this hour. Anyone know how I can keep it running
through the night safely. Also, does anyone have any suggestions to
what else the problem could be if not just the oil nozzle and what
other maintenance I could perform?

Thanks, Ron
just throwing random maintenance at it is not the way to do things.
You need to trouble shoot the system and find out what and why this is
happening. No offense but you seem to be in over your head, call your oil
company and have them come fix it. When the service guy arrives, see if he
wouldnt mind if you follow along and ask him to explain what he is doing.
Once its fixed and you understand what broke and how he figured it out,
you'll have a better understanding of the system. Finally, it might be good
to get a book or 2 about oil burners and especially boilers. Warning: You
screw up in the right way on a boiler and you can kill yourself and
everyone close by. I dont think you want that to save a couple bucks do
you?
Eric

Hi Bubba. This has nothing to do with saving money. My oil company
does not have 24 hour service and the only one in the area that does
has not called me back since I left 2 messages so far. Despite what
you think, I do have a good general knowledge about boilers. Since
tubes do not need to be cleaned due to this is a hot water boiler, the
problems must be related to one of the following: oil nozzle being
dirty, dirt in the supply line, a dirty filter, a bad stack switch,
poor air intake, or a faulty flame sensor (eye). About two years ago I
had a problem like this. I called my oil service (it was during
operating hours) and he first broke the elctrode when he was trying to
remove the oil nozzle from its assembly. He changed the nozzle and
then broke the supply tubing when reinstalling. After he installed a
new line he bled the air from the line and the boiler worked fine
since.

I just finished removing the oil nozzle and cleaned it ( I cant get
parts as the supply houses close early, about 5p,). I changed the
filter (I had a spare on hand) and bled the line at the pump. The
boiler has been running for about an hour and a half with no problem.

I have seen many people give assistance to others who had no idea of
what they were doing. Here, no real advice was given, only comments
stating I did not want to pay a service to repair. I will still call
them tomorrow during the day for them to come and check everything out
and replace the nozzle. I am not an expert, but I do have a clear
understanding of how this system works. I have worked on gas fired
systems and HRT commercial boilers years ago. I admit that I still
have things to learn about oil fired redidential burners and this is an
old system without auotmatic draft louvers and sensors, etc.

Again, thank you for your help and concern.

On 14 Mar 2006 17:10:49 -0800, "MRnice" wrote:

I have a Dunham Bush oil fired hot water boiler with forced blown air
circulation. It is shutting down every 10 minutes. I reset the
Honeywell device that is connected to the stack sensor and the electic
eye. It fires up right away and kicks off within 10-15 minutes. So
far I cleaned the eye, no change. I also noticed soot particles on the
top of the boiler casing near the stack. I checked the stack, it is
clean but I think it is hotter than usual when the boiler is firing. I
was thinking that I probably need to change the oil nozzle. I was told
once that it must be replaced and could not be cleaned. Can it be
cleaned? I need heat to get me through the night because I can't get
parts where I live at this hour. Anyone know how I can keep it running
through the night safely. Also, does anyone have any suggestions to
what else the problem could be if not just the oil nozzle and what
other maintenance I could perform?

Thanks, Ron

There are certain instruments needed to properly tune the boiler after
a nozzle change. without these you should not try to change the nozzle
as it could cause improper combustion. the boiler may also need
cleaning. it would be best to call a local pro to do this for you.
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