three years ago we had a brand-new oil burning furnace put in our
house & also had a above
ground oil tank installed. The problem is that when you start up the
furnace in the morning
during heating season(which is roughly October thru May in NJ),the oil
burner often will sound
like it's lost suction or on the verge of losing suction. It also
making an annoying clicking sound
as the oil is pumped through the pipes. The above-ground tank is
outside of the house & 25 ft.
from the oil burner. The pump must raise the oil 5 feet because the
pipes go through the ceiling.
My older brother & I believe that the oil tank should be moved closer
to the oil burner so that a
gravity feed could be used(through the floor). It has been recommended
that we should replace
the furnace. What should we do?

wrote:

three years ago we had a brand-new oil burning furnace put in our
house & also had a above
ground oil tank installed. The problem is that when you start up the
furnace in the morning
during heating season(which is roughly October thru May in NJ),the oil
burner often will sound
like it's lost suction or on the verge of losing suction. It also
making an annoying clicking sound
as the oil is pumped through the pipes. The above-ground tank is
outside of the house & 25 ft.
from the oil burner. The pump must raise the oil 5 feet because the
pipes go through the ceiling.
My older brother & I believe that the oil tank should be moved closer
to the oil burner so that a
gravity feed could be used(through the floor). It has been recommended
that we should replace
the furnace. What should we do?


There are 2 pipes from the tank to burner?
Then it is a 2-pipe system and the pump should
not have any trouble lifting that distance.

There could be (tiny) air leaks at fittings, etc.
making trouble.

In the end though, you're correct that having the
lines in the ceiling (above burner level) can cause
problems with air entrapment.

If the tank/piping could be re-arranged without
too great an expense to avoid the ceiling entry, do that.

Replace the furnace? I don't think so...

Jim

on 8/8/2007 5:16 PM said the following:
three years ago we had a brand-new oil burning furnace put in our
house & also had a above
ground oil tank installed. The problem is that when you start up the
furnace in the morning
during heating season(which is roughly October thru May in NJ),the oil


You shut the boiler off at night during heating season?
burner often will sound
like it's lost suction or on the verge of losing suction. It also
making an annoying clicking sound
as the oil is pumped through the pipes. The above-ground tank is
outside of the house & 25 ft.
from the oil burner. The pump must raise the oil 5 feet because the
pipes go through the ceiling.
My older brother & I believe that the oil tank should be moved closer
to the oil burner so that a
gravity feed could be used(through the floor). It has been recommended
that we should replace
the furnace. What should we do?

My oil tank is below ground (built in 1984), the lines come in through
the concrete wall at the top level of the buried tank then up to the
basement ceiling and across the basement to the burner on the other side
of the basement, about 30 feet, then down to the boiler.
I shut off the boiler in the warm season. I suppose that there is some
back flow when left off over long periods. The pump has to evacuate that
air before it can run pure oil. There may be some spitting of air and
oil into the boiler until all that air is evacuated.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

wrote in message
ups.com...
three years ago we had a brand-new oil burning furnace put in our
house & also had a above
ground oil tank installed. The problem is that when you start up the
furnace in the morning
during heating season(which is roughly October thru May in NJ),the oil
burner often will sound
like it's lost suction or on the verge of losing suction. It also
making an annoying clicking sound
as the oil is pumped through the pipes. The above-ground tank is
outside of the house & 25 ft.
from the oil burner. The pump must raise the oil 5 feet because the
pipes go through the ceiling.
My older brother & I believe that the oil tank should be moved closer
to the oil burner so that a
gravity feed could be used(through the floor). It has been recommended
that we should replace
the furnace. What should we do?


Has it done this from when it was new? Does it make a difference if the
tank is full or near empty? Filter clean? If the pump is at about the same
level as the tank bottom, it should lift the oil with just a siphoning
action. If the pump is losing its prime, there may be air getting into the
system allowing the oil to siphon back. Check all the connections.

A for the recommendation to replace the furnace, don't even ask that person
for directions to the candy store because they are just plain stupid.

On Wed, 08 Aug 2007 14:16:59 -0700, wrote:

three years ago we had a brand-new oil burning furnace put in our
house & also had a above
ground oil tank installed.

Someone else who replied thinks you have a boiler. Do you? Do you
have water radiators, steam radiators, or forced air.

(Is there any other choice?)

The problem is that when you start up the
furnace in the morning
during heating season(which is roughly October thru May in NJ),the oil

You turn off the furnace at night, even though it is colder at night
than during the day? (at least where I live) Do you just cuddle
under the blankets at night?

burner often will sound
like it's lost suction or on the verge of losing suction. It also

Are you sure? I'm not sure what that sound would sound like.
Whistling! Does it sound like whistling? Wait, that's suction with
loss of oil. I don't know what lack of suction sounds like. Just the
sound of silence, I would think.

Is your furnace in the basement or on the first floor?

But at any rate, does it actually lose suction, or just sound like it?
Does it require priming the pump again, or is that only because it's
self-priming?

making an annoying clicking sound
as the oil is pumped through the pipes.

So it makes noises, but does it make heat too?

The above-ground tank is
outside of the house & 25 ft.
from the oil burner. The pump must raise the oil 5 feet because the
pipes go through the ceiling.
My older brother & I believe that the oil tank should be moved closer
to the oil burner so that a
gravity feed could be used(through the floor).

That sounds like it makes sense. Why was it put so far away in the
first place? If there is a good reason for that, and there is a good
reason not to put it closer, is it possible to bury the oil line.
This is my own specualation. I have no idea if this is ever done.

It has been recommended
that we should replace
the furnace.

The WHOLE furnace? EVen though it makes heat and does fine when it
has oil? Do they give a reason? A three-year old furnace!!!!!
What is their "reason" for saying you need a new one?

Have they found a broken part? A part that can't be fixed or
replaced? What part is there can't be fixed or replaced? Did they
say what part they claim is broken?

My oil furnace is 28 years old and still works fine. I'm in Baltimore
so I don't use it as much as you do (What part of NJ?), but in 28
years I've used it a lot more than your furnace has been used.
Probably more than 15 times as much. Mine is a Carrier fwiw, and has
an AC coil just above the furnace part. But unless your furnace was
made from Tinker-toys, it's surely as good or almost as good as mine.
AFAIK all of the 100 homes in my little n'hood are on their first
furnace, and some of the houses are a couple years older than mine.

What should we do?

Reply to my post, and also, call someone else.