Aaaaaagh. Burner Lockout. Bloddy bleedin bloody Heritage Range Cooker

[dontknowitall]

Just to put a spanner in the works I don't think you have to be qualified to install these "machines", except for certain parts of it, eg electrics. The oil world isn't as Hitler like (hope I'm allowed to say that!) as Gas Safe and the electrical world. Anyone is allowed to service and maintain an oil boiler or contraption (e.g. oil stove).

BUT

If there are building regulations to adhere to then you need a qualified OFTEC in this case or a building inspector from the local council.

For example, there are building rules on the ventilation. You can get this passed by the building inspector (for a princely sum) or if it's installed correctly most OFTEC chappies would be happy to sign the work off for much less than the building inspector.

There's another BUT too ...

I suspect that if an OFTEC technician does not sign off the installation then the warranty would be invalid.

 

[ployters]

Well, the story has ended. I got a very nice man who is an OFTEC registered plumber to come by. He spent 20 minutes looking over the installation and commented that it was as good an installation as he has ever seen and better than many 'long term' experts.
He found absolutely no fault in the system or set, but also - couldn't get it working. After 2 hours of fanyying about and adjusting things up and down - it all started working. Yes, at exactly the settings I had always had them! So there was nothing wrong with the settings, nothing changed and now it starts and works like a dream - quiet as a mouse.

There you have it. He is happy to sign it off and in fact left the house having "learnt quite a lot" from the installation. Boilers are leaving breathing things that can infuriate you. We can now cook for our guest at the weekend.

 

[easyt]

Nobody likes a smarty pants . Just joking. Glad all is working. Good luck

 

[buffy27]

been watching this one....the icing on the cake is now that u educated an oftec heating engineer .."learnt quite alot from the installation"..LOL u need a change of career man..they are looking for guys to lecture in the colleges !!!!!!!!
such installations are straight forward for any qualified engineer ....u obviously had it done differently if u educated the oftec guy... i am oftec registered in ireland and am confused as to what u showed the guy that he didnt know !!!!
it seems that it needed to be bleed properly is all !!!!! did u show him how to do that !!

 

[ployters]

Ha! Believe me I bled it a thousand times, in the proper way - where you submerge the pipe in oil and watch for bubbles - not just let it bounce in a tray and make you think you see bubbles. He bled it another 5 times and confirmed no bubbles and an excellent flow rate. As it was the oil pressure was rock solid at 115psi which wouldn't have happened if there was air in the oil as the air would expand the moment it had a chance to and reduce pressure (one of the main reasons why pressure gauge readngs vibrate.)

The bits that he learnt were based around the fact that it is a fan flue, rather than conventional. Do you know how to measure flue draught, and how to convert "" WG to p.a.? I do, he didn't. The wiring of the flue is done in such a way that the neutral line (not the live) is moderated through a variable triac, and snubber circuit, which means you can adjust the fan speed to match your flue set up so as not to overdraught and make the flame bounce on the nozzle (cooling it). A pressure switch detects the presence of sufficient draught which then allows the boiler to try igniting.

We also discussed the reasons why a different angle nozzle is chosen for this oven and how different flow rate and pattern affects its operation. (It isn't just about kw's). I told him that I had brought the 450kg oven into the building, over steps and a tiled floor, and installed it in place with just one friend and NO lifting equipment whatsoever. The only thing I used cost £3.25. How would you do that?

So, yes, he may have learned something - and no, we have no idea why it just started working. The only slight thought was that initially there was a lot of white smoke coming out - which turned out to be steam and it may be that, having sat in my garage for 9 months, it had collected lots of condensation inside the whole oven. When the thing fired up, the exhaust gases were being cooled too rapidly by all the condensation and not exiting the oven quickly enough, and choking the flame. After about 10 minutes of firing, the white smoke stopped and it ran as clean and quiet as a clean, quiet whistle.

It is now as smooth as you like - nothing at all having been changed other than having been in the house for 6 weeks, it must having been slowly drying out'. Buffy, would you have thought of condensation throughout the oven as the reason for it not working? - probably not.

And now we can have roast lamb at the weekend.

 

[easyt]

Quote 'The only thing I used cost £3.25. How would you do that?'

Pipe/drain used as rollers.

 

[ployters]

Very good. Except metal pipe would mark the tile floor, and get squished out of round pretty quickly by 450kg - and have you seen the price of copper pipe nowadays?

But you got the concept from the ancient Egyptians like me. It was a new wooden broom handle sawn into 3.
The blokes I got to pick it up originally turned up with a sack trolley! It went ping! in about 15 seconds.

 

[Reg Man]

Reading carefuly into the question. Why do you need a fan assisted chimney on a closed flue with force draught burner? Was this burner which has been fitted to the cooker, a retro fit? or was the cooker designed for a forced draught oil burner. It sound like a lot more complicated than it need be.

This post sounds scary to me. You said you have done boiler work before, hopefuly just for you self. Good help your family and good luck.

 

[buffy27]

Ha! Believe me I bled it a thousand times, in the proper way - where you submerge the pipe in oil and watch for bubbles - not just let it bounce in a tray and make you think you see bubbles. He bled it another 5 times and confirmed no bubbles and an excellent flow rate. As it was the oil pressure was rock solid at 115psi which wouldn't have happened if there was air in the oil as the air would expand the moment it had a chance to and reduce pressure (one of the main reasons why pressure gauge readngs vibrate.)

The bits that he learnt were based around the fact that it is a fan flue, rather than conventional. Do you know how to measure flue draught, and how to convert "" WG to p.a.? I do, he didn't. The wiring of the flue is done in such a way that the neutral line (not the live) is moderated through a variable triac, and snubber circuit, which means you can adjust the fan speed to match your flue set up so as not to overdraught and make the flame bounce on the nozzle (cooling it). A pressure switch detects the presence of sufficient draught which then allows the boiler to try igniting.

We also discussed the reasons why a different angle nozzle is chosen for this oven and how different flow rate and pattern affects its operation. (It isn't just about kw's). I told him that I had brought the 450kg oven into the building, over steps and a tiled floor, and installed it in place with just one friend and NO lifting equipment whatsoever. The only thing I used cost £3.25. How would you do that?

So, yes, he may have learned something - and no, we have no idea why it just started working. The only slight thought was that initially there was a lot of white smoke coming out - which turned out to be steam and it may be that, having sat in my garage for 9 months, it had collected lots of condensation inside the whole oven. When the thing fired up, the exhaust gases were being cooled too rapidly by all the condensation and not exiting the oven quickly enough, and choking the flame. After about 10 minutes of firing, the white smoke stopped and it ran as clean and quiet as a clean, quiet whistle.

It is now as smooth as you like - nothing at all having been changed other than having been in the house for 6 weeks, it must having been slowly drying out'. Buffy, would you have thought of condensation throughout the oven as the reason for it not working? - probably not.

And now we can have roast lamb at the weekend.[/QUOT



.glad to c u got it going ..fair play ..let me know when u finnish the book ..i want a signed copy ... and by the way ,condensation is a very common problem with many types of burners but not in your case ..it was air locked ... best of luck my friend..

 

[GQuigley67]

I personally wouldn't touch anything to do with oil, dont have a clue this guy seems to know more than me and as long as its working safely and has been signed off by the oftec engineer then i don't see the problem. If the guy that signed it off was happy that it was safe then it must be, don't think he'd put his career and life on the line if it wasn't, as he would be the one getting shafted for it.