Freezing Kerosene

[dontknowitall]

Just a quickie ... is it quite common?

(I'm having difficulty with a boiler that keeps cutting out after around a minute - I'm thinking it's fuel starvation with a part frozen oil line.)

 

[justlead1]

May well be the case, they use additives in parts of Northern Europe

 

[ecowarm]

Additives are added here too but will still freeze if it get cold enough

 

[dontknowitall]

Thank you for the quick responses. I've not experienced this freezing before but do know that lorries used to conk out in the 1970's, but not much nowdays. I was wondering how common it is for oil tanks and supply lines to freeze.

 

[djboyd]

-15 here a couple of nights ago, not problem with the oil tank.

 

[dontknowitall]

-15 here as well. Mine and neighbouring tanks are all fine - this customer's is a few miles away (probably same minimum temperature.)

 

[Gray0689]

Yes it is common for oil lines to freeze in very low temp

 

[cjg]

Q, when did he have his last delivery, its only when it starts getting COLD do they add the addative, so yes freezing is a poss,

 

[Dannypipe]

I've had probs with a clients oil fired boilers....he has two of them. One had stopped as the fire valve needed reseting, there was no sign of heat in the outside storeroom where the boiler lives, so don't know why it needed it.

The other has no flow through the tank filter. Going to change filter in the morning.

He asked me if the oil lines can freeze, and I said I didn't think so, it would have to be about -20, but I could be wrong??

While we're on the subject, doesn anyone know how much a pressure guage (for setting the pressure on the pump) would cost and where to buy from?

Also can you swap burners, only I have a spare burner that is the same KW output and could just swap them over while I clean the other one up...

I don't really like working on oil fired boilers, as gas is more my thing. Have had some training though with a Oftec engineer, so know enough to be safe.

 

[justlead1]

You can get a situation where water present on a filter freezes and cut of oil flow.

 

[Domcr250]

Anton oil Commissioning kit £63.00 plus the VAT from Hamilton Gas Products in NI (cheapest I found on the web).

Yes you can swap burners, but you would need to make sure the Nozzle is the same pattern, flow and flame shape - even if the burn is rated at the same KW. I'd probably just clean the burner onsite that’s in it - saves on two visits?

Dom

 

[Dannypipe]

Cheers Dom, the reason I asked is that the boiler in question is my nieghbours, who's just up the drive. I would have fitted the other one while I serviced the old one. i bought a commisioning guage first thing this morning from PTS.

As it now turns out, there was no flow through the inline filter. I detached the hose and ran off a load of jet black fuel. When it run golden, I reattached it, and fitted a new filter. Ran the boiler with the guage attached and registered only 3bar of pressure. Unsuprisingly it locked out.

So I fitted a new oil pump and calibrated it. She's now running sweet.

Apparently they had an oil delivery the day before the boiler stopped. So either the new oil was contaminated (dont know how likely that is?) or the new fuel stirred up all the crap from the bottom of the tank (its a steel tank).

What do you guys in the know think?

 

[Dotty]

Danny Boy, you'd be looking about 8bar on the pump there and yeah, majorly common for sludge and crap to collect at the bottom of a steel tank. This is caused by condensation forming on the inside of the tank during summer months. This collects (usually) below the tank draw off.

If the boiler was running when the oil was delivered (most likely!) then the crap stirred up would be drawn down the line and stuck in the filter.

Advise your custard to turn off the boiler next time they have a delivery and to leave it off for a good hour afterwards for the oil and sludge to resettle.

 

[Dannypipe]

Thanks Croppie. Good advise.

I guessed the pressure was too low, and proof of the pudding is that she's now firing and the custards are happy.

I'll let them know the advise about what to do next time their oil is delivered...think I'll take the credit for it too!

Very pleased with my new pressure guage. Great when a new tool makes you money on the day its bought!

 

[Dotty]

My pleasure me old mucker!

 

[dontknowitall]

Thanks again for the replies. It was a frozen oil pipe in the end - now fixed and all sorted.

 

[WHPES]

The freezing point of Kerosene is -48 degrees C. Doubt it was that cold!

If it is gas oil, it can start waxing at -10. You can add a small amount of kerosene to it to prevent waxing (you will have to look up the exact quantity.

 

[dontknowitall]

This is why I asked the question in the first place. The customers followed my instrustions (and earlier demo!) by wrapping a towel soaked in boiling water around the pipe and said the boiler got going properly after that. Thank you for the info though!