Oil burner choking or stumbling or coughing noises mean it needs service. Details are ere.

This article series describes the cause and cure for just about any noise that you might hear at or near an oil burner, where it comes from, what it means, and what needs to be done about it.

Choking Oil Burner Noise

Intermittent choking sound from oil burner, then oil burner starts and runs. Stops, chokes, gasps.

My oil burner has been having an intermittent choking sound. It starts up fine. Runs smooth and even for five to seven minutes or so and then all of a sudden sounds like it is choking, gasping.

For about three minutes and then it switches back to running great, and runs fine and then does it again sometimes and sometimes it seems to be at the end of a heating cycle and choking and the system shuts off, only the shutdown does not require a restart.

[Click to enlarge any image]

Sketch at left provided courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates, a Toronto home inspection, education & report writing tool company [ carsondunlop.com ].

My questions are

1 - what is the best way to install an outside air supply direct to the burner that will not chill out my house or allow in insects and rodents, so it has to be somehow controlled by the burner's need for combustion air, and

2 - how do I make sure my fuel lines are clean and not cruder up inside and impeding fuel flow? I suspect my issues are related to either insufficient air or varying fuel supply.

But not sure how to test for either other then go ahead and make sure there is no issue with either.... I would prefer to have the exterior air source anyway so I can close up all the air leaks elsewhere in this old house.

Please provide some guidance. Thanks. Great site by the way. Best of the web. - Lee 1/20/12

Hi from Lee again, My burner is continuing to do the intermittent gasping sound. he nozzle has been cleaned and checked repeatedly and has not changed this pattern of running, then gasping, then running fine again.

Now that warmer weather is approaching I would like to resolve it before the next heating season. Just not sure where to start to resolve this.. 3/21/12

Reply:

Lee,

Dirt in the fuel supply, dirty filter, dirty filter screen in the fuel unit, bad fuel unit, slipping coupling between the fuel unit and the electric motor that drives the oil burner, even a loose wire, are examples of causes of intermittent stopping of the oil burner.

Also try cleaning or just replacing the cad cell eye. Last and most expensive is a control swap out.

Question: after the burner shuts off, it seems like it tries to re-ignite once or twice & there is a choking, rumbling

8 January 2015 Bob Welc said:

I have a crawlspace horizontal oil burner that is about 15 years old. Recently, after the burner shuts off, it seems like it tries to re-ignite once or twice after the burn cycle.

The fan works as it should and it seems to be heating the house properly.

I had a man from Horizon out and he witnessed the problem, and all he did was install a new nozzle.

The only thing he recommended was to have it cleaned. It's been over a year since the last cleaning. I'm wondering how serious of a problem this might be.

Reply:

Bob Welc

I call that condition "sloppy oil burner shut-down" - often caused by an air leak into the oil piping. When the burner stops running air in the piping that was at high pressure expands to push more oil out of the nozzle where it sputters for a bit.

There can be other causes of this problem of course, even just a need for cleaning and service. The danger is a destructive PUFF BACK explosion. I'd ask for prompt heating service. Keep us posted.

14 January 2014 Bob Welc said:

First of all, I'd like to correct something I mentioned previously. The original company that came out to look at my heater was SERVICE MARK...NOT Horizon.

For $225.00, that guy changed the nozzle and left with the problem still occurring. I called another company, American Heating, and they spent about 2 1/2 hours cleaning things out and replaced the nozzle that was just replaced because he said it was not the correct one.

For under $200.00, the heater in now working very well with no after burn rumblings. Although they did recommend an oil burner control board for about $400.00 which is way too high.

And since the heater is now working very well, I'm wondering why they would suggest that.

So I still don't know for sure what was causing the original problem. It could be the control circuit, but it could just as easily be the thermostat.

The heater will be 13 years old this Feb., so I'll try to baby it for a few more years before I replace the whole thing.

Thanks for your help.

Reply:

Thanks for the follow-up Bob - that will help others.

It is quite possible that the original problem was simply a need for service - a dirty oil burner nozzle assembly alone can mean unreliable operation.

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Continue reading at OIL BURNER NOISE SMOKE ODORS - topic home, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

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