Q&A: Oil Burner Won't Run

Bio Diesel or Bad Fuel impact on burner
Oil burner can't pull oil from tank
Oil burner won't start after long shutdown
Oil burner won't start after oil delivery
Water in oil tank damages oil burner

Oil Burner Doesn't Get Oil From Tank

Beckett AFG oil burner won't draw out the oil from the tank

The Beckett motor burner AFG on my oil furnace it doesn't suck out the oil from the tank. It is a bad motor? Or what I need to check and how to check. Any comments appreciated because we don't have heater in this winter time all because of that problem thanks On 2018-11-21 by Gabe

by (mod) - diagnosis and repair steps when the oil burner fuel unit isn't getting fuel

I can't diagnose the problem from just the information that I have in your note.

But some things to check would be

replacing the filter cartridge

and the strainer screen inside the fuel unit,

checking that the coupling between the driver motor and the fuel unit is working correctly,

and checking the oil flows from the line out of the tank just ahead of the oil filter.

Check that the motor runs of course

Check that the coupling between motor and fuel unit (oil pump) is working and not slipping

If the drive shaft on the fuel unit won't spin by hand it's shot.

Our complete fuel unit diagnostic and repair procedure is

at OIL BURNER FUEL UNIT 

Also, because an heating oil delivery problem can be caused by oil line clogging or oil line air leaks, see the diagnosis and repair suggestions at

these ar

OIL TANK PIPING & PIPING DEFECTS - home

OIL LINE VACUUM & PRESSURE TESTS

Water in Oil Tank Shuts Down Oil Burner

Water is coming out of my oil burner nozzle

Water is coming out nozzle after I changed it. No oil

Should I continue to bleed it until oil comes or is it a bigger problem. I stuck my fuel talk. It is red and doesnt look diluted. On 2018-10-15 by Ed

by (mod) - water contamination of heating oil

If water is coming out of your oil burner nozzle then water has badly contaminated your oil tank.

The water needs to be removed.

Your oil heating service company can do that, using a pony pump.

See details at OIL TANK WATER REMOVAL

Oil Burner Won't Start After Oil Tank Re-Fill

Oil burner won't run after we re-filled the oil tank

I run out of oil and furnace will not start - On 2018-02-27 by Ronald Dooms

Can't get the oil burner to start up after I fueled the oil tank. On 2018-04-10 by Jason

by (mod) - ran out of oil - air in oil lines

Jason and Ronald:

That's a common problem if you've run completely out of heating oil.

There are two common causes of oil burner failure after an oil delivery.

1. If you ran out of oil there is probably air in the heating oil lines that has to be removed

Even after the oil tank is filled, the oil piping, oil filter canister, and oil pump or fuel unit at the oil burner may have so much air in those components that the air needs to be bled out.

See OIL BURNER FUEL UNIT AIR BLEED PROCEDURE - https://inspectapedia.com/heat/Oil-Burner-Pump-Air-Bleed.php for detailed advice.

2. If there is water in your oil tank the delivery may have stirred up the water so that water flowed into the oil lines and burner,
   
   Bleeding the oil lines and checking for water as well as checking for water in the oil filter canister can diagnose and usually fix this problem.
   
   See details at OIL TANK WATER CONTAMINATION 
   
   and also see OIL TANK WATER REMOVAL
   

Oil Burner Won't Start After Long Off Interval

Beckett oil burner works in cold weather but locks out after a warm spell

Beckett burner works fine when running during cold weather, but locks out after warm spell or at the beginning of heating season, when furnace hasn't been running for the summer - On 2018-02-24 by Kurt

by (mod) - when the oil burner won't start after being off for days or weeks

Kurt

I've seen this problem on oil burners and agree it can be difficult to diagnose.

I think of it as a problem in which the burner does not restart after having been off for a long period of time.

Often I find this problem when the electric motor that drives the oil burner is failing and when left off for a time the motor drive shaft seizes up.

See the diagnosis and repair advice

at ELECTRIC MOTOR WON'T START / RUN 

If the drive motor is not the problem then:

I will check electrical connections, try replacing a cad cell sensor, and check for a weak or bad ignition transformer.

It's also important to notice weather the burner is not starting on the first try or whether it is in fact attempting to run and then going off on reset.

That would be an indication that it needs cleaning and service.

Don't forget to also check the obvious things like a bad (clogged) oil filter or oil filter screen inside the fuel unit.

BioDiesel or Bad Oil Damages Oil Burner

Oil Burner Fails When Using Bad Fuel or Bio-Diesel?

On our Hot water pressure washer, Fuel pump and burner fan are not turning, they are to hard to turn and the breaker switch always popping out,

The diesel we are using is from the City yard and someone told me that it may is something in the diesel because the OSHA regulations.

Is there a fuel additive or different fuel that we should use, or something else? On 2018-02-05 by Ernesto

Reply by (mod) - burner & fan motors trip breaker, effects of bio diesel on motors, bearings, fans

Ernesto

Because you say the fuel unit and burner blower fan are hard to turn, i t could be that the motor or motor shaft or fan shaft bearings are damaged. Such a situation is unsafe.

(But it is indeed hard to rotate the shaft of the fuel unit itself by hand).

To rule out a bad drive motor itself see the diagnosis and repair advice

at ELECTRIC MOTOR WON'T START / RUN 

Watch out: Do not keep re-setting the circuit breaker. The equipment needs to be repaired.

Details about biodiesel are

at BIODIESEL HEATING FUELS 

But research on the effects of adding ethanol to diesel fuel that I've reviewed has not focused on an effect such as you described.

• Praptijanto, Achmad, Aam Muharam, Arifin Nur, and Yanuandri Putrasari. "Effect of ethanol percentage for diesel engine performance using virtual engine simulation tool." Energy Procedia 68 (2015): 345-354.
• Singh, S. P., and Dipti Singh. "Biodiesel production through the use of different sources and characterization of oils and their esters as the substitute of diesel: a review." Renewable and sustainable energy reviews 14, no. 1 (2010): 200-216.
• Graboski, Michael S., and Robert L. McCormick. "Combustion of fat and vegetable oil derived fuels in diesel engines." Progress in energy and combustion science 24, no. 2 (1998): 125-164.

But there has been mention of failures in diesel fuel injectors

• Galle, Jonas, Sebastian Verhelst, Roger Sierens, Leonardo Goyos, Rafael Castaneda, Marc Verhaege, Lieven Vervaeke, and Marc Bastiaen. "Failure of fuel injectors in a medium speed diesel engine operating on bio-oil." Biomass and Bioenergy 40 (2012): 27-35.

See this discussion

The performance FMEA for E-diesel use concluded that the loss of engine maximum power was the most significant adverse performance effect.

This was followed by possible fuel pump cavitation causing vapor lock or fuel vaporization in injectors and potential fuel filter clogging problems.

Recommended actions to address these possible adverse effects included:

• Increasing the capacity of the fuel injection pump(s) on a case-by-case basis
• Installing an electric fuel pump at the vehicle fuel tank and adding a restrictor fitting to the fuel return line
• Ensuring that all fuel handing system and vehicle engine fuel system components

are of E-diesel compatible materials - Source cited below.

• Waterland, L.R., S. Venkatesh, and S. Unnasch, Safety and Performance Assessment of Ethanol/Diesel Blends (E-Diesel) [PDF] NREL/SR-540-34817 (2003) National Renewable Energy Laboratory 1617 Cole Boulevard Golden, Colorado 80401-3393 NREL is a U.S. Department of Energy Laboratory retrieved 2018/02/05, original source: https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy03osti/34817.pdf