Why is oil furnace sooting extensively?

2 years ago

In December 2023 I noticed lottsa smoke coming from my furnace. I live in florida, so dont use it too much. I did a smoke test and draft check january 2023 and all was good.
It was still heating house fine.
Many years ago I started doing my own maintenance/tune ups because I could not find anyone in florida to do it right. Even the guy who installed it didnt set it up properly. So, I check smoke and draft at least once a year. I change filter at every take fill. Strainer, nozzle and electrodes (yes I adj them too) every year or two. There are a few other parts that Ive changed as called for in the maintenance manual, that I cant remember right now. I also got the proper specs from the manufactures. One service guy actually came with a later revised spec for a later model and some specs were different. I confirmed with the manufacturer that those specs were wrong for my model year. He also didnt check draft. I can post that letter.
Anyway Im having doubts about my tuning ability, so I again looked for someone qualified. I contacted over 70 HVAC service companies in my and neighboring counties in the past two weeks. I found no one. Many said they could, but when asked how they adj co or stack temp, then didnt know.
Last week I scrubbed out then chamber, heat exchangers, sight tubes, flue, and chimney. Whatta mess! Then I changed the nozzle which was less then 2 years old (it was dripping oil and Ive never seen that before) and even though it looked fine, I changed the pump strainer too.
Im going to order a pressure gauge to hook up permanently to the pump, to check and monitor the pressure which Ive never checked. Suggestions for a good accurate brand?
Any ideas why it was smoking so much?
tks,
paul

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Comments (9)

sktn77a
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Soot? Incomplete combustion!

Instead of CO2, you're getting carbon (soot) and probably carbon monoxide. If you cant fix it or find someone to fix it, you'll probably end up dead. Get a heat pump.
mike_home
2 years ago
Here is a link for trouble shooting ideas. Oil Furnace soot troubleshooting

Did you install the correct size nozzle when you replaced it two years ago?
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outpaientzero
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Maybe your oil company could recommend a good service tech experienced in oil fired equipment. I had to think for a second what you meant adjusting stack temperature but think you mean air adjustment to bring down stack temperature, so maybe some of those companies you called were a little fogged also.

Smoke and soot would be concern but oil dripping from the nozzle when the unit is off is a serious and potentially dangerous concern, so you really do need a qualified service tech experienced with oil fired equipment. You may potentially have a puff back which will cause a mess and at worst a fire! Instead of me trying to list the possible reasons please read this from inspectapedia oil burner puffbacks. They list 16 possible causes and one or more is your problem.
paulmars
Original Author
2 years ago
Thanks. Id already reviewed both links. And 10s of others before i posted. There was no oil puddle in chamber.
paulmars
Original Author
2 years ago
As soon as i choose a gauge ill ck pump pressure and shutoff
paulmars
Original Author
2 years ago
Because of clearance issues ill need a 4' tube between the pressure guage and pump. How do i get the air out of that?
outpaientzero
2 years ago
Getting the air out won't be hard. I remember my first diesel tractor running out of fuel and wondering how I'm going to get the air out to the injectors but figured it out. Got any pictures of this odd installation where you can't get a gauge on the pump without a 4' riser?
paulmars
Original Author
2 years ago
Juck checked pressure and shut off.

Running pressure was proper at 100 lbs

Pump papers say "after shutdown it should be 80% or higher. NOTE: A and B model pumps could theoretically have a cut-off

pressure of less than 80%. The important operation is that it drops to some value and stops."

im type A pump (a2va-7116)

how long should it stop?

Mine dropped immediately to 63, then after 5 minutes on a timer it was 43, then after another 5 minutes it was at 40. Then i removed gauge.
paulmars
Original Author
2 years ago
Im starting a new thread titled "when to replace oil furnace shutoff solenoid