Bio boiler update

[julesandtash]

As many of you know, my heating has been running on B100 (made from palm oil an kept in a heated, insulated fuel tank) for quite some time.

Recently I moved things around a bit and upgraded to a more modern boiler (still 1980s but newer than the 1972 one I had been using).

It had been running perfectly with no smoke or smell or lockouts for just over two months since the day I fired it up. But, boxing day morning, a few hours before my parents were coming round, Tash reported no hot water.

When I went to have a look at the boiler it was locked out. When trying to restart it, it was clear that the fuel was getting through and igniting as I could see and hear the flame start but the ignition did not switch off and the fuel was soon shut off.

The photocell was clean so it had to be something else.
Knowing that blast tubes to coke up on bio, I pulled the burner out and was greeted by this in the end of the blast tube..

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Two minutes with a knife and wirebrush made it good as new.
Burner back together and back into the boiler in a couple of minutes and it has been running fine ever since.

I am really quite pleased with that, five minutes effort every couple of months of burning bio is fine by me

[greasemonkey]

Nice when it's a simple fix. Do I remember you re jetted the burner for bio?

[photoman290]

sounds good jules. nearly as good as my burner. a quick backflush with a lungfull of air to clear the needle valve and a 5 minute scrape of the pot every  month or so. still experimenting with the peristaltic pump so i can burn WMO. on hold at the moment as the AVR on the genny has blown again and the replacement is somewhere in the xmas post. i can fix most things but potted electronics is not one of them. may try a seperate exciter if it happens again. need to check the voltage and current to the rotor first though. for which i need  the AVR to be working.

[julianf]

Jules,

When i was using the other burner, the same sort of thing happened.

One time the 'crust' grew into the jet, and caused it to drip.

Anyhow, i found that the best, but not necessarily cheapest, way of cleaning it was to get the MAPP torch on it, until it glowed red, and then a quick rinse under the tap.

I found that burning off the crud gave a proper clean finish, right down between the vanes, which was much better than i could do by hand with a scraper (and, hence, i guess, it took longer to crud up again)


Indeed, i think whatarascel mentioned putting them in a log burner over night - that would probably do it nicely too.

[julianf]

Nice when it's a simple fix. Do I remember you re jetted the burner for bio?

I suspect Jules is just running the standard setup on the 'new' burner.  I have the same burner here, and it runs bio fine from stock.

[julesandtash]

Yup, pretty much stock settings.
0.55 80H Nozzle, pump pressure set just high enough to get a fierce stable flame and air just higher enough for no visible smoke.

The burner is an Electo Oil Inter 10 for those who are interested and it is fed with B100 stored at between 20 and 24 degress C (the tank heating water coil cuts in at 20C and out at 24C)

[greasemonkey]

Coolio.
I've got a heap of palm, and it seems silly buying heating oil. Also thinking that if my WMO burner doesn't turn out as good as I thought it would be, I'd try heating the oil for bio with a central heating boiler, some how.

[julesandtash]

I just need to put the microbore coils in my oil preheat tank and connect up the one of the solenoid valves which come off of my thermal store manifold (there are six in total, all two port zone valves) and then I shall be heating all of my oil on bio rather than electricity

[greasemonkey]

I really need to develop a master plan. As soon as this processor has paid for itself, plus earned enough to upgrade, I'm going to collect all the parts I need, get everything in the right place, and get it all working, once and for all.
Heating the oil with bio has to be the way forward.

[julianf]

Heating is with Glogs is cheaper (and what im getting about to doing : )

[greasemonkey]

You gonna use the glogs in a boiler with a water jacket, and pump the oil through the water jacket?
I think that would work well.
It seems to me that a central heating boiler, whether it be wood or oil, heats the water a lot quicker than a immersion heater.

[photoman290]

You gonna use the glogs in a boiler with a water jacket, and pump the oil through the water jacket?
I think that would work well.
It seems to me that a central heating boiler, whether it be wood or oil, heats the water a lot quicker than a immersion heater.

 i think you have to be careful not to heat the oil too much. if you do you will coke up the pipes very quickly. you dont need that much heat anyway so running it thought a heat exchanger with water one side and oil the other would be better. as there is no pressure involved a khome made one with big tubes might be better. how about a 22mm tube with a 15mm inside like a PD condenser but without crimping the inner tube. water down the outer tube oil thought the 15mm tube? simple and easy to do. spray the outside with expanding foam to act as insulation. stick it in a peice of 50mm water pipe first. to contain the foam.  you couod use pvc pipe but that will be just as expensive as copper and a pain to make fitting for.

how is the WMO burner going andy?

[julianf]

You gonna use the glogs in a boiler with a water jacket, and pump the oil through the water jacket?
I think that would work well.

Nope...


Im going to run some 15mm PEX from our rayburn to a 900ltr ex-kerosene tank, with a couple large radiators set in it.

Im all set to go on it, i just need a spare £50 for the cellotex to insulate it all.



If, however, i did not have a rayburn, and i had some space, id get an old boiler, and set up a rocket stove type setup, using the boiler as the riser / the water jacket to cool the exhaust and create the draw.  I reckon that would work really well.


We currently have extra insulation in our rayburn to reduce the hot water produced (i got sick of running it down the drain / having to have the central heating on) so its not as if we're short of hot water at the moment.


I think the idea of pumping the oil through the water jacket is probably ok, however, i want my large pre-heat tank to be unpumped, enabling me to keep it hot for days (weeks?) and let everything nicly fall out.  I will, however, still have pumps on it, as it will be used for glyc washing also.

Ive got the tank in position, ive got the rads, ive got the fittings (but theyre not welded on yet) but i still need the cellotex and PEX pipework.

[greasemonkey]

You gonna use the glogs in a boiler with a water jacket, and pump the oil through the water jacket?
I think that would work well.
It seems to me that a central heating boiler, whether it be wood or oil, heats the water a lot quicker than a immersion heater.

 

how is the WMO burner going andy?

OK at the moment. Drilled some more holes today, and I've got a nice steady flame. Still a bit smoky out the flue, so I'll drill some more tomorrow, and make some more adjustments to the evaporating bar. I'm hoping to create some kind of overflow, to get the excess oil out rather than it going into the bottom of the pot, That worries me a bit.
It's giving out a lot of heat now. If it's no good for heating oil/water, then it'll be a great little shed heater, just as it is.
I've also got a plan forming in my head for a similar style thing to go in the caravan, but I'm trying to stop it........

[greasemonkey]

You gonna use the glogs in a boiler with a water jacket, and pump the oil through the water jacket?
I think that would work well.

Nope...


Im going to run some 15mm PEX from our rayburn to a 900ltr ex-kerosene tank, with a couple large radiators set in it............................

Good idea, just have it hot all the time. I could do that, if I ever find a way of heating my 1000 litre thermal store, but then I'd have to cart the oil round the back to the processor.
It'll all come right one day....