I am posting this here as I have a wild theory that heating oil quality this year is lower than in previous years. So I just want to check if anyone is having a similar issue as I do:

Is anyone experiencing boiler/furnace tripping? I have a boiler that uses oil as fuel and this year it will not stop tripping. The unit - primary - itself trips, not a circuit breaker.

I am getting oil from Eastern propane and I am working with a heating company (not Eastern) to fix this issue. Yearly maintenance is done, cad cell replaced, nozzle replaced, oil filter replaced, oil pipes tested and flushed, primary controller replaced, tests look good etc... but it is still tripping. Time between trips varies between few hours to up to few weeks. So very unpredictable when it happens and how long the system will continuously work.

The error returned by primary is "No flame, check igniter". Few people who knows this stuff say ignator either works or it doesn't - it does not intermittently fail.

Comments

AussieJeffProbst t1_jcy51jo wrote on March 20, 2023 at 1:35 PM

#2,279,155

Are you getting grade 2 oil?

interweb_gangsta OP t1_jcy5t8o wrote on March 20, 2023 at 1:41 PM

#2,279,206

Replying to AussieJeffProbst (#2,279,155)

The bill says "ULS Heating Oil" - which is ultra low sulfur heating oil. Not sure which grade it is, but I can call them and ask them.

picklehaub t1_jcy8vd5 wrote on March 20, 2023 at 2:05 PM

#2,279,404

I’ve sold about a million gallons of #2 this year and haven’t seen any recurring issues.

You said primary was replaced, what I have seen is a bad primary get put in and cause intermittent failures. What did they put in?

AussieJeffProbst t1_jcyaxdp wrote on March 20, 2023 at 2:20 PM

#2,279,543

Replying to interweb_gangsta (#2,279,206)

Might be worth a call but honestly I'd be really shocked if they weren't selling everyone in residential grade 2.

TheCloudBoy t1_jcyb7tk wrote on March 20, 2023 at 2:22 PM

#2,279,552

To my understanding (I've been closely watching this as part of a joint weather-equities/commodities venture I'm in), the U.S. panicked and began flooding the market heating oil market starting late 2022 with extra supply from our SPR.

This was not widely discussed or even well understood in local media (shocker), but the prevailing thinking is that this occurred to stem outrage in the Northeast U.S. as oil prices soared. It's also *just* coming out now that U.S. based shale production has been massively underwhelming for months, despite the lavish numbers coming out from the EIA. This would further bolster the idea that SPR releases were targeting demand in the Northeast markets.

I believe both sweet & sour crude stored in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve is of quality, however it's entirely possible that a) it loses this quality the longer it sits in storage and b) you're ultimately seeing the results of this.

interweb_gangsta OP t1_jcybvej wrote on March 20, 2023 at 2:26 PM

#2,279,606

Replying to AussieJeffProbst (#2,279,543)

What conclusion can I derive from the grade of the oil? I assume one is lesser quality. How would I know which oil is right for my system? Been using Eastern for awhile and this is a new issue. Could be that my tank got contaminated with water or something.

interweb_gangsta OP t1_jcyctnt wrote on March 20, 2023 at 2:33 PM

#2,279,662

Replying to picklehaub (#2,279,404)

So primary was replaced to fix this issue, but new primary did not make a difference. Analog honeywell was replaced with something else (digital and expensive). Will edit this later with make and model. At work now so can't check.

picklehaub t1_jcyfo2b wrote on March 20, 2023 at 2:57 PM

#2,279,804

Replying to interweb_gangsta (#2,279,662)

Did they replace the transformer too?

Most likely you got the resideo 7284 primary or the Beckett genesis. Both are good controls but can be done in by failed transformer.

AussieJeffProbst t1_jcyi34w wrote on March 20, 2023 at 3:14 PM

#2,279,965

Replying to interweb_gangsta (#2,279,606)

Water in the tank is more likely than shoddy oil imo. You want grade 2 for residential. Grade 1 is cheaper but burns less efficiently and makes more waste.

mdnh01 t1_jcym039 wrote on March 20, 2023 at 3:42 PM

#2,280,218

I use eastern as well- but have not had any issues this year.

MastodonOk9827 t1_jcyqgpg wrote on March 20, 2023 at 4:11 PM

#2,280,513

My most frustrating call I ever dealt with was a bad solenoid that was intermittently working. Randomly wouldn't open to allow oil to flow to burn. It was a brand new system too. Ended up swapping out the pump with one with a new solenoid and to my knowledge that did the trick

vexingsilence t1_jcyuxmz wrote on March 20, 2023 at 4:40 PM

#2,280,831

If you suspect the oil itself is the problem, have you tried sending a sample to a lab for testing? Alternatively, you could switch suppliers and see if that helps.

redditthrower888999 t1_jcyx5kf wrote on March 20, 2023 at 4:54 PM

#2,281,004

Have they replaced the oil burner ignition transformer? That was the first thing replaced on mine when I had intermittent failure.

interweb_gangsta OP t1_jcz6ch8 wrote on March 20, 2023 at 5:53 PM

#2,281,707

Replying to redditthrower888999 (#2,281,004)

Thanks. It appears they haven't. I assume that fixed the problem for ya? How much did it cost you if I may ask?

redditthrower888999 t1_jcz9utu wrote on March 20, 2023 at 6:16 PM

#2,281,964

Replying to interweb_gangsta (#2,281,707)

The transformer was the first thing the oil guy figured it was so I'm assuming that's a common problem. Actually no, mine ended up being air getting in the oil line.

Djwshady44 t1_jczoy5n wrote on March 20, 2023 at 7:53 PM

#2,283,042

Pump screen replaced? Suntec A70 most likely.

akmjolnir t1_jczutlt wrote on March 20, 2023 at 8:30 PM

#2,283,468

Replying to interweb_gangsta (#2,281,707)

$75 when I changed out my transformer earlier this year. Homeless Despot has them.

JayJay1982171 t1_jd28sah wrote on March 21, 2023 at 9:20 AM

#2,288,850

We bought millions of barrels of the dirtiest oil on the planet from Venezuela. When I had issues like you I started simple and worked my way up from there. Start with the filter at the tank. If it is not clogged and looks reasonably clean and doesn't have a creamy look to it (water) you don't have bad oil.