Oil Fired Boilers

Oil fired boilers is the perfect solution for people living in certain areas that have no access to gas or have low gas resources, mostly from geographical isolation reasons. Of course there is still the electricity option but this is not convenient from cost aspects only on short time, same thing with other fuels such as bottled gas or LPG. From economically point of view oil is considered to be the most convenient fuel.

Due to these latest facts, the construction industry started to develop more and more in areas with no connection to the gas infrastructure; these areas are considered to be extremely affordable as there is a lot of land available at a reasonable price. Oils started to become more demanded in these regions as well. 

The following information are meant to offer support for all those that already have an oil fired boiler and consider improving it or that have now decided to install one. Normally the oil is being delivered directly to the house by a special tanker. The property must have a storage place built above the ground according with the legal standards, in which the storage tank is connected directly to the oil fired boiler and the boiler draws the fuel directly from the storage tank. There are strict rules regarding the placement and the instalment of the storage tanks. The boiler system is wide and heavy and this makes it difficult to be placed in other storage places other than a purpose-built one.

You must be extremely careful thought, in case the oil tank leeks or runs out, you should immediately stop using the oil fired boiler system, until another fuel tank is being delivered and installed and a specialized engineer gives you permission to restart it (it is advisable that the engineer primes the oil fired boiler again). 

The manufacturers guarantee up to 95% efficiency when it comes to modern adjustments of oil boilers. Gas fired boilers and condensing boilers also provide excellent efficiency but they are highly expensive and their choice is significantly reduced. You now have the opportunity to check the rates of efficiency from a great variety of boilers on http://www.boilers.org.uk and also get advice regarding every individual type of boiler.

Oil fired combi boilers can also function without a storage tank for hot water and still provide it promptly when needed. The gas boilers are the same but are also able to provide hot water faster and are recommended for all sizes of buildings, while the oil fired boilers are advisable for smaller places.

There are two types of oil fired boilers. One of them has open flues and the other one comes with both balanced flues. A balanced flue type means that the system has another pipe, either inside the exhaust pipe or surrounding it, in order to bring the necessary air for combustion from outside, into the system.

These are safer systems as they take the air from outside and eliminate all the exhaust gases back to the exterior, also there are less restriction regarding their storage area. The open flue system takes the required combustion air from the near surrounding of the oil fired boiler, which is usually the special room that stores the tank. It is not advisable to place such boilers into a room that is used for other purposes as well, since it might consume all the oxygen from the room and harm the inhabitants.

Most people using oil fired boilers prefer kerosene (28 seconds oil) as fuel, as it burns more cleanly than gas oil that is heavier (35 seconds oil). Kerosene fuel is also used in kitchens for different types of cookers (AGA).

Due to environmental purposes, the sulphur level of oil has decreased and this has also damaged the quality of the oil, making it more difficult to be pumped from the storage tank into the boiler. Newer systems of oil fire boiler have adjusted oil pumps so that they function properly on lower sulphur oils and for the older systems manufacturers add more lubricants into the oil fuel.

A problem with the oil fired boiler regards the emission of carbon dioxide that is the main gas responsible for global warming. When using kerosene fuel it has been shown that the carbon content is 0.24kgCO2 per kWh compared to figures of 0.214kgCO2 per kWh for LPG and 0.19kgCO2 per kWh for gas. These numbers reveal that normally an oil fired boiler produces 10% more carbon dioxide compared to LPG and 20% more than gas which makes it environmental unfriendly.

You can save money and make your oil fired boiler more efficient in the same time by placing a thermostat in the living room instead of the hallway, this ensures that heat is provided only when needed instead of all time and prevents useless wear and tear of the boiler system. In case you want to control the heating of your house even when it is not occupied, you may find useful a 7 day electronic timer that separately programs hot water and room heating.

It is highly recommended to have the oil fired boilers installed by specialized trained engineers and that the system you decide to purchase is provided with automatic shut off in case of emergencies.

Phoenix plumber provides emergency commercial & residential plumbing services in Phoenix AZ.