Oil-fired furnaces and boilers should be cleaned and tuned annually. The technician should have test equipment and should measure SSE, CO, draft, and all other parameters that are relevant to the seasonal efficiency of a furnace or boiler. A tune-up, performed by a qualified technician, will usually save 5% to 20% of the heating fuel, depending on the heater’s existing condition and the technician’s skill.
Older oil heating units have a maximum SSE of around 80%, which can only be improved significantly by installing a more efficient burner.
During the professional service call, the heating technician should test and inspect the oil-heating system for safety and efficiency of combustion by the following actions.
Check the heat exchanger for cracks, corrosion, and soot.
- Test the flame sensor.
- Set heat anticipator to control the circuit current (amps).Adjust barometric damper to .02 IWC over-fire draft.
- Perform initial combustion test.
- Test for CO and remove the causes, if found.
- Clean the oil strainer.
- Clean the burner’s blower, blast tube, and electrodes.
- Replace nozzle, resize it if appropriate.
- Replace the oil filter.
- Set the gap between electrodes at the correct distance.
- Repair oil leaks.
- Test oil-pump pressure.
- Adjust spinner and shutter for minimum smoke.
- Perform final combustion test