When I mentioned my ongoing boiler problem to the neighbour, she said she'd had exactly the same problem and her heating engineer had told her that a while ago (don't know when exactly) the oil companies had changed the spec of heating oil slightly and that this change necessitated a re-adjustment of the boiler.
Any truth in that?
MM
It has certainly meant a slew of carboning up problems for aga owners.
So the composition HAS been changed, yes?
From what to what? Any idea? I've tried Google, but didn't get very far.
MM
Ah. I think it was something to do with sulphur content - some EU directive - and its made it 'different' in unexpected ways.
Oh,. Its was biofuel as well
The aga needs 6 month servicing instead of 12..though we are trying additives in the fuel to stop it coking
Might be coincidence unless you are running on 35 sec oil?
Having said that I think they may have fiddled with (reduced) the amount of sulphur in 28 sec oil as well. But I can't find anything on the 'net that refers to 28 sec oil only 35 sec and marine fuels.
No, I use the 28 second stuff.
My heating engineer is coming to fit a new capacitor sometime this week, since that's the last thing left to replace (the pump was replaced two years ago, i.e. six years old at the time). The boiler has got *considerably* more reliable at starting since the new control box, photocell and solenoid were fitted on 19/Nov/12. There have been
22 successful starts as opposed to 8 failures needing the reset button. Before, almost every heating ON event needed the reset button to start the boiler. He fitted the photocell and solenoid, saying those parts were only about a tenner or so, so they might as well be done at the same time as the control box. Sounded okay to me.MM
Yes, I was going to say low sulphur and/or biofuel too. That link is a good summary.
And it says there that there were no changes proposed for kerosene (28 sec. oil), which is what is normally supplied as domestic heating oil. So this change only applies to Gas Oil customers.
bio yes, low sulphur, no: that's happening across ALL fuels
Maybe, but it's not mentioned in that article. Do you have a URL for reference?
"VAPORISING BURNER (AGA) PROBLEM Since sulphur was reduced in kerosene, some vaporising burners, such as AGA cookers, are unable to reach full temperature and require a much-increased frequency of servicing.
Many of our oil fired cooker customers ask us to mix in an additive at the time of delivery, which seems to overcome the problem in most instances."
The cost of fuel additive is less than the cost of a service/decoke, so that's the route we are trying. So far, so good.
No one is exactly sure why its happening but there is enough anecdotal evidence to suggest that it is.
One possibility is contamination with hygroscopic biofuels left in the tankers when the compartment is refilled with 28 sec oil rather than
Absolutely its happening: what is happening, and why, is another matter entirely.
Thank you. I do not have an AGA, much to 'her' annoyance, and I have only been back here in the UK to live for two years, so I have seen no problems. I get my boiler serviced each spring. As well as vacuuming out the combustion chamber area, the guy found a defective zone valve this time. I consider it money well spent. I think the note at the bottom of that page about 'scam' websites can be applied to "The Oil Club" mentioned elsewhere.
Probably... The COSH information for them ought to be on the makers websites, that have basic composition information.
Except the inference from this
I've just drained some 100 gallons of 10 year old kerosene from a tank, if it weren't for the decision not to use the AGA again I'd try it for comparison.
AJH
Yes a need to charge 1 or 2 p/l more for some "special addative"... Also note the date on that article 2008, that's way before these possible changes to 28 sec oil. All the major distributors have some form of "better" heating oil that costs a few pence more.
This bit "... protects copper piping from metal corrosion ..." might hint at some bio-fuel element but back in 2008? I put that article into the "marketing puff" drawer rather than anywhere else.
I'm not denying that there has been some change in the composition of 28 sec oil in the last year to 18 months as there have been enough reports of people having trouble with vaporising burners. Just can't find out what that change is. May be it's a simple knock-on from the required reduction of sulphur in 35 sec oil at the refineries? I expect the 28 sec spec says less than x% sulphur rather than between y% and z%.
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