Similar but much simpler and less prone to going wrong. No springs for one thing
Yes it works a bit like the retractor action on a tape measure and you know how often they don't work properly
It won't last though. I'd use a dipping tape every so often. You can buy a proper one for lots of cash or use a tape measure with a weight on the end.
Nope. IIRC its how long it takes a standard ball in a standard tube to fall a standard height when the tube is full of the oil, nd is essentially a measure of te viscosity.
I was actually thinking of a cordless drill and one of the drill pumps rather than a 12v portable pump. However a quick check about shows that = a drill pump may not be suitable, those that mention "flammble liquids" exclude their use, others don't mention flammable liquids at all.
15mm copper, the ice could expand along the the pipe so no damage. Water= probably came from condensation in the tank, though it is a bit worrying= that it has also managed to get into the oil line.
Ours isn't buried it's sleeved in black alkathene pipe for protection (I= guess) and runs about 15m along the outside of the building. This is an =
old installation that has old bits replaced over the years, like the ste= el tank and the boiler, the feed and filter are orginal.
It ought to be sleeved in the concrete, I don't know how much a problem =
concrete and copper is but you don't want an oil leak. The Enviroment Agency will go ape shit and demand all the contaminated ground etc is removed and disposed of properly, mega bucks...
Your fire valve is inside as well then?
Only if you want a certificate.
Define "lot of notes" one of our local chaps charges =A3150/day labour w= hich isn't bad.
One of the squeeze bulb type, works as suck rather than push.
The line should flow under gravity well enough to push any air out. If there is an unavoidable inverted U provided the top of U is below the bottom of the tank, the oil should still flow under gravity.
Jerry can inside. Remember I thought I had a blocked line. Kero is a bit= smelly but inside near the boiler it soon evaporates. 48hrs and any drips/spill from servicing are gone.
Tee is a good idea but you'd need valves in the two feeds (so you can isolate each) and as you say it would be too easy to leave the emergency= feed open. Wonder if you can get a 10 or 15mm 3 port valve suitable for =
oil?
It would have to be flexable to hook up to the jerry can. Microbore does= bend easyly but doesn't like repeated bending it fractures.
I doubt they cover it, I might ask my man.
It's a big boiler, 38kW output, the manual says 7l/hr but we have just h= ad a smaller jet fitted to reduce the output as 38kW is overkill for the normal load. 5l/hr is a guesstimate.
A device that clips on the top of a jerry can with a flexable fuel line = to say a small genset. The military use 'em but I can't find an example to =
look at on the 'net.
I take a weekly reading from the site tube bung it into a spread sheet a= nd project when we are going to run out. It's normally pretty good and give= s a few weeks warning obviously in the summer it projects several years bu= t once autumn arrives it rapidly becomes more realistic.
Thanks - saved for future reference; hope I don't need it!
Oh not heard that one before I thought it was how long it took a measured quantity to flow through a given sized hole at the bottom of a defined size of container. Still a measure of viscosity though.
Pumping petrol might not be advisable but heating oils /diesel should be safe enough. You need to get a pump manufactured from the right materials though. Some rubber impellers will be affected and start slipping on the shaft or jamming. This may not happen straight away so if a really cheap pump you could regard it as a disposable for emergencies. When I did it regulary I got a pump that could cope with Diesel but it was costlier than those little ones you get at B and Q etc.
G.Harman
you could be right.
its one the things like 'proof' of spirits which is amazingly weird, but can be measured by a bloke with a measuring glass and a match.
That's not true. All diesel sold for road use has been de-sulphurised.
"Heating oil" is not "gas oil". Gas oil is a 35sec oil, heating oil 28sec (in the domestic context).
Gas-oil may not be intended for road use and thus could be high sulphur.
There are three duty rates: Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel (ULSD), Sulphur Free Diesel (SFD) and heavy oil that is not ULSD or SFD which HMR&C call "conventional diesel". Most pump diesel these days is probably a "city diesel" aka a ULSD.
Yes but immediately where the line rises through the concrete floor. I was thinking if I could relay the oil line outside in plastic pipe then connect to a fire valve outside and then run 10mm copper in the kitchen to the boiler. Is there a reason yours runs in 15mm copper? That would be much nicer to use than microbore! Once inside the kitchen could I run the pipe along the wall? Would it be advisable to sleeve it in conduit for protection? My only worry would be running the capillary back to the fire valve. They are so delicate!
It's illegal not to, isn't it?
So you fitted it at the boiler end to try to suck oil into the house? I see. Is there an example of one of these for sale on-line or is it something you improvised?
It did, sort off. The boiler kept cutting out because at first it was quite frothy: a mixture of air and oil, but after I bled that out it was fine. I hear you can get these tiger loops but you have to fit them outside. Are these any good? Of course if the line runs dry, as mine did, a tiger loop won't prevent air getting in then.
Let us know what he says please.
I had a good google but couldn't see anything, that's why I asked. Sounds like exactly what we need. Why invent the wheel if there's something out there already.
Thanks again, Stephen.
I was wondering about this: could you simply use a flexible hose like the one that sits at the end of the oil line and connects to the burner? Or wouldn't that appreciate being partly submerged?
Aren't these supposed to be replaced or at least examined with each annual service? Are they all the same or does each boiler have a slightly different hose?
When they are replaced at the service why is this? Does the rubber perish? Do they have a short shelf life? I'm guessing not. I'm guessing it's in case the hose has been trapped or damaged in use. If they can sit on the shelf unused without deteriorating, could you keep one spare and if there's an emergency connect it to a tee piece before the final filter at the boiler end, and if there is no emergency, use it at the next service?
Thanks.
Sorry to reply to my own post but looking at:
but then I noticed at the top of the page Qual-oil pipe, part 13105. I wonder whether that would be suitable? Obviously it's not worth buying
50 metres for, but if I had the oil line relaid using that and I had a bit left over...?I couldn't find any 3-port valves so I guess we would have to use two separate ball valves.
Probably because that is what was available when the place was renovated from a shell about 30 years ago.
The bit of paper is only to keep lawyers and conveyancers happy IMHO. But TBH I don't know. I suspect the regulations are similar to those for gas. Provided your are "compenent" it is *not* illegal to work on your own gas stuff. What you can't do is work on someone elses or for reward without being a member of a doggie club.
Yep, only suck seeded in blocking the fire valve more effectively with the gunk in the pipe.
Quite, Anchor Supplies near Nottingham mention them with the small Onan gensets they sell. But I can't find anything other than that
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Stephen saying something like:
No. Illegality only applies to gas and only if it's not your own. Anybody and his dog can work on an oil boiler, but dogs aren't very good at holding spanners.
In message , Grimly Curmudgeon writes
There are some really evil reply possibilities to that ...
thread. 28 pounds seems a bit steep. OTOH perhaps you get what you pay for: I bought something similar, but with a very small bore pipe, off ebay and it went in the bin the other week because it was so useless.
Just looked at their web site, very interesting. Thanks.
But I thought installation rather than just work on a boiler was notifiable, and I assume that costs?
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