Bought a new house (1962 split) in the north east I have some foundation posts in here as well. Quick question about oil heat. I have always had gas heat. The oil burner and oil fired hot water heater are in my basement in a 15 X 12 room. When I go in the room there is a noticable oil smell. I guess like burnt oil.. I would not say that its strong but its there. Is that normal for oil. The boiler and water heater are brand new and top of the line. I am having my chimney / flue cleaned in Nov so the new system is connected to an existing unknown flue.
I do have a smoke and Carbon Monoxide detector in the room.
Excuse my spelling spell check is broke.!
Thanks
Tony
Replies
You should keep a shallow pan under the oil tanks filter. Also be sure all the lines between the tank & boiler are leak free. It only takes the most minor spill (a teaspoon full?) of fuel oil to make a strong lingering odor. Have a technician check it again, oil should be odor free if it is contained.
The tank is outside and the oil line comes in through the foundation. There was some small spills when the old system was taken out and I have not totaly cleaned up that area. Maybe that is what I am picking up. Could also be my imagination because I am not used to oil and looking for something to go wrong.
In my experience, there is almost always a fuel oil smell around those boilers and furnaces, which is different than a combustion gas smell. (I grew up in the NE and figured that was just the way basements always smelled, with some mold odor mixed in, of course!)
Does your CO detector have a digital readout? Is it mounted about eye level or slightly above?
When the boiler is running, hold a match or (better a) lighter by the barometric damper on the flue. The flame should be fairly strongly pulled into the damper opening.
For a room that size, the largest _Gas_ furnace you could have without additional combustion air supply would be 28,000 BTU (pretty small)
I don't recall if right now the ratio is the same for oil fired, but assuming your boiler is larger (say 100,000 - 150,000 -200,000?) there have to be additional sources of air into that room, or you can (i) significantly increase carbon monoxide production and (ii) lose effective drafting of the flue gases from the house.
And, BTW: the boiler was new when it got to the end of the production line. By the time it got installed in your basement, it ain't "new" anymore (especially if it got carried on any highway in PA or MA <G>) and should be fully serviced before any significant use.
Burners without pre-purge / post-purge can leak a little in the combustion chamber. Your oil company can add these features easily. If they do not fix the spell, get another company.
A query - what is your kW-hr rate where you are and predicted rises?.
You may be able to pay for the parts for a DIY package heat pump install in less than 2 years (and then it is all savings!!) by replacing the oil monster with a Heat Pump the way oil prices are now.