H&H Oil Heating & Plumbing

If your boiler control system recognises a fault it is programmed to shut the burner down. The most common reason for shut down is through its flame sensor or photo resistor.

The reason your boiler has this safety mechanism is to automatically lock-down the burner to prevent further potential damage.

This system is referred to by boiler engineers as lockout. As well as acknowledging that there is a problem it’s a system designed to prevent additional problems such as damage to the boiler or central heating system plus most importantly your safety.

If your oil-fired boiler is in lockout then it will need to be reset, to restore function.

 

If you are not sure if your boiler is in lockout then look for the following...

Look for an error code on the oil boiler display or boiler control panel.

More commonly you will see a flashing red or an illuminated orange light.

The reasons for an oil boiler lockout vary a lot. Older boilers can tend to lock out more due to wear and tear and often neglected boilers can lockout because they have not been adequately serviced or maintained, it’s important to have your boiler serviced regularly, this will increase reliability and performance.

Another reason for a lockout could be a blockage in the fuel system that disrupts the oil feed pressure. This can be due to:

A blocked filter on your tank.

A failing fuel pump can reduce the required fuel pressure.

Sometimes you have simply run out of oil!

You can follow your owner’s manual steps to restart a boiler, remember: Do not try and exceed your own knowledge level. A persistent problem will probably require a professional solution.

 

 

• Firstly you need all the materials and tools required to complete the job.
• That could mean constructing a new base, if you need to do this check the OFTEC regulation. The base you buid needs to be compliant. Do an assessment of the existing oil tanks condition, will it leak or collapse when moved, pre move you will need to remove all existing heating oil in the current tank. You can plan ahead and run the tank as low as you dare. The old oil needs to be pumped into a holding vessel for the duration, if you find contamination you will need to remove all the water and contaminated oil, this can be disposed of at a licensed site, but this will cost you. Your existing tank then needs to be removed from your property and prepared for recycling at one of the specialist plastic or steel recycling centres. Google can help you locate these. Once the new base is complete (If you needed a new base) Then the new oil tank can be moved into position and connected up to the oil supply line and secured (Do you need a secured belt if there is a risk of flooding?) Once everything is ready then pump the clean oil back from the holding vessel into the new oil tank. Take time to check the installation. This should include ensuring that the boiler or cooker has a good fuel supply. It fair to say that the half a day to a day on average it takes us to replace a tank is worth the money, plus you get a guarentee. Call us if you have any questions and I hope the above helps. Steve :)

Your heating engineer needs to have you prepared for changes to environmental regulations in Wales.

The new environmental regulations that have been received from Natural Resources Wales will put heating engineers who specialise in oil at risk of a £5,000 fine.

The new regulations are to come into effect around March 2020. They stipulate that oil storage tanks in excess of 200-litre capacity on commercial premises will need to have a secondary containment unit, be bunded. The new requirement is to prevent oil spillages from affecting the environment. Those Businesses that fail to meet the new standards can be fined up to £5,000.

To comply with Oil Storage Regulations, above ground oil tanks over 200 litres have to have 110% secondary containment by April 2020. It aims to reduce the potential for negative effects on the environment and to prevent businesses receiving hefty fines.

OFTEC (the Oil Firing Technical Association) is working with a supplier of bunded oil tanks, to advise businesses and installers about how they can prepare for the new regulations. This includes free site assessments and advice on oil tank awareness for businesses owners. The legislation outlines who must comply, how to comply, maintenance requirements and sets out simple steps to ensure oil is stored safely.

This advice is for gravity fed boilers only

Make sure there's oil in your oil tank

Remove the front of the boiler.

Get a small spanner or Allen key, in most cases it's an Allen key.  
You will now need to find the bleed nut, it's in the front of the boiler but may not be too obvious, At worst undo the feed hose to the pump. The feed hose is the flexible hose attached to the on/off tap

Fuel will begin to dribble out along with air, let it dribble until it's at a steady rate of flow. If you bleed into a bottle watch untill the flow has no bubbles in it.

Screw the hose or plug back in but not completely tight, just in until it stops dripping.

These is a red reset button on the burner, press the button and cross your fingers. 

It didn't fire? Repeat the bleeding process, it can take a good number of goes. If you do find this is not working then check the filter.