Oil boilers/burners

[David]

I have read the excellent post by opel fruit about boilers/burners, and realise that we need an expert to look at our system.

The particularly appropriate passage is:-

Quote 

What if you leave the boiler alone and don’t try and set the output with both the injector or the adjustment? It will probably work, after a fashion. At best you will get a phenomenon that makes the boiler continually fire up and down at regular intervals, which is wasteful on fuel and the burner longevity. At worst you will have a very inefficient, smoky, noisy and possibly dangerous boiler.

Unquote.

We had a new boiler system installed about two years ago, and the make of boiler is different to that of the burner.  Since reading the post by opel fruit, I have asked several so called heating engineers to look at the boiler and burner.  Without exception they have asked who installed it, and then we hear nothing more.  One person, before finding out who installed it (the person who installed it is quite a forceful local French plumber) said that we had a rolls royce boiler, but a Citroen 2cv burner.  He was to come to take a proper look, but never re-appeared.  When the guy who installed it tested the system out, he was very proud that the burner continually fired up and down at regular intervals.  Precisely (or rather approximately), burn two minutes, rest twelve minutes, etc.  This did not matter whether the boiler was only heating hot water, or was heating the full central heating system.

Unfortunately being in a wheel chair, I am not able to get down to the ground to inspect the burner flame, and also I am totally ignorant of central heating boilers.

Last winter we went through close to 3,000 litres of fuel for a four bedroom house, even though we tried to keep the boiler turned off as much as possible, and had all the radiators turned down as much a possible.  Over the summer we plug the boiler into the mains electricity for about ten minutes every two days to produce hot water.  If we left the system plugged in for hot water only, it would continually fire up, regardless of the water temperature.  However, recently it has become rather erratic, and we wonder if the controls need adjustment.

Can anyone help with recommending a competent central heating engineer who would come to North Deux Sevres near Bressuire.  We fully expect that nobody near Bressuire would come, therefore we are prepared to pay for someone to come from a distance.

Does Opel Fruit have a company that could send a competent engineer?

Please, please help.

Thanks,

David

[chenauds]

Sorry to hear about your CH problems David. I installed my CH last year

( all hail to he mighty guru "opelfruit") but despite endeavours

couldn't get the boiler to relight after cut off. After struggling with

the permutations of fuel and air I gave up and asked half dozen

plumbers with no success to look at it.  A local english speaking

plumber, who said he was very busy but would drop by just to have a

look on the following tuesday morning, to come and look at it for me,

expecting much the same reaction you had. he turned up on timefirst)

and asked who had installed it and I told him I had, hed took ouit the

burner, cleaned it, attached his fuel pressure gauge and adjusted it,

he said that this was critical, he then put it all back together fired

it up and said I wouldn't have any more problems and I haven't in over

a year now. When I asked him how much he said (drumroll) " Oh it only

took a few minutes I won't charge you for that"!!!

Pity you are not nearer to the Creuse otherwise Walther, the local plumber would sort out your problems.

I know this doesn't help you but don't give up, there are helpful french plumbers around.