User Guide

SMOKY FIRES

Since there are a number of possible

causes, it follows that there are several

things to check:

• Check the air handling parts of the

burner. Make sure the fan blades, air

intake and air vanes in the

combustion head are clean. If dogs

or cats are kept in or near the furnace

room, it’s not uncommon to find hair

in the oil burner fan.

• Check combustion chamber or the burner tube for damage.

In the case of a stainless steel chamber, it might be burned

through in one or more places. Or in the case of a brick

chamber, some of the bricks might have become dislodged,

leaving openings. Sometimes a burner end cone will be

burned off or warped.

• Check the nozzle for contamination. If clogged, it could

produce an off-center fire resulting in smoke.

• Going to a size smaller nozzle might eliminate smoke.

Spray Impingement corrected by using a narrower spray angle

Figure 20

• Check to see if nozzle spray angle is too wide for the burner

air pattern. In this case, smoke may form at the side of the

fire. The solution is to select the next narrower spray angle.

• A solid cone spray pattern in a burner with a hollow air

pattern will produce a smoky center in the fire. This can be

corrected by changing to a hollow cone nozzle of the proper

spray angle.

• Check for spray impingement on the walls or floor of the

combustion chamber, or at the end of the burner tube. This is

a cause of carbon build-up and smoky fires. It’s usually

corrected by the proper choice of spray angle, or by going to

solid cone spray pattern. If it’s at the end of the burner tube,

you may have to relocate the nozzle.

Spray Impingement