Onoff Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Friday night, get in looking forward to a beer and a takeaway. Wife pipes up "We've run out of oil!". Wouldn't be a problem short term if we had an immersion...but we don't. Lukewarm shower! So.....5 trips to the FiL and scrounge 125L of oil. Went to bleed at the fire valve (first) as always and just a few drips coming through? Undid the other side of the valve and full flow of oil! Managed to unscrew and found full of rusty crud and some milky stuff. Don't think it was meant to unscrew tbh. V.fine brass thread and sort of "punched" on opposite sides. Cleaned with the air line and de-crudded. Reassembled using Jet Blue Plus and bled at the boiler. All working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Moral of the story..... "Don't prioritise beer and takeaways over checking and ordering oil" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Get a remote reading oil gauge. I only have to glance to the left to find I have 4/10 of a tank full. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted March 11, 2017 Author Share Posted March 11, 2017 2 hours ago, ProDave said: Get a remote reading oil gauge. I only have to glance to the left to find I have 4/10 of a tank full. Never knew you could get them. You mean like this I guess: https://www.boilerjuice.com/watchman-sonic-tank-monitor/?gclid=CNvHnpLSz9ICFQMM0wodQloJGQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steptoe Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 40 minutes ago, Onoff said: Never knew you could get them. You mean like this I guess: https://www.boilerjuice.com/watchman-sonic-tank-monitor/?gclid=CNvHnpLSz9ICFQMM0wodQloJGQ That's exactly the one my mum had, until they got mains gas installed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan52 Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 One of my first jobs was programming them and then repairing all the customer returns which there where many. A real grade A shit hole to work in. The boss encouraged everyone to use a Walkman as you weren't allowed to talk to each other. Lasted 6 weeks before he got told where to stick his job!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted March 12, 2017 Author Share Posted March 12, 2017 How do they work then? Is there some user programming involved? The ultrasonic beam I assume hits the surface of the oil but your tank could be 2' or 2m diameter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 I think you have to set it up for the size of tank. Mine came with the tank so was already set. The reading goes from F (full) then counts down from 9 (9/10 full) to 0 (empty) Of course having a big tank that lasts a whole year helps. it's usually down to 1 or 2 at the end of the heating season, and sits there hardly moving all summer until oil hits the usual summer low about August, when the tank gets filled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 Fitting a tiger loop, even though you didn't NEED one, is what I'd do if I was on oil. That way the system will self purge from just pressing the lockout button so no more spanners and smelly hands. Plus, much less chance of starting a leak by frequently interrupting the oil line. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 1 hour ago, Nickfromwales said: Fitting a tiger loop, even though you didn't NEED one, is what I'd do if I was on oil. That way the system will self purge from just pressing the lockout button so no more spanners and smelly hands. Plus, much less chance of starting a leak by frequently interrupting the oil line. . +1 to that. We should have done that on a rental house we had. Every year, without fail, the tenant would not fill the oil tank until it actually ran out and the boiler stopped, and every year I had to go and bleed the pipe to get it working again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan52 Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 5 hours ago, Onoff said: How do they work then? Is there some user programming involved? The ultrasonic beam I assume hits the surface of the oil but your tank could be 2' or 2m diameter. 5 hours ago, Onoff said: How do they work then? Is there some user programming involved? The ultrasonic beam I assume hits the surface of the oil but your tank could be 2' or 2m diameter. There are two types of them. The one that is linked uses ultrasonic beam that reflects of the surface of the oil so as Dave says it comes back with a number between 1-9 depending on how much oil you have in the tank. Or the older type has a long copper strip that has 10 sensors on it that is lowered into your tank. What ever level the oil is at will vibrate one of the sensors and give you a number on your display. The boss also owned the largest oil tank making company here so he removed the clear dipstick on the front so you had to buy the first systems that came out. He only ran the company for a few years before kingspan gave him a fortune for the oil tank company and the company that made these sensor systems . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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