Let's Get Technical - Oil Burner Nozzles

The most important factor contributing to the continued efficient running of your Oil Boiler is a small component inside the Oil Burner - 

The OIL NOZZLE.

Best MONEY WISE results are obtained by having your Oil Boiler & Burner serviced and the OIL NOZZLE replaced once a year.

Not only will this help your Bank Account but it will also profit the Environment if your Oil is being properly atomised by a perfectly functioning Nozzle.

Let's get to the heart of how a nozzle operates. 

Your Heating Oil under pressure via the Oil Pump flows through the Oil Nozzle Filter before entering the Swirl Chamber where it is caused to rotate before leaving via the myriad of nozzle orifices as atomised droplets of oil. The object of this is to allow the droplets to interact perfectly with the air to suit the shape and construction of the boiler combustion chamber.

The capacity, angle and pattern of this oil spray is dictated by the type of Nozzle fitted. Perfect interaction between the combustion air and atomised oil results in perfect combustion.

This Photo shows the dimensions of an Oil Nozzle orifice compared to a Human hair.

The life span of an Oil Nozzle can be considerably shortened depending on how clean the oil is that is being delivered to the Nozzle, a dirty tank, oil filter or oil pump filter are the major culprits.

Also deleterious to perfect combustion are mis-positioned electrodes, wrong Nozzle fitted, faulty air and or faulty oil pressure settings.

Inadequate combustion results in a build up of carbon on the nozzle and electrodes leading to deteriorating operation, soot formation on the boiler baffle plates, accelerating decrease in efficiency over operating time, and ultimate failure of your Oil Burner.

 

Upshot of all of the above:- Have your Oil Boiler and Burner serviced ANNUALLY.

Lessons In Plumbing Chapter 2

Module 1:2 - Everyday type terminology that can confuse even the most assiduous Plumber!

Waste Fitting

Waist Fitting

Soil Stack

Soil Stack

Tea

Tee

Elbow Joint WoW!

Elbow Joint

Multi Wick

Multiwik

Pink Trainer

Sink Drainer

School Clip Board

School Board Clip

Mixer

Mixer

Take Care Out There!

The Chimney Sweep Always Knocks Twice!

They say clothes maketh the man, and this man negotiating the corner at the top of the street and dandering towards our parked up van certainly had the credentials to fulfil that statement.

How to describe it best would be to say that if said negotiation of the street corner had involved haggling in a Bazaar this gentleman would have ended up paying more than was originally asked for.




And then the reason came into view, the tied bundle of chimney rods and brush carried at an angle so obtuse from his person as not to soil his Sunday George Best and give anyone normal a permanent affliction and an opportunity to claim DLA.
The Bro glanced up and went back to reading The Sunday Mirror and "Andy Capp", but to me this human endeavour portrayed front and slightly right of my view had all the signs of a misadventure in the making.

 

The "Sweep"  halted at a terraced house just yards from us inserted his key and negotiated his parcel through the entrance hall like a source of contamination so thoroughly preoccupied with his impending task as to be oblivious to our presence.
 

Some minutes passed in pleasant fulfilment as we continued to munch on our elevenses when the "Sweep" regaled now in a very clean if not new boiler suit emerged to surreptitiously scan the street before crossing at pace to the house opposite, his about turn and heavenwards gaze confirmed what I was seeing, that the chimney brush had yet to emerge from the Pot. Crossing back to his abode the front door closed and further minutes lapsed before the boiler suit parade and inspection was repeated with the same result.

A poke in the ribs is not the best way to get someones attention especially when he's bigger than you, but the "Sweep" had now performed his manoeuvres half a dozen times to no avail and I could sense things coming to fruition so the Bro had to be alerted.

Sure enough the absent Chimney Brush poked its Daisy like head into the morning sky and  continued to grow in length from the Pot.
Its own weight forced it to curve and we watched mesmerised and knowing that Fate had a hand in the outcome.

The fickle fingered brush knocked on the "Sweep's" door and immediately halted inanimately waiting the required response.
Within moments, the front door opened and the swaying brush head greeted our "Sweep" who retreated at pace followed almost immediately by the brush and rods being pulled back upwards.

I swore it gave us a little wave before disappearing forever.

Our "Sweep" friend never reappeared to witness our convulsions, the tears were tripping us! 


 

Recent Job: Repair to leaking Shower Tray and Enclosure.

As seen from the accompanying photos, our customer had a bit of a problem. 

His tenants were seeing drips of water appearing on the living room ceiling everytime the shower was used.

Solution:- Remove shower enclosure doors and bottom rows of tiles to enable tray to be removed.

Further rows of wall tiles and part of the plasterboard wall had to be taken off to find a sound area of wall to restart from. 

The damaged wall had new marine plywood sections inserted to allow the  shower tray to be reinstated and properly sealed using undertile PVC trims bedded in silicone.  

 

The walls were retiled and grouted and the doors cleaned, refitted and sealed.

And voila no more drips!

Happy Tenants!

Happy Landlord!

Happy Plumbers!

Mr. Billy Connolly - has he ever forgiven me!

Main Street Bangor is the type of kick off your shoes and walk in your bare feet Street. Sloping towards the beckoning sea Mermaids who at times need to get their toes wet find this boulevard irresistibly enticing with its trendy shops and closeness to their firmament. Its downward runway opening onto Quay Street and with the harbour just beyond, its not too far for a girl with seaweed in her hair to wander with a purpose or porpoise.

Back then there weren't as many shops as we cruised down Main Street, then it was mostly lazy housing leaning towards the late Spring laconic sea.

The green for go traffic lights at the bottom of the hill beckoned us on as a figure manifested himself between two parked cars.

Now if it had of been a normal "Joe Soap" his sudden appearance would have been met with a heavy foot stomped on the brake pedal and a combined glare from me and the bro as "Joe" would have feinted apologies and crossed safely in front of us to the far pavement.
 But "Jesus! That's Billy Connolly!" rang out from nowhere but I think it was me. Brake pedal forgotten it was all I could do to steer clear of the now paralysed figure. The whites of his eyes met mine and there was no mistaking the long grey hair held against the light wind by a hat more favoured in Tucson Arizona. 

The next nano seconds were taken up by me staring at this aghast man as we glided past with our vans wheels crushing his shadow. There was no sound of collision so I continued on to meet the welcoming green traffic light to immediately merge with a stationary queue of traffic on Quay Street.

 "Naw, that's not him." replied the bro, settling back to read the Andy Capp cartoon in his Daily Mirror.

All my attention was through the side window watching this saved by the angels figure complete his crossing and walk in our direction down Main Street. Dressed in a long black leather trench coat he met the street corner and was beckoned by his companion to look at some article that had caught interest in McCullough's Shop window.

"That's Billy Connolly!" The bro took another glance, "Nope yer wrong,  lets get out of this traffic."

Still transfixed I missed the moving traffic as the non Billy Connolly abruptly turned and looked straight at us.

Car horns sounded to make us move as the bro looked again and said "You know you might be right I think that is Billy Connolly"

Our new "GO FASTER" stripe in the dust on the side of the van aided the journey home.

Was it Lehman Brothers that caused this Recession possibly! But who is continuing it - ME and YOU!

.

I blame us on this continuing Recession!  As soon as we started bringing a lunchbox to work things went AWOL.

The local Deli that sold sandwiches had to close, meaning that the Baker supplying them had to make a person redundant. Because of (sand)which their family had to economise and put that new shower room they had planned back onto the wish list.

Juxtaposition less work for us PLUMBERS!

Moral of the story - Spread the Dosh it comes back to you!- lets stop hoarding for a rainy day - its teeming out there!

OUR wee ADVERT

It costs you nothing to have a reliable honest down to earth Electrician/Plumber/Boiler Engineer call to your door, equipped with loads of experience, honesty and a desire to help.

Free estimates, quick response.

James Davey Plumbing & Heating

Mob. 07531984173

Tel. 90281699

Email: belfastplumber@gmail.com

Serving the Belfast, Lisburn, Carryduff, Holywood and Crumlin areas for over 20 years.

- Emergency Service with no call-out fee

- Boiler repairs, servicing & maintenance

- Fires

- Flue pipe installations and repairs, raincaps, terminals, storm collars, wall fixing brackets, renewals

- Bathroom installations

- Power showers

- Kitchen installations

- Tiling floor & wall also PVC cladding

- Electrical, spotlights, extractors, shower units, additional sockets, timeclocks, programmers, and motorised valves

- Blocked wastes and drains cleared promptly and at competitive rates

- Burst pipes and leaks

- Utility rooms plumbed & wired, Belfast sinks

- Washroom Maintenance – automatic and hide away cisterns – urinals unblocked renewed repaired

- Outside taps

- Heating problems, power flushing, loss of pressure, no hot water

- Storage tanks

- Hot water cylinder repairs vented & unvented, renewals, immersion heater problems solved

- Washing machines and tumble dryers installed

- American style fridges plumbed for ice, water filter cartridges

- Oil tank, filter, fire valve and pipe work leaks and renewals and installation

- Free plumbing & heating advice on all aspects of construction from loft conversions to conservatories

-Frost Thermostats to offer protection against burst pipes.

Past customer recommendations available

Belfast Online

FROST BURST BEDLAM!




  Have you seen Jack Frost!

Jack in Action

Hope not - we were inundated over the Crisis!

The minus 13 degrees C that it reached in Belfast was beyond the protection of any form of pipe insulation and so we are retro-fitting Frost Thermostats to oil fired central heating systems.


When fitted this Frost stat overrides the action of the TimeClock / Programmer should the outside temperature fall below the Stat's preset level to start up your heating boiler.

Incorporating a Pipe Thermostat it brings the temperature of the system to a set safe level to protect your pipework and home before turning the heating off again to save on fuel costs.

Result: Peace of mind should you be away from your property or when a sudden cold snap occurs.


Highly recommended!!!

Energy Conservation and Gardening

Having boiled the kettle and made yourself a nice cup of tea or coffee it hits you:

ENERGY CONSTERNATION!

You have used 0.03kWH of electrickery per cup which equates to about 1/2penny.

What about the remaining boiled water in the kettle?

Its only going to cool losing you all that investment and a chance to clear weeds from your patio or driveway!

And so with the kettle spout nearly in direct contact with the offending weed carefully pour your investment over its leaves.

The effect is almost instantaneous and satisfaction level soars as the leaves wilt to the thermal shock and a near palpable sound can be heard.

"WEED!"

"WEED!"

"WEED!"

Best performed to a soundclip from the movie

Psycho

How to make Dough out of a Belfast Bap

Many many years ago me Dad told a story of buns versus Belfast Baps.

See in the black and white days of TV when the blue ball was behind the yellow as said on "Pot Black" plumbers had to contend with lead pipes.

One bright and all too infrequent sunny Saturday morning he related a story of a job at a Doctor's Surgery on the Springfield Road. He and his apprentice were tackling a burst lead pipe at its front entrance.

The plan was a quick "diggy uppey", find the burst, isolate it at the street valve, wipe a new lead joint in this case a "Sailor's Hat" type, restore the supply and off to enjoy the rest of the day.

The plan went astray when the valve failed to completely turn the water off and no chance of a helpful DOE Water Commissioner calling out to shut down the entire street.

Resourcefulness is the bedlinen of a good plumber and he snuggled up in the knowledge of an old trick. By making a dough plug out of the insides of a Belfast Bap and ramming it tight into the offending pipe the water could be stanched for just enough time for solder to be heated and applied to make the joint. His apprentice John was thus dispatched across the street to were a wee old lady was just entering her home laden with a couple of bags of groceries.

He tells that it took his apprentice John 20 minutes to return carrying a tray laden with buns, cups and a pot of tea with the wee old lady in tow. They sat then on the garden wall exchanging pleasantries until the Good Samaritan was satisfied that her philantropic deed had been rewarded with empty cups and crumbs left on her best china.

The explanation followed from John "Sorry boss, I just knocked her door and asked could she spare a piece of bread for the plumbers working across the street, I think she thought we were half starved.!"

"John, away down the street to that shop and buy a Belfast Bap and don't let that wee woman catch you  carrying it back and thinking we're still hungry, she'll be back over with more buns!"

Lessons in Plumbing:- Chapter 1

Module 1: Plumbing Tools, Terms & their Recognition!

BT Ewes

BTUs British Thermal Units

Plumbers Mate

 

Crows Foot

Crows Foot Wrench

Kids Slide

Plumbers Slide (ok guide!)

Leek

Leak

Flux

Footprints

Footprints

Arbor in Belfast

Harbour in Belfast

And there you have it - easy peasey!

The next Lesson: Module 1.1 is entitled "The London Olympic Village and the use of Male and Female Plumbing Connections!"