SYstem Maintenance in the 21st Century

Originally published October, 2017

To those of you who are worried about getting your oil-fired heating system "cleaned" before winter, RELAX, you should be fine!
 
The oil Crowley Fuel has been selling for the past six years burns cleaner than ever, because it is blended with biofuel, which is the cleanest burning fuel available. Our heating oil is also low sulfur, which has less than 500 parts-per-million of sulfur. In addition, we have been treating our oil with stabilizing additives like Heating Oil Plus for 26 years. 

The benefit of these fuel quality improvements for our customers is that the flue passages in your heating systems will have less soot and scaling than systems typically had in the 20th century. The benefits on the fuel delivery side are less sludge buildup in tanks, filters, strainers, oil lines and nozzles. This means that our customers don't need to panic if they miss the anniversary for the servicing of their heating system.

We have been calling the servicing of heating systems “tune-ups” for a number of years now, because this service involves less time cleaning the flue passages and more time spent adjusting the burner for maximum efficiency.

Traditionally, fall is the time that people think about having their heating systems serviced, so fall is a very busy time for heating companies. Unfortunately, we often get too busy to do the annual servicing on the times and days most convenient for our customers.

Spring is a very good time to get this important work done, especially if you have a system that does not make hot water and will be shut down for the summer. It can be very difficult to clean the flue passages of a boiler or furnace that has been shut down for a few months, especially if it is located in a damp place. The products of combustion can get wet, block flue passages and harden into a cement-like substance that can be hard to remove. 

So, you can probably wait to have your heating system serviced, but don't wait too long! The picture below shows a boiler whose owner waited 10 years between servicing, which was too long. The flue passages are nearly blocked, which resulted in flue gasses escaping into the living space. It has also caused the boiler to burn much more oil than necessary.

So, stay calm, and stay warm!

Bob

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