Help!!!...... Advice for waste oil heater install - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

ChicagoLawn · 12-20-2006, 10:57 PM

Hello

Just wondering if anyone can instruct me as to the proper installation of 6" flue pipe that I will need to vent my recently ordered waste oil heater from Northern tool.

I will be installing this waste oil heater in my detached 21' x 28' garage/shop. The walls are 10' tall. I will likely install the vent pipe through the roof vs. through the wall.

Is installing this vent pipe a job that a non-HVAC person (such as myself) should take on. I am very mechanically inclined, just kind of worried of making the hole through the garage roof, carbon monoxide, etc..

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you - Joe

AirPro · 12-21-2006, 12:41 AM

Hi Joe,
I would not recommend this as a DIY project due to the risk of CO poisoning.There are draft requirements that need to be met, You really should call a heating contractor if for nothing else....piece of mind. Roof penetrations should be the least of your worries!

ChicagoLawn · 12-21-2006, 12:46 AM

Airpro,

Thank you for the response!

Much appreciated.

AirPro · 12-21-2006, 12:59 AM

You're welcome, Happy Holidays!

**Teetorbilt** · 12-21-2006, 01:06 AM

I'm just curious as to what type of 'waste oil' you will be burning.

ChicagoLawn · 12-21-2006, 09:01 PM

Mostly gasoline and diesel engine oil....... 10w-30, 5w-40 synthetic, trans oil, hydraulic oil, etc.

Please let me know if you have any "hands on" experience with a waste oil heater.

I would greatly appreciate it!

Joe

**Teetorbilt** · 12-21-2006, 09:15 PM

Info on the system? Website? I need some more input.

ChicagoLawn · 12-21-2006, 09:48 PM

Here it is.............

Apparently I can't post the actual URL until I have 15 posts or more?

Anyway, please check out northerntool.com and go to waste oil heaters.

You will see the "Eliminator Shop and Garage Waste Oil Heater".

I should have it within 7 days.

house bldr · 12-21-2006, 10:57 PM

They are quite common around here.Most salvage yards,repair shops,business of that nature have them.They are quite expensive initially but provide free heat (except elec. for fan motor)and a place to use your used engine oils.I don't have one personally but have been told they are high maintenance.Guess it's a trade off?

AirPro · 12-22-2006, 02:07 AM

They are VERY high maintenance and not worth the cost of equipment IMO, but hey... whatever floats your boat!

Now, IF I owned a junkyard or oil change service station....I might consider one for the shop,knowing that I'd have to clean or pay to have cleaned the thing 2x a year and replace filters every month, nozzles every 3 months...etc..

ChicagoLawn · 12-22-2006, 07:09 PM

Airpro,

Which waste oil heater have you had such a "labor intensive" experience with?

Please let me know the manufacturer that you speak of.

Thank you - Joe

mickeyco · 12-23-2006, 12:14 AM

Here's a link to an installation of a different brand might give you an idea of what's involved.

http://www.americasprideonline.com/w...lation_p.shtml

Roger Sanders' Waste Oil Heater

http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_...arth/me11.html

cssconstruct · 12-23-2006, 12:18 AM

I thought that they were all high maintenance due to the tiny metal shavings that are in the waste oil from the engines and such that they come out of. It fouls the nozzles, and destroys the filters. That is what I have been told, I have no actual experience with them.

**Teetorbilt** · 12-23-2006, 12:20 AM

I'm far from a tree-hugger but why do I see the ozone holes getting larger and global warming getting more prevelent? Spewing heavyduty waste into the atmosphere is not cutting it in my book.

AirPro · 12-26-2006, 03:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChicagoLawn

Airpro,

Which waste oil heater have you had such a "labor intensive" experience with?

Please let me know the manufacturer that you speak of.

Thank you - Joe

Joe,
ANY waste oil heater will be labor intensive to maintain due to the fuel being burned....brand matters not. They are ineffiecient,dirty fuel burning vessels that really have no place in anyone's garage...let alone home. If you do this, PLEASE get a CO detector/alarm ,and have a qualified HVAC company install it to ensure proper draft and flue size/location !!

#CARRIERMAN · 01-04-2007, 02:50 PM

Hi ChicagoLawn

I was thumbing through these post and yours really intrigued me. I work on waste oil heaters, I personally think that when they are set up properly they are a wonderful piece of equipment. They do have to have annual cleanings and some adjustments. You cannot just set it and forget it. You will need to check with a local technician to see what is required for your co emissions. You can adjust the co output on these with air dampers on the burner assembly. I would reccomend before you buy to make sure it is equipped with a Beckett burner assembly. As far as the maintenance you will need to have the heat exchanger and flue tubes cleaned every year, pre heater removed and cleaned, nozzle pulled and cleaned, Ignitor electrodeds adjusted, and cad cell checked and if needed replaced, flue tee cleaned, oil pre filter cleaned or replaced, air filter replaced if equipped with on board compressor and pump screen cleaned. I have several of the Reznor brands out there that we tune up every year. I am glad to see you do this with your waste oil, its much better than you dumping it where you shouldn't. One of the car dealerships we take care of has a Reznor Rad350. It uses right at 1000 gallons of oil a season. Hope this helps ease your mind about your purchase. And as windy as I am, when I die that hole in the ozone will probably go away.

Good luck
Rusty

ChicagoLawn · 01-04-2007, 05:11 PM

Hello Rusty,

Thanks for your insight!

The unit arrived last week and came with a very thorough installation manual and a dvd to further educate in regard to the installation and maintenance process'. Yes a CO detector is a must(my opinion).

I have also (in passing and by total chance) met a person from Indiana that has 3 Clean burn (brand) waste oil furnaces. He said they were the best investment he has made in a long time. He went from $4-$5K in monthly heating fuel costs to $0. He generates quite enough waste oil and did not complain, but was actually quite pleased that the 3 furnances he purchased "only" cost him $15,000.00?? Go figure.

He also said to be certain that your waste oil supply is not contaminated with gasoline. Gasoline will explode! I guess the same can be said of a kerosene heater, gasoline is a no-no!!

Thanks - Joe

**Teetorbilt** · 01-04-2007, 05:18 PM

Anybody else wondering why it is so warm this winter?

mdshunk · 01-04-2007, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teetorbilt

Anybody else wondering why it is so warm this winter?

It's a natural cycle. Don't sweat it. The present generations of people still alive havn't been around long enough to remember the last upswing, in the late 1600's according to some research. The hole in the ozone is a natural pressure relief for the atmosphere, that will ebb and flow over about a 300-400 year cycle.

The emissions from a waste oil burner are colorless when setup properly, and almost completely odorless.

Quit your crying or I'm turning off your power and bringing an Amish buggy and a nice straw hat to your house! Where do you think your power comes from? In my area, they're burning coal by the trainloads every day for that purpose. I'm sure not going to worry about some guy burning a barrel of waste oil to heat his garage.

ChicagoLawn · 01-04-2007, 05:36 PM

Good point, but depends on where you reside.

I'll bet you $3.00 that Colorado has no waste oil heaters.... what do you say? Have you seen the overwhelming snow and cold temps that they were just exposed to?

I better go shut my furnace off and sell the diesel trucks so we can get some snow up here too. I plow snow for a living, so I guess a waste oil heater is a "catch 22"?

Joe