Does anyone know anything about these. I know that natural gas units have a pilot, but do these oil based units have one as well? If so, where might it be located?
Recent burners will mostly be spark igniter. If there is a pilot light, open the access cover(s) and look for the little flame near the oil injector nozzle. That is the pilot light. If you see a spark plug looking thing, that is the spark igniter.
For more details, try the manufacturer's web site. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
The oil burners I've seen (Beckett and Aero) have a pair of electrodes that ignite the flame.
If the flame fails to ignite, the red reset button on the burner will light up. The majority of the time a clogged nozzle will be the culprit rather than a bad electrode.
I detest Beckett burners but work on them and Wayne models.
Indeed, in the Waynes and Becketts, there are a pair of stainless steel electrodes inside ceramic holders that begin the spark process upon getting a signal.
Setting them is a science that I have down to eyeball art!
Fuel quality and filtering are the biggest concerns!
they use a 10 kv transformer which runs continiously
providing ignition for the oil jet.
my mom's burned out and for a week I used my 15 kv neon sign transformer-it worked and my mom was afraid of it-kool
the oil quits burning when the arc quits.
even if the oil pump is still spraying oil.
you probably allready know this stuff.
the hv transformer is wired in parallel with the oil pump.
if the transformer fails or the electrode gap is too wide
a sensor that detects the light or heat from the oil flame
shuts off the oil pump.after a preset time interval so that you do not have a big puddle of oil- these are fun to trouble shoot-made before digital controllers and timers.
if you mess with the oil pump find the flap that controls the air flow/ratio-built into the pump.
note or mark it's position.
I repaired my moms old oil furnace for years.
it worked fine she did not need a new one.
her new one is loud and takes longer to heat her house.
sorry no one wanted any of this info but I am bored.
The absolute most replaced part in a Wayne or Beckett after filters is the fuel pump itself. They HATE moisture of any sort, and they aren't real fond of "Off Road" diesel.