home Fix label Heating label_important Oil Filled Radiators category Riello

Clearing airlock from riello oil burner?

My oil ran out and my system cut out.

I've now replensihed the oil but the system keeps cutting out after a few moments trying to ignite the oil.

I suspect an air lock may be in the system.

I am using a reillo rdb oil burner - the one with a removeable red plastic cover. The instruction manual doesn't state how to bleed the air out, but simply informs me I'll be hit with a call out charge if I incur an air lock in the system.

Any help you can provide - the less technical the better please - will be much appreciated as I'm a pensioner in my 70's and right now my wife and I are verrry cold!!!

Thank you.

Andrew

Andrew Higgins, January 2008

home Fix label Heating label_important Oil Filled Radiators category Riellodone

Thank you soooooo much. My heatings been down for days. J6st got it up and running. Feeling very proud of myself.

michelle, January 2014

Very helpful advise folks, i loosened the 4mm hex and nothing happened. I had to remove the fuel line and manually suck the fuel until i had a steady flow, not very pleasant but it worked. Thanx for all the advise about the hex bolt on lhs, Christmas eve and had no heat, so again, thanx for helping me have a warm house for Christmas..

Flyno.., December 2013

Well guys, it's November 2012 and we never learn. My tank went dry and just had it refilled. Googled "how do i bleed a riello mectron 3bm" and the 1st result brought me here. And thanks to all the responders and especially the picture from Karl, it worked first time. The wifey is warming up nicely. :-)

Andy0S, November 2012

Thank you, and thank you again, for this advice. I could never have worked it out for myself.

Stan Jones, August 2012

Mine has an elongated hex brass extension but in the same place. Great answer - did the trick in minutes

Steve S, July 2012

I have taken a PICTURE to show you all which bolt did the trick for me...

http://www.blue-glow.co.uk/photos/boiler.png [this link is no longer working.]

I undid this until it was almost completely out and then pressed reset. Just as it locked out again I got a bit of oil and some bubbles. Several repeats later I was getting mainly oil each time with no bubbles and I could hear the boiler trying to fire as it locked.

I tightened the bolt back up, removed my home made drip tray and with just one more reset the boiler worked perfectly.

Thank you all for the tips on here, I just wish someone had put a pic online sooner, so hopefully this will help others now.

Karl, April 2012

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who posted here. With guests arriving to rent my house yesterday, I ran out if fuel, refilled and then had an airlock to contend with an hour before they were due. Got it sorted thanks to you all.
Just one question - oil wouldnt really flow unless i hit the reset button (the red one) over and over. I did this at 1 to 2 minute intervals. Could this have damaged the pump or burner?

Carol, April 2012

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to post on here. Have now managed to restore heating and hot water to my house. I now have a happy family :)

James, April 2012

took a good few restarts for me ( possibly as many as 12), but we're off now! Thanks all! Carrie

Carrie, March 2012

I think that I might be a bit stupid but I can not find the thing that I am meant to loosen with the allen key. I have a Riello and loosened some little screw and air came out and kept coming out for ages but there is nothing happening when I reset it.

Billyb, February 2012

Thanx very much your help was precious. Correct Allen screw is left upper faceing you. Leave it unscrew till popping pure oil without air bubbles.

Vassilis Master. Greece, February 2012

1. Take off the red cover which is held on by a screw.

2. Use an allan key to loosen the screw facing you.

3. Turn on boiler. The boiler will draw the oil through and bubbles of air will escape through the screw you have loosened.

4. When it is just oil coming through the cracks around the screw, re-tighten the screw and turn on again.

Gavin, February 2012

Thanks so much for advice ! So easy when you read the advice here !

Mags, January 2012

having problem direct vent clare furnace with riello, keeps going from prerpurge to postpurge flame on off.

Rick, October 2011

hi. had airlock in Riello burner also. took off cover. just cleaned around top as very dirty and now getting heat. only concern now is the large green case above red riello box has smoke coming from it?

Len Eire, March 2011

thank you!!! very helpful :-)

Dan, March 2011

Thankyou guys. This was excellent advice.
Bled my firebird and shes running great again.
4mm allen key did the trick. Took a while for the bubbles to come through and the oil to flow. Tightened up, reset and away we went.
After 3 days with no heat I'm over the moon, and I've had a shower :)

Al, March 2011

Hi I believe I followed all instructions to bleed and I have no air in system, but she still will not fire up help!

Danny, February 2011

Oh Thank you, the power of the internet. Exactly as said above, remove cover, 4mm alan key in long silver hex 30 degree angle. Use a tray to catch oil let the oil and bubbles out and press the relight button.

Something so satisfying doing it yourself.

Ben, February 2011

http://www.rielloburners.co.uk/lumo/upload_documents/riello_r40g3btechnicalmanual.pdf

padjo, January 2011

what if water got in oil tank what damage could occur

ali, October 2010

www.boierbleed.com

inventor, May 2010

o i have a Riello 40 F5 a little newer than in the picture below. I have the same problem but when i unscrew the nipple-like-screw nothing comes out. I need help!!!!!
Here are a few pix.
Let me know which one i need to bleed or unscrew

http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/1421/img2109j.jpg
http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/2689/img2108a.jpg

Van, March 2010

I just fixed the same problem, thanks to everyone who responded so far. But one small difference.

Opening the vent in the burner was not doing the trick, no air or fuel coming out so I tried loosening of the nuts at the tank. There is a stopcock on the filter so I closed it, opened the nut downstream and slowly opened the stopcock. I got bubbles and left it flow for a bit until the bubbles disappeared. I tightened the nut again, went back to the burner, opened the bleed vent and immediately got a flow of fuel. Closed it up and everything is running fine again.

Bob, March 2010

Thanks all. Ran out of oil with our Riello RDB burner. Loosened allen screw on side of burner, bled for few minutes, then fired reset, closed allen screw and now working fine.

Richard, February 2010

loosen the nut on the oil pipe (where it comes into the pump) and tighten it when the oil appears. That's the jub done, the boiler will now run after resetting a couple of times.

William, January 2010

cheers guys just saved about £50
by priming and getting my boiler going
thanks

stottie7878, November 2009

Thanks heaps for the info, it's alive!

Mammoth_beast, October 2009

Thanks everyone for your great answers on this. Got my heating running no problem after the usual running out of oil and an airlock.

However I did it a bit more simply, without the need to keep resetting and waiting half an hour every 2 resets.

1. Find the "allen key" head bolt on the side of the fuel pump (this is little, allen head, inset bolt on the SIDE, not the black bolt on the bottom with its head showing, or the long brass bolt near the top).

2. Stick a tray underneath to catch the oil.

3. Unscrew it as much as you dare. If it comes right out the oil flowing out might make it difficult to put back in.

4. The oil will flow out (this obviously assumes you have the top of the oil supply higher than the pump) with bubbles.

5. Let it flow....and flow....and flow. I waited about 7 minutes (about 2 minutes after I saw the last bubbles coming out). I got about a pint of oil and my tank is really close to the boiler. The further away the tank is, the more oil you will need to bleed.

6. Screw the nut back in tight.

7. Pour oil back into tank.

8. Hit reset. Once.

9. Fixed.

Martin L, June 2009

Brilliant advice guys. I can confirm that (on my Riello, which is only 6 months old) the bleedscrew is the easily accessible hex-headed-screw, in the end of the long silver hexagonal shaft which comes from the bottom of the pump body (bottom left of burner when looking at it in-situ); the shaft is angled upwards at about 30 degrees.

Turn this bleedscrew with a 4mm allen key until it is loose (or remove completely, but beware that the oil will spurt out if you do this!) and then press the reset button on the burner. The unit will start and the pump will push any air out of the bleedscrew you have just loosened. Keep it open until you get a steady flow of oil (no frothy bubbles) and then tighten it up again. You may need to press reset once more if it didn't start burning during this process (which isn't scary!).

NB. Keep something under the bleedscrew to catch the oil, and a rag to wipe up any drips.

Phil, May 2009

I have just had my riello photocell replaced in my boiler. Can someone please inform me how long this takes to replace so i can have an idea of labour charges. Many thanks

Neilly, April 2009

open it up,hit the reset button and let the oil trickle out.(KEEP A SMALL BUCKET OR PITCHER UNDER THE HOLE)It will eventually come out in a steady stream, could be after 1 time or 10.You shouldnt, however, try more then 3 or 4 times per half hour.This procedure is called priming the furnace.Once primed screw the bleeder bolt back in and hit the reset button again.....

mookey, March 2009

I just want to say THANKS to everyone who answered this question! My husband and I are truly clueless and we followed the responses of a few of you and got our burner back on with flames! The response involving shining the light really worked! Our burner had not been used in about 8 weeks & we ran out of oil. Got the fill but the reset wouldn't work. Thanks for your advice. It really saved us much need cash in a money tight situation! Now my husband is bleeding the radiators! Let's pray it keeps running!

Young Married Homeowners in Long Island, NY, March 2009

Hi guys, some good answers there. I have another question to add, I hope you can help, its freezing here!!!
I have a Riello (530 se I think) which I have been bleeding as we let the oil run out. The last time it happened we opened the the nut under the bleed valve and it cleared the air and worked within 10-15 mins, this time we tried the same thing, with a full tank, nad no joy. There is nothing at all coming through. NO OIL OR AIR!!!.
What do I do now, call an engineer. It has never given any problems before and I know of plumbers who have a great laugh at the expense of somebody who cant bleed their boiler as its handy money, not all plumbers are like that mind.
Do you think there might be a more sinister problem?
Any help would be great.

Cheers

gary

Gary, January 2009

Take off the front cover of the Riello Burner...(Three screws..middle top and bottom rear both left and right)
Pump is on the left side of burner. Towards the bottom of the pump there is a brass bleeder port. Your system is a one pipe system I'm assuming. The access door which houses the electrodes. Loosen the 2 phillips screws. Now press the reset button and then using a flashlight you will trick the photo cell by shining the light into the cracks of the cover you loosened. Make sure you have a can under the bleeder port, as oil will come out that port and end up all over the floor. As soon as you get a steady stream of oil, close the bleeder port and the burner should fire. Good Luck I hope this helps.

Dan Williams, September 2008

Should not be a Danfoss pump as Riello surprise surprise use a Riello pump. And you should really use the correct gear, a bleed manifold/pressure gauge as the fuel pressure can make a big mess and a slim chance of fire if you are spraying kero everywhere.

Also if you keep pressing the reset button you will burn -out the transformer.

Best get an engineer in.

SP Boiler Services, July 2008

i have loosened the nut some bubbles came out but the oil did not flow yes i have just had an oil fill

evelyn, March 2008

Take the red cover off. Underneath just below the restart button is a hex nut with a nipple on the end. Unscrew nipple with an allen key No need to take it out all of the way). Oil should start to come through. You'll need a rag to mop it up. One you start to get a regular flow (no bubbles), screw it back up tight and hit the restart button.

I though tmine was an air block problem but it turned out the oil pump had gone (and it was only 6 months old). So if it doesn't fix the problem you will need to call out an engineer.

Martin, March 2008

Can anyone add a photo of where to bleed from? Here is a photo of my boiler. All help appreciated.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/TaraChoules/Image034-1.jpg

TKC, March 2008

Hello Andrew
I have a Camray Quartet with a red covered Reillo boiler. It ran out of oil and yes like many of you an air lock developed and a very cold house. The manual says push the red button to reset a couple of times but alas no joj. The service manaual says contact a service engineer. The problem with that is the wait and the cost.
When you remove the red cover you will see a fuel pipeline going into the pump. You will also see a hexagbolt on the underside of the pump. Cut a small plastic container ...maybe the bottom of a plastic milk bottle to catch the fuel. Place it under the hexagonal bolt and open up the bolt until a few drips start to flow. Turn on the heating and press the red button on the Reillo boiler itself. This will fire up the boiler and the excess air will work its way out through the lose bolt. Once its running for a couple of minutes the air is gone and you can tighten up the bolt and repalce the red cover. Fixed in a jiffy and a warm house with no major service engineer costs.
I hope its of use. Its worked for me.

Iain N, March 2008

Karen,

Sorry for asking the blonde question, have you checked you have oil?? (a few inches in the bottom of the tank may not be enough!)
Don't keep running the pump dry time after time, or it will eventually fail!

Tony, February 2008

Martin,

Could be the photcell causing lockout, is the burner still firing when it locksout?

Need more info to direct you to the problem

Tony, February 2008

Hi Dons,

Sounds like you need a service mate, could be a number of things causing the smoking....

Oil pressure (pump issue),not enough air, blockage in the boiler,worn out nozzel and a few other things to boot..

Remeber, if you got soot, you got carbon-monoxide, so turn off and get your service engineer out.....

Tony, February 2008

Well I thought I had fixed the problem by draining some oil from the hex nut (pressure test point - wrong place I now know) as it worked fine for a couple of days, but has started to give me grief again. Same problem, keeps locking out after running for 20 mins or so, a reset usually starts it again.

Am going to try and bleed it again using the correct place on the side of the burner (i've identified it at least) and see what happens. I've tried it once already and oil came out but the burner has still reset since. Will have a few goes tomorrow and see if it improves.

I'm rapidly becoming a Reillo expert :-)

Martin, February 2008

Hi again,

The air lock I had caused ( according to the engineer ) the photo cell to soot up. Which mean the system kept trying to relight an alradey lit burner, hence the banging. So a little wipe later and it was working fine, after burning off the sooty build up. After aprox 5 hours though, the system started belching black smoke and not burning as hot as it was.

Now what's went wrong ?

Dons

Dons, February 2008

I too have had same issue, house is freezing cold. Located the bleed valve opened out and hit the reset, kept trying the reset for about 10 mins with the bleed valve open and still no joy. No oil is coming from bleed valve??Please help

Karen, February 2008

i had exactly the same problem-i slightly loosened it and had loads of bubbles and that went on for ages so i just undid it completely-got covered in oil-but it fired up and now my house is starting to warm up!!yey!! and im a girl!!!!

sadie v jones, February 2008

Andy,

Are you in Ireland?
This thread has been going on for days...you must be freezing!!
If you can't get it going I can always call you if you give me your number and talk you through it

Tony, February 2008

Hi Andy,

Yes thats the ticket, you may need to take it nearly all the way out, but mind as oil will come quickly.

Tony, February 2008

Hi tony really appreciate the advice - the allen screw you refer to is it on the flat face of the pump (silver and round) not in the centre but offset towards the front. So if you were looking at the burner side on you would be looking at the round flat face and the allen screw would be at 3 o'clock.

Loosen that screw hit the reset a few times till I get oil, tighten it and presto?

Andy

Andy, January 2008

Dons,
The central heating pump wont stop your burner from firing, will just mean your boiler will trip out on the high limit stat after the burner runs for a short time (as the hot water will not be taken from the boiler)

As regards your burner 'banging' you will have to give me details

Tony, January 2008

No, this port at the end for the brass hex bar is the pressure test point, you should only use this with a gauge and manifold attached, if you run the pump with this open and after 12secs the full pressure comes on you will get about 8bar of oil pressure squirting right at you.....smelly!

Go to the firebird.ie website, download the rdb manual from their technical data, look at the section on 'priming the pump' and follow as i set out to you a few posts ago, as in using the vacum port (4mm allen screw on flat side of pump) to bleed off any air and prime the pump with oil. Safe, easy and the way it was intended to be done by riello!

Tony, January 2008

Hi

I read some other posts and I think I get it but want to check one thing - the bleed valve is it approx 3 inches long, hexagonal in shape with a inset screw in the end which I suspect undoes with an allen key. Do I loosen that and hit the reset button until oil flows then tighten it and hopefully thats it?

Thanks

Andy

Andy, January 2008

Hi ,

I've had same probs with same pump. Did the bleed thing, but it still wont fire. Does a banging thing when trying to. Could I have an air lock in the CH pump also that would stop it working, as I heard alot of gurgling before it started to play up.(Which was just after the oil ran out and was replaced )

Many thanks,

Dons

Dons, January 2008

you can loosen the high pressure port on the fuel pump to let the air out till a steady stream of oil comes out when you start the burner. make sure you have a drip pan to collect the oil dripping out of the port. you can close the port while the motor is running. Be careful.

andyjay, January 2008

Hi, on the lhs of the rdb burner you will see the pump (silver and round) protruding, on the flat face there is an allen screw (grub screw) you will need a 4mm allen key to open it, do not remove it all the way (about 3/4's out) and press the red reset
button on the burner it will run for 12 seconds then possibly lockout again (it will be 30 secs before you can reset and start again) repeat this until you start to get some oil out of the screw you have opened, tighten it and you should get flame!
You may have to redo this a few times depending on how far from your tank the burner is (there can be a lot of air in the line
since you ran out of oil)

If you have any problems with this just post another reply and I'll give you some more advice.

Tony, January 2008

Andrew, I just bled my Riello pump. I took the hex nut out completely until I got a good solid flow of oil with no air. Then put back on the nut and it fired up first time.

Tom, January 2008

Martin - what model of riello did you have?

Did it take long for the air to bleed out before you could 'fire' the system up again?

Thanks.

Andrew Higgins, January 2008

I have just had the same problem with my Reillo. I took the red cover off and there is a large hexagonal brass nut, with a small nut at the end. I loosed the small nut with an allen key and a little bit of air escaped followed by a trickle of oil. I hit the red reset button and it fired into life. I'll keep an eye on it to make sure its keeps re-igniting.

This should be the same process for your system.

Martin, January 2008

Hi John

Thank you for your reply.

No the red cover clearly states on it that this is a Riello RDB burner.

Anyway, this what I've tried...

I removed the red cover and found a large hexagonal nut - a bit like a thick silver pencil. I unscrewed this and oil began trickling out along with quite a few air bubbles. I let the oil piddle out for a few minutes collecting it in a bowl which I then poured back into my oil tank. I then retightened the bolt and pressed the red reset button whuich still appears to be 'dead'.

However the burner is still not igniting. When I press the red reset button it TRIES to fire up but at the minute hasn't been able to do so.

Do i need to bleed the pump for quite a long time?

Andrew, January 2008

Andrew, you'll have to pull the cover away from the burner to expose the oil pump and motor.
If the oil pump is a 'Danfoss' one you'll find a 12mm bleed nipple on the top or side - with this cracked open you'll find kerosene flowing out so bear with it until the bubbles disappear. I'm assuming that you have a gravity feed system with one oil feed pipe. If your burner has a return or two pipe system it should bleed itself. For other pumps the system is much the same, but one of the screws on the side of the pump adjusts the pressure so see if there are any clues printed on. Good luck!

John, January 2008

link Click here to see other fixes for Riello.