I have a Riello 40 G2S oil burner. I have looked at a previous question regarding same model but no joy as to the solution. Two engineers have come to our house and left without fixing it. Firstly no oil was being pulled through. So after a variety of fixes was tried we got the oil coming through only to find it billowing black smoke. The engineer has said it is all the loose crap around the plates which he has now cleaned. Still the black smoke and on top of that he says the fuel pump has now gone. As it is St Patricks day here we wont be able to get a replacement until Tuesday. How can I make sure that is definitely the fuel pump that has gone and that I am not going to be further charged for the engineers not realising the problem straight away? So far the bill for both engineers has been over a £100.

Sean Hughes, March 2008

I had this on a grant, combi. Riello rdb2.2.
It was an aluminium type sticker which fell off the heat exchanger, and partially blocked the air inlet of the burner.

PJ, December 2021

look up www.oftec.co.uk to find a properly trained tradesman instead of using a man who arrives on horse back

jimmy w, April 2009

By the sounds of it the oil pressure is too high or there is not enough air getting to the burner..If it is still running even with the black smoke...it is not the oil pump that is broken. Get an OFTEC engineer to check it out.

John the boilerman, March 2009

If you are in Lancashire Give me a Call 07881 620 285. If you dont have a FGA then you need at least a smoke pump & some method of checking the pump pressure etc. Sounds like the guys you had look at it would be better sticking to Gas (or maybe not) if its piling black smoke out they should have at least come and turned it off as it could be dangerous, or at the very least it will throw out soot and ruin the washing on the line + the boiler will need another good clean.

Paul Cunningham Plumbing & Heating OFTEC, March 2009

Hello
I doubt if the pump will cause black smoke, this is usually a sign of incorrect mixture, at service they should do a flue gas analysis to confirm combustion is between 10.5-11.5%CO2 sounds like you got a guy who turns up on a horse.
You say your tank is below your burner, and you havent got a tiger loop fitted, if this is the case some systems used a non return valve in the line to prevent oil from syphoning back into the tank, it could be this thats faulty.
Your pump wont be able to draw oil if there is air in the oil pipe, so I doubt if your pump is faulty.
Where abouts are you in the UK

Warwick Taylor, March 2008

Hi Sean,

When your tank is located lower than your burner, your are very prone to airlocks (and oil areation)

So, a tigerloop fitted to the system will address some of the problems with getting the oil up to your burner as it's function is to remove the air from the oil (it bleeds out through the top of the dome) it must be installed outside, not beside your burner. You pump should be good for at least 1.5m draw up from your tank, did your burner always lockout when you had still alot of oil in the tank? and was ok once refilled?

Then from the tigerloop, there is 2 flexible hoses that run to the bottom of your pump (when he is fitting them, remind him to fit the 'grub screw' to the return side on the pump, of you will loose a pump!)

As regards the smoking, it could be this over areation of the oil, or oil starvation, but your technician should also consider the nozzel (i assume he replaced on the service) may be duff, and he should try another one.

Let me know how you get on, ok.

T, March 2008

p.s it now seems that there is no oil getting to the new pump so a definite concern about the tank being lower than the burner.

sean, March 2008

yes, tank is located lower than my burner.
Only one pipe going to oil pump.
oil tank is bottom feed.
There is no tiger loop on the system. The whole setup is over 20 years old. I had a quick peek at this tiger loop system and am curious as to what it is, will it help me and can it be easily added to my current system ? Thanks

sean, March 2008

Is you oil tank loacted lower than your burner?
If so, is there 2 pipes going into the oil pump (look underneath)
Is the oil tank top or bottom feed?
Is there a tiger loop on the system?

T, March 2008

It was working fine for about 20 mins after the engineer had gone and then the black smoke came and stayed. Before that the problem was no oil was being picked up from the tank. By that time the money was in his pocket. When I phoned him he said it must be the pump and he will get a new one. My question was how can I make sur this time this solution will be the correct one. I will await his visit tomorrow and see what he says. Regarding your reply, thanks. at least I will be able to check the pump I have now and the difference with the one he will charge me for.

Sean, March 2008

Firstly, why would you pay someone for not fixing your burner?

When they said the pump was gone, what pressure reading where they getting from it? Most times when the pump seizes the bruner will not run (ie. the pump being seized stops the motor running) a quick but not fool proof check you can do on your pump would be to remove it and spin the shaft, it should be free and smooth to turn, any gritty or stiff feeling and it is knackered.

Clean down the boiler, hoover it out, fit a new burner nozzel, set the correct oil pressure, and adjust the air setting until you get a nice creamy flame.

T, March 2008