Building an oil burner for my furnace

[davidmb]

Hi, I have recently bought a second hand electric motor and oil pump for a central heating boiler, I also have a range of atomizing oil nozzels ranging from 0.4 Gal/hr upto 2.3 Gal/hr, I guess this wil give me heat output from 15.2Kw/hr upto 87.4Kw/hr. Does anybody know how much air will be required to burn a certain amount of oil? I have four blowers that each deliver 97cuft/min.

Any suggestions welcome, I'm aiming for melting cast iron, the current setup uses propane and a single blower.

[davidmb]

Well I managed to build it, this is the first picture of the burner running.



More on this baby at http://www.steamcastings.co.uk/

[2muchstuff]

Looks like a winner.

[Kipper]

Is fuel dropout a problem? I would aim for the flow of air to come from behind the nozzle much like the commercial burners. Heres how mine works hth

[davidmb]

Hi Kipper,

The nozzle sits in a shroud that admits some air to the back of the nozzle but the bulk of the air joins the oil about 4" into the burner tube. I have done one melt with the burner like this ( Aluminium ), I had to back off the oil pressure to get a clean burn. Still not enough heat for cast iron though, thinking about a larger furnace with much more insulation.

[Kipper]

Hi Kipper,

The nozzle sits in a shroud that admits some air to the back of the nozzle but the bulk of the air joins the oil about 4" into the burner tube. I have done one melt with the burner like this ( Aluminium ), I had to back off the oil pressure to get a clean burn. Still not enough heat for cast iron though, thinking about a larger furnace with much more insulation.

I hear you on the larger furnace! I cant remember the name of the insulation I used but it's a common gardners soil additive (white volcanic rock a lot like polystyrene but doesnt burn) it takes around an hour for the heat to tranfer to the outside surface! The one I use now is made from a 55gallon (UK gallon ) drum and i'm going to have to turn all the firebricks to accomodate my latest crucible, it's a 4 gallon one :shock: soon i'll be going the babington route and have had these brass balls (pun intended) for some years and it's about time I did something with them i've just given one set to Joules along with my old furnace but if I come across any more i'll bear you in mind! If anyones wondering who the handsome chap is in the reflection.......err it's me...Honest lol

[wtxrcdog]

Hello

I think you are looking for perlite. It is a expanded volcanic rock. I am making
Some home made refactory for my first furnace out of portland cement , sand, perlite, bentonite clay. hopfully it will work. time will tell.


Regards Bruce

[davidmb]

Kipper, did you bind the perlite with anything or just use it to fill the void between the shell and the hot face?

I'm looking at some commercial insulation refractory that has a bulk density of 480kg / m3 rated at about 500 deg c. The hot face refractory is the same that I used on my initial furnace two years ago, still going strong, rated at 1700 deg c, but weighs in at 2550 kg / m3. I pay about £15 per 25kg for both.

[Kipper]

Hello, Bruce yup Perlite thats the stuff....gets everywhere I just used it to fill the void between firebrick and the outside of the drum. I bought some 1800 degree refractory from GHS in Morley nr Leeds which worked fine (dont add too much water or it is weakened) EFS in Colne Lancs is a great place to visit and try odds and sods out (Sodium Silicate £4 a gallon)