I posted earlyer . Now almost 2 seasons on B100 no problem . My biodiesel is so clean and filtered to 1 micron so I had to put a smaller tip in it . I set the temt back in September and have not touched it since .

Just a few things where is the rubber in the pump ? There is none .

My next faverate one "neoprene shaft seal" Why would you put biodiesel on the shaft seal ?

My furnace is very old and works great on B100 with the only change a smaller tip so I'm using less fuel . If  you wont a biodiesel pump paint your old one green .

I had Suntec fuel pump on my systems. (I have 2 furnaces) The pressure on one unit dropped from 125 psi to under 80 psi. Unfortunaletly I did not catch this in time and my system failed to light. I never expected this and it took me a a bit to figure out. I was going to replace the unit with a Webster M34-DM-3 but I did not want to wait the few days of cold for delivery so I bought another Suntec (ugh). Once installed to correct PSI the system ran fine. From what i could tell from the old unit the pressure setting valve seals had broken down allowing "blow by". This I presume was the reason for the dramtic drop in pressure.

I did put a Webster on my other unit and it is running flawlessly. So far this year I have made and used over 1100 gallons of 100% BD. I am looking forward to the warmth to return.

 I'm surprised you chose the Riello.  That is what I was sold as a super efficient burner but have since learned is the most difficult (if not impossible) burner to convert to B100.  The issue as you noted is the pump which has a hydrolic connection to the airflow intake.  Apparently the seals on the pump will last about two years and then one morning you'll wake up to a pool of BioDiesel below your burner.  I have been looking for a replacement pump for the Riello myself.  We are just beginning to use B99.  We've been running B20 for two years now with no ill effects but were told we would void the warranty if we ran anything more than that.  If anyone discovers a pump that fits the Riello 40 f3 please let me know.  Thanks.

I think I can shed some light on this!!

I decided last winter (2006-07) that in view of my fairly significant home production of about 75 gal/wk of B100 for our farm use that we had to try B100 in my boiler which has a beckett AFG burner. In a nutshell this trial did not work but was a great learning experience for learning to tear apart a Beckett burner.  After some more experimentation thoughwe have been using B 50 (B100 cut with off road diesel)  with only a few minor problems for almost a year and  a half for our heat and hot water. Though not 100% positive my boiler repair man  thinks that the the fuel pump can not handle the viscosity of B100. B100 may well work for you in a warmer climate than northern NY

Only modification we made was we changed the nozzle size and for good measure we change it out for a new one at the beginning of the season in October and again mid season about a month ago. For reasons also unknown we have had to replace the eye about every 6 mos. THis may be electrical ??

Some Observations to pass on ;

• B100 is definitly a great fuel line cleaner it will take all the crap out of your fuel line and pass it through your fuel filter and probably plug your nozzle the first time you use it. After you replace filter and nozzle (<$10 for parts) it will probably do it a second time, Third time is a charm. Electrodes, etc. clean up easily with a acn of brake cleaner (not a pleasant smell but it works!).
• My boiler and gun are from the early 1980's never updated and  we have not had any problems with seals, etc., had to replace paper gasket between gun & boiler but 25 years old is not a fuel problem!  New AFG  on line is $300 +/-.
• My tank is an underground tank  with about 10 inches  ( 50 years?) of unburnable material in the tank bottom ( I hate to think about this) We make sure the boiler is off when we add fuel and let it set for about an hour to make sure any thing stirred up resettles. if this gets in the ine it can cause the burner to produce exceesive soot and plug up your burn chamber.
• Email me and I will take the # off my spare nozzle.
• First time I had problems with B100 fuel oil repairman blamed the fuel but admitted he knew nothing about Bio fuel. Moral is find a competent repairman who is willing to  teach you  some basics if you are a novice. Took us 3 or 4 $150 bills to actually become competent. In northern NY  however  weather is cold , snow plentiful and #2 oil $3.67/gal I advise you consider this a long term investment.

Hi Mike, I just come across this forum  I just wanted to see if you got your answer to your question. I have been using 100 % BD in my house for years. Yes unless you change out your pump is will stop working in about 8 months .  This is not a big deal because using the BD you would have paid for the new pump the first 70 of DB used. So I always had an extra pump around. After a year A Webster rep gave me a pump  http://www.websterfuelpumps.com/pump_docs/LN4756.pdf  This pump is disigned for 100% BD  and has had no problem for over 2 years. You will have to have on hand a new nose cone for the burn because it does get clogged up  but again it is about $5 . For the savings you can call in a oil burn guy to do all the work if you dont feel comfortable .  If you make a good grade of BD you will have a lot  less problems . All the parts a cheap so just keep the replacement part next to the burner so when you have a problem at 2am everything is ready to go. I use about 2000 gal of heating fuel for the winter so the expense for these parts are no big deal. I saved about $4000 a $5 part or a $70 pump is ok . I did not go down to the bottom of your replys so if you got your answer already I hope everything is going well.

Drew,

there is a state form to apply for a Tax credit. Look at the Mass. State Tax Site and the IRS site...

Hey folks. I seem to be a lone Australian voice in the B100 heating oil choir. I have recently started producing my own B100 for use in my old (30yrold international burner) furnace. Not many other folk have experimented much with running B100 in oil furnaces over here - oil heating became unpopular here in the 80's due to escalting #2 prices. Now #2 costs about $1.80(AUS) per litre (or about $US6.50/gal). I have successfully produced my fist 20 gal batch of B100 but I am having some problems getting my furnace to run on it. I am prepared to take the risk of wearing out the old pump - if I can make it work the cost of a new pump is insignificant. Firstly, with the original 0.85 (USGal/hr) 80 degree nozzle at 150psi pressure I was getting way too much flame (possibly because B100 burns longer than #2) and the furnace was getting too hot and could have burnt out the heat exchanger if I had persisted. I have now tried a 0.5 (USGal/hr) nozzle and increased pressure to around 190psi but I still get a poor spray pattern (lucky to be 30 degree angle). As such ignition has been a serious problem - I have tried moving the position of the ignitor to compensate but its just too unreliable. I did get a smaller flame with the smaller nozzle, but possibly still a bit on the big side compared to #2. Has anyone else had similar experiences? I note a couple of other contributors talk about changing to a smaller nozzle - can any of you tell me what size  and what spray angle you are running/getting with B100? Is a hollow spray pattern worth trying (I note one other contributor asked the same question a while back)?

Look forward to hearing from you more seasoned BioHeaters out there!

Riello does make a B100 kit but it is only sold in europe.

Ron

In general, I have found one size smaller nozzle of the same pattern and angle with an increase in pressure of about 40 psi to work most of the time.  You may also try a clamp on nozzle line heater like the Beckett Starter Helper.

Ron

sizzleljf:

Hey folks. I seem to be a lone Australian voice in the B100 heating oil choir. I have recently started producing my own B100 for use in my old (30yrold international burner) furnace. Not many other folk have experimented much with running B100 in oil furnaces over here - oil heating became unpopular here in the 80's due to escalting #2 prices. Now #2 costs about $1.80(AUS) per litre (or about $US6.50/gal). I have successfully produced my fist 20 gal batch of B100 but I am having some problems getting my furnace to run on it. I am prepared to take the risk of wearing out the old pump - if I can make it work the cost of a new pump is insignificant. Firstly, with the original 0.85 (USGal/hr) 80 degree nozzle at 150psi pressure I was getting way too much flame (possibly because B100 burns longer than #2) and the furnace was getting too hot and could have burnt out the heat exchanger if I had persisted. I have now tried a 0.5 (USGal/hr) nozzle and increased pressure to around 190psi but I still get a poor spray pattern (lucky to be 30 degree angle). As such ignition has been a serious problem - I have tried moving the position of the ignitor to compensate but its just too unreliable. I did get a smaller flame with the smaller nozzle, but possibly still a bit on the big side compared to #2. Has anyone else had similar experiences? I note a couple of other contributors talk about changing to a smaller nozzle - can any of you tell me what size  and what spray angle you are running/getting with B100? Is a hollow spray pattern worth trying (I note one other contributor asked the same question a while back)?

 

Look forward to hearing from you more seasoned BioHeaters out there!