Preheating oil

[Haynes Forest Products]

I was told preheating oil does not add efficiency. You dont get any more BTUs or use less oil. I guess there one in the same.
Does anyone preheat and how? I have a trans cooler I was going to install on the outside of the arch on the back of the combustion chamber and just let the oil run thru it.

[Homestead Maple]

Did the oil burner person that you mentioned in your post about 'do we have it backwards' advise you on this? I have wondered before if it would help to preheat the oil but never got to ask a burner person. If it doesn't make any difference than that will be one less thing I'll have to experiment with.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I talked to the head teck at Beckett. I was just thinking out loud with him and he said that you dont gain fuel economy or hotter burn. He did say that hot oil could cause erradic burning in the chamber. room temp oil is fine and by the time it gets to the pump its at a good temp.
He did say that I should change the nozzel out every couple of years due to filter change and varnish.

[OGDENS SUGAR BUSH]

wonder why fuel oil is heated for truck engines

[Grade "A"]

Heating fuel on trucks could be to stop the fuel from gelling up in the winter if the fuel is not cut. I am just thinking out loud but playing with cars and snowmobiles, the colder the air fuel mix the more power they have so that has me thinking one way. On the other hand I know Leader pipes their oil line through the arch to be more efficient. You would think that they have tested this right? So I have know Idea and my head hurts.

[sapman]

When I've asked Leader about this, they claimed a 15%? gain, I think. But they also said you can overheat it, causing problems as mentioned previously. I ran mine in a foam tube along with the Steamaway drainline. I have no idea if it helps.

Tim

[KenWP]

To keep fuel oil warmer is the reason they put the tanks inside of houses. people tend to let their tanks run low and then fill them which can cause a lot of condensation in the tank which if you don't use conditioner gives you some pretty cold mornings when the furnace does not work. As to trucks with the fuel warmer I have seen lots of guys drive up to Northern Alberta from down south with out one and then wonder why their trucks loose so much power. I have seen fuel that you could cut with a knife almost it jelled so bad.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I asked about the idea of keeping gas cool and thats because of the vapor locking. Gas works better when it injected cold or asperated.
Tanks that are out side tend to suck in moist air every time it rains the tank cools and in goes the air it condenses and moisture builds up.
He said that they are always trying new ways of treating the oil and checking its oxegen and CO2 levels during and after injecting and found it didnt change enough to warrent heating.
So ill tweak it other ways.

[brookledge]

I wonder if the reason Leader runs the fuel line through the arch is to basicly get it up to room temp. I know that most sugarhouses that burn oil have the heating oil tank outside exposed to the cold. Whereas a house would more than likely have it in the cellar and it would be alot warmer.
I would be willing to bet if the oil is very cold it will affect the nozzle and the burn pattern. So if you warm the oil from 20 degrees to 70 it probably does improve the efficiency but to heat it further to say 150 probably does nothing more. As Haynes said the BTUs don't change, but the spray pattern will change with 20 degree oil vs 70
Keith

[802maple]

All I have heard is from the gentleman that designed the Thunderbolt evaporator, He says that oils should be in the area 140 degrees to get the best molecular breakdown. The Thunderbolt is one of the fastest boiling evaporators available. On top of that he is one of the premier boiler specialists that are in the Vermont, and I know he is always experimenting.

[Old Farmer]

According to the North American Maple Producers Manual, there is an optimal temperature to heat the oil to. I did not pay too much attention because I do not have an oil burning arch, but I believe that it was between 125 and 140 F (don't quote me on those temperatures). It said that if you heat too high the efficiency goes back down. If you think about it, oil will burn more completely if it is atomized better. Higher oil temperatures will reduce the viscosity of the oil and allow it to atomize better. At some point, the problems that someone mentioned earlier with too high temperature of the oil will start to be an issue. Better atomization is why the newer burners are 150 psi or higher. It is also why diesel engines run injection pressures of 20,000 psi and higher.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Old Farmer: I asked about that and was told that the nozzels are designed to spray oil at room temp or lower. He said that with hot oil it will spray more oil but that is not effeciant. if you want more oil use a bigger nozzel.
I think higher nozzel pressure and a smaller tip would be worth trying but the pumps can only stand up to what they were designed for.
But I getting ideas as we speak. As testing equipment improves so does the technology so we will see.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Talked to Garth today about Nicks new operation and it souns like they are going all out. 4X12 with all the options ,RO,5500 taps.
He said that they are using pellets and that they are going to heat the flue pan first and the syrup pan will be by the flue stack. He said that he has plans for a oil burner set up that will be backwards and be more effeciant so Ill be hauling the rig home and reworking it. Ill be selling the arch instead of changing it. sonds like they are under the gun to get it done.

[Beweller]

The heat of combustion of fuel oil is about 140,000Btu/gal. A gallon weighs about 6.7-7 lb. The specific heat is about 0.5 Btu/lb F. So if you heated the oil 200 degrees you would add 700 per gallon btu, about one half percent. And where did that heat come from?

Heating the oil serves mainly to reduce its viscosity, making it easier to pump and atomize. If you are firing No.5 or No. 6, you need to heat. Heating No. 2 is needed only in very cold weather or with oils having an unusually high pour point.