OLD arco-petro oil burner with Thrush pump(thats leaking). UGH.

[RandallM]

Thrown into trying to fix this leak at my house. Never heard of Head FT, GPM, etc. The leaking is occouring where the impeller rod is (see file). I've now learned there is a motor, and pump housing. After many emails with Thrush (very kind CS rep working me) they were finally able to give me a solution. Sort of. they gave The model number of this bracket is HV-600N, and part number 1504-900. Said the pump is obsolete but not the bracket. Of course googling these seem to come up with something that looks a bit different from what I have (see pics). And looks like a bell & gosset housing. How can i tell if a replacement would fit my motor

The only other option I have is to buy a complete new set. But, then this requires the matching of Head ft, figuring the gpm etc. And of course hiring someone. But, I'm just thinking I could replace the pump area, the motor works great.

On the pics, the red circle is where it currently leaks. I tried to remove the impeller from this, but top of spring removes from motor rod but can't seem to remove the impeller rod from spring..

Sorry for being such a newbie here and asking such a question, I'm just trying to get "heat" in the old house without spending thousands..

 

[Dana]

Most pumps of that era (like the boilers and radiation they're attached to) are quite a bit oversized for the actual needs. The thermal performance of most buildings has been improved since then too, with better windows (or storm windows), retrofit insulation & air sealing, etc. A hydronic designer looking to maximize efficiency & minimize power use might do the full math, but really almost any pump of similar power will usually work just fine- it doesn't have to exactly match the original design. I'd hazard that it's a fat-piped low-head high flow system, but probably over-pumped by 3x or more from what's actually needed to deliver the heat. But without more information it's hard to take even an educated WAG at it. Is there voltage & amperage, HP, or RPM data on the name plate of the pump?

An ECM drive "smart" pump can even pay for itself over time in reduced power use, if after installation the speed gets tweaked down to the minimum necessary for the system to work properly. That crusty thing looks like it's old enough to have voted for Nixon (probably wasn't registered though ), and for sure it's using 2-10x more power than a new ECM drive pump of similar capacity would use.

Scrapping / mothballing the antique oil boiler for something right-sized or something entirely else is probably cost effective too. That's a separate proposition, but worth analyzing if you plan to own this place for very long. How much oil do you burn through in a year?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[RandallM]

Most pumps of that era (like the boilers and radiation they're attached to) are quite a bit oversized for the actual needs. The thermal performance of most buildings has been improved since then too, with better windows (or storm windows), retrofit insulation & air sealing, etc. A hydronic designer looking to maximize efficiency & minimize power use might do the full math, but really almost any pump of similar power will usually work just fine- it doesn't have to exactly match the original design. I'd hazard that it's a fat-piped low-head high flow system, but probably over-pumped by 3x or more from what's actually needed to deliver the heat. But without more information it's hard to take even an educated WAG at it. Is there voltage & amperage, HP, or RPM data on the name plate of the pump?

An ECM drive "smart" pump can even pay for itself over time in reduced power use, if after installation the speed gets tweaked down to the minimum necessary for the system to work properly. That crusty thing looks like it's old enough to have voted for Nixon (probably wasn't registered though ), and for sure it's using 2-10x more power than a new ECM drive pump of similar capacity would use.

Scrapping / mothballing the antique oil boiler for something right-sized or something entirely else is probably cost effective too. That's a separate proposition, but worth analyzing if you plan to own this place for very long. How much oil do you burn through in a year?

Believe it or not, I didn't, Thrush still sells the lower impeller and housing part, not the motor. Replacing furnace is not an option at the moment. so, i'm looking into proper method to clean it out, the soot, and such and then test the burner. the tank had oil in it from about 5 yrs ago.. I suspect oil does not go bad, not sure how one would suck it out to replace with fresh.

 

[Dana]

Tanks that aren't topped up with oil can develop rust & scale debris over time, and an in-line filter between the tank & burner isn't a bad idea. But you're right, #2 oil has a very long shelf-life, unlike more complex blended fuels such as gasoline.

In rare cases a vented only partly-filled oil tank will accumulate enough condensation over several years to get a slug of water in the bottom, which will cause the burner to flame out when the water reaches the burner. Water is heavier than oil, so bleeding the line at the burner end until what's coming out looks like oil, not water with droplets of oil in it may be necessary, but hopefully not.

Starting with a fresh (and correct model for the boiler & burner ) nozzle isn't a bad idea if it's been sitting for 5 years. The nozzle on the burner may or may not be appropriate, but hopefully you can dig up enough documentation to figure that out. If you can't figure it out, simply replacing like-for-like will probably work, even if not optimal. Are there any BTU in / out numbers on the nameplate?

The sheet metal at the top or back of the boiler is usually necessary to inspect for and remove soot accumulations from the heat exchanger plates. This video is cleaning up a gas boiler, but the basic inspection & cleaning methodology is the same.

Be sure to inspect the flue for obstructions, and test that the barometric damper swings freely and hasn't rusted into position before attempting to fire it up.

You don't have to wait for the pump repairs to test the burner and aquastat controls, as long as the system has water in it and the pressure at the boiler is at least 1o-12 psi. Most will fire up and run the boiler up to the high-limit setting without any water flow through the boiler. Be sure to keep an eye on the boiler temperature (are there working temperture & pressure gauges on this boiler?). Don't let it go over 210F, even if it means you have to kill power to the system. Hopefully the high-limit aquastat is still functional and reasonably calibrated.

Once the burner is known running, pay a burner tech to tune it up as well as possible. Properly tuned it won't soot up, and it won't send nearly-explosive mixtures of air/oil into the boiler on every ignition cycle.

BTW: In most of the US "boiler" and "furnace" are not interchangable terms, the latter referring only to ducted hot air, the former only to pumped water &/or steam heating.