Summer shutdown

It’s been a long winter – and your heater is tired… it’s ready to take a nap and get some maintenance –

Annual Maintenance is one of the most important steps in keeping your EnergyLogic heater or boiler operating correctly. For that matter any waste oil heating equipment needs to be kept clean. Remember that you’re burning dirty fuel and there will always be residue and extra maintenance as a result.

One of the EASIEST and often forgotten maintenance things is to turn the power OFF to your waste oil furnace/heater during the summer. Here’s why:

The Preheater Assembly on your EnergyLogic Waste Oil Furnace or Boiler is equipped with two separate heating circuits. The “standby” preheater circuit is always powered, keeping your fuel warm for rapid ignition, while the “run” circuit is powered only during operation.

So – when the power is applied to your furnace the preheater is ALWAYS on. This is not an issue during the winter months because the furnace is kicking on and off to heat the facility – BUT – in the summer months – the used oil just sits in that preheater and cooks …

The standby preheater is holding a steady temperature around 140 degrees Fahrenheit, which will effectively bake the fuel within over time, carbonizing on the preheater vanes and hindering effective heat transfer.

The preheater is an expensive component to replace – usually $400 or more just for the part. So taking care of it will save you money. Turning the power off to the preheater during the summer months will make it considerably easier to clean.

Here is picture of a preheater assembly which is almost entirely plugged with baked-on waste oil, the result of lax maintenance.

And here is a picture of a properly cleaned preheater, note the carbon buildup has been carefully removed before installation.

There is frequently a power switch installed close to your heater – or you can flip the breaker. Simply turning off the power to your Energylogic Furnace or boiler while it is not in operation will save you significant effort when it’s time to clean your preheater assembly!