Has anyone replaced a fuel pump on a Riello F5 Burner?

[KenLockett]

Two months into the wood burning season my backup oil fired unit has began leaking fuel around the junction of the fuel pump and motor. Finally have gotten around to fixing it and ordered a pump today and am planning the replacement. Looks pretty straight forward but was wondering if anyone has had to make this repair in the past and know of any potential difficulties and/or pitfalls.

 

[heaterman]

Yes. F3 and F5. About as easy as it gets. You'll need metric allen wrenches.

Shut off fuel tank valve.
Shut off pwer to furnace.
Put some cat litter under the burner to soak up oil that will drip when you disconnect fuel line(s).
Use allen wrench to take out bolts securing pump to burner housing.
After pump is off inspect both halves of pump coupling.
If OK bolt on new pump, reconnect lines and you're all set.

 

[maple1]

I was some glad to unhook the oil lines and pull my old unit out of the basement after 17 years.

But will have to admit, that F5 burner that was on it was a nice working oil burner. Good luck!

 

[KenLockett]

Awesome guys! Thanks for the feedback. Did not think about needing the metric Allen wrenches. Should have known as I needed very small metric wrench to replace the hydraulic jack and capillary tube. Actually, I originally thought the leak was at the flare fitting at the capillary connection at the pump. When the replacement did not fix the leak, upon further inspection I saw weeping at the junction of the pump and the motor. Appears the issue must be the pump leaking at the seals where it mounts at the motor, or I hope it is. Did you guys have to bleed the system after replacing the pump? If so there appears to be no bleed valve on the pump. Would you just false fire the burner until continuous flow is observed at the supply line at pump then re-connect?

 

[heaterman]

Awesome guys! Thanks for the feedback. Did not think about needing the metric Allen wrenches. Should have known as I needed very small metric wrench to replace the hydraulic jack and capillary tube. Actually, I originally thought the leak was at the flare fitting at the capillary connection at the pump. When the replacement did not fix the leak, upon further inspection I saw weeping at the junction of the pump and the motor. Appears the issue must be the pump leaking at the seals where it mounts at the motor, or I hope it is. Did you guys have to bleed the system after replacing the pump? If so there appears to be no bleed valve on the pump. Would you just false fire the burner until continuous flow is observed at the supply line at pump then re-connect?

Single fuel line or two?

 

[KenLockett]

Single fuel line or two?

There appears to be a supply line to the pump and a return line at the pump, and of course the connection from the capillary line to the hydraulic jack that operates the air shutter.

 

[BoilerMan]

There appears to be a supply line to the pump and a return line at the pump, and of course the connection from the capillary line to the hydraulic jack that operates the air shutter.

I think heaterman means are there two lines (3/8 soft copper) comming from the tank to the burner, or just one. Generally a "tow pipe" system was done for overhead loops between the tank and the burner. "One pipe" is run on the floor, unless there is a Tiger loop, but that is beyond our conversation here.

TS

 

[heaterman]

Clarification........There is a single allen head screw that secures the pump to the burner.

A 2 pipe system will have 2 lines from the tank to the pump. Those being the fuel supply line and the other is the recirculation or return line. The outlet to the burner is the small line on top of the pump

A single line system is gravity fed from the tank and usually comes from the bottom of the fuel tank directly to the bottom of the pump. The oil filter will be installed in the supply line in either a single or 2 pipe system.

 

[KenLockett]

Clarification........There is a single allen head screw that secures the pump to the burner.

A 2 pipe system will have 2 lines from the tank to the pump. Those being the fuel supply line and the other is the recirculation or return line. The outlet to the burner is the small line on top of the pump

A single line system is gravity fed from the tank and usually comes from the bottom of the fuel tank directly to the bottom of the pump. The oil filter will be installed in the supply line in either a single or 2 pipe system.

It is a single line system. One line from tank to burner via the filter and gravity fed.

 

[leon]

It is a single line system. One line from tank to burner via the filter and gravity fed.

The oil line and pump are bled with a 3/8 wrench.
There is a air bleeder fitting that looks exactly like a brake bleeder
fitting on the left side of the burner.

Crack the fitting a little and you will hear a hiss of air and then restart the burner.

When you have a full flow of oil coming out of the bleeder the burner will also be
burning at the same time, this is the time you need to close the bleeder valve-do
not over tighten it!, it takes very little force to close the bleeder valve.

 

[KenLockett]

As this is a new pump correct me if I am wrong but doesn't the pump pressure need to be adjusted with a gauge at the bleeder port?

 

[leon]

As this is a new pump correct me if I am wrong but doesn't the pump pressure need to be adjusted with a gauge at the bleeder port?

No I do not think so, at least I never saw the repair guys check my pump
with a guage as the pump has set volume per revolution with the oil exiting
through the nozzle anyway which is what regulates the volume and of course
the flow of Kerosene.

As long as you can bleed the air out you will be fine- I got tired of paying to
have them come out and bleed my system when it became airlocked and
I learned how to do it my self when my fuel delivery driver showed me
how to do it.

 

[mikefrommaine]

The relationship between a given nozzle and pump pressure should be maintained when replacing the oil pump.

It's common to bump the pressure up to 140 on a pump and use a smaller nozzle to maintain a certain firing rate. The service card should specify the current pressure. And you should verify that is what the new pump is set at. Most of the suntech pumps come preset at 100 psi.

 

[KenLockett]

According to the Riello manual, to get a firing rate 1.00 GPH (Crown Boiler lists max burner flow rate of 1.06 GPH), a a nozzle size of 0.85 is required at a pump pressure of 150 Psig. Turbulator setting should be set at 2.00 and air shutter set at 3.0. From my observations, there is a case laying nearby the boiler that contained the installed nozzle that is indeed a 0.85 size, turbulator is set correctly, and air shutter is set a little low. To ensure a flow rate of 1.00 GPH it appears that I most definitely am going to need to verify/set the pump pressure and the manual states this as well. My dilemma is, do I go out and try to find a metric gauge and possibly a meter/analyzer to measure/verify air/fuel ratio and thus combustion efficiency or do I just break down and pay a Riello qualified service tech one hour of labor to do this for me. I honestly hate the idea of paying someone to come out and do this after I already replaced the hydraulic jack and purchased a new pump off of Ebay. Oh yeah purchased an oil filter while I was at it. Not sure if the nozzle needs replacing (has been at least two years) so I suppose I could have the tech do this as well and observe and learn how it is done. Bottom line is I only use the oil for DHW in the summer and a heating backup to the wood boiler in the winter. Oh yeah, and by the way, the new pump design includes an actual bleeder on the gauge port. Old pump required bleeding from the vacuum port. Any further thoughts?

 

[mikefrommaine]

(broken link removed to http://www.ebay.com/itm/Oil-Burner-Pump-Test-Fitz-All-T-11-/200850952281?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ec3a65059)

(broken link removed to http://www.ebay.com/itm/Riello-Oil-Burner-Pump-Testor-/200872361353)

 

[BoilerMan]

Man, anything can be had on fleabay! Oil pumps gauge kits, to human kidneys..........

TS

 

[KenLockett]

Well, got the new pump in and it was a piece of cake. However, checking the pressure was not so easy. Bought a gauge at FW Webb, no problem, 1/4" NPT, 0-300 Psig. Could not find the 1/4" NPT to metric adapter required but found that with the right combination of reducers and couplings including one 3/16 male compression side fitting thought I could make that work. Well, the problem is that although the male 3/16 compression side fitting appears to perfectly mate to the bleed port on the pump, it doesn't really. Should have know when the warning in the Riello manual kept mentioning don't use direct NPT connections into the pump as they are British Parallel threads and will damage. Well as the female fitting on the pump is steel and the compression fitting was brass, I do not appear to have done any damage at least on the pump side put the oil leaked like a sieve at the fitting. Nevertheless, the burner fired on first try and no new leaks so far although I had to torque that capillary tube for the hydraulic jack more than I would have liked, Gotta find a metric adapter next to get the pressure correct and thus the oil flow. The new pump design with integrated bleed valve with hose connection is sweet though. Old pump design required opening vaccum port and appears that it would have been very messy. Thanks for the input.

 

[heaterman]

The new pump will have to set with a gauge and you need to use the RIello gauge to do it.....as you have found out already. The pumps are usually set from the factory at 140PSI but the actual working pressure depends on what the manufacturer designed the burner for in your particular boiler. I have seen them set up to run anywhere from 100 to 190psi depending on the application.

 

[KenLockett]

The new pump will have to set with a gauge and you need to use the RIello gauge to do it.....as you have found out already. The pumps are usually set from the factory at 140PSI but the actual working pressure depends on what the manufacturer designed the burner for in your particular boiler. I have seen them set up to run anywhere from 100 to 190psi depending on the application.

The manual for the required flow rate on my crown boiler calls for 150 Psig. Anyhow, the boiler fired off first time and seems to be doing fine. Gonna get the required 1/4 NPT to metric adapter required with the gauge I bought. FW Webb has the adapter.