Kcodyjr
Member
My 42 year old Miller MOC-80 became a casualty of the recent cold snap. Emergency service guy said the heat exchanger was clogged with soot, and the last time he tried to clean one, he wasn't able to free it up.
I think what happened is running low - 1/4 tank - on fuel during the snap, then gelling up, then getting more fuel, stirred up sludge that then got sucked in and burnt. It had been intermittently gray smoking for several days before it clogged up and tripped the burner motor thermal safety.
I've called one company out for an estimate; he's still working the numbers, but I've already got misgivings. He did not do a Manual J assessment first of all; I can possibly forgive that for a mobile home though. The analysis might only serve to say whether the smallest available unit is 2x or 3x the size it should be. He also wants to replace it with another open combustion unit to avoid changing the roof jack. I'd feel much better with a concentric vented sealed combustion unit.
I've dug up what I can and think the Miller M5 would be one viable option, though it's a little tall, I might have to cut up the closet door to get it in. It would also be a close reach to flue it in. I do want a coil cavity, though, and it seems an integral unit would take less height.
Can I please get any commentary at all about any aspect of this?
I would like specific recommendations for a narrow cabinet downflow oil fired furnace, pref with a built in coil cabinet. I'd hate to listen to whatever the local contractors are pushing and wind up with some Chinese made piece of crap.
I've learned my lesson. There's 200 gallons or so in my outdoor tank right now, mostly #2 oil, with two bottles of anti-gel, one gallon of kerosene, and one gallon of denatured alcohol. It'll get topped up with kerosene before the new unit is commissioned. It'll get filled with pure kerosene from now on.
I'm hoping to add a heat pump to the system further down the road, hence wanting the coil cabinet up front. I think that also means I'm after a simpler burner, not a modulating or multi-stage or variable speed, since in the end it'll only run when it's 30-35 or colder outside. I also wouldn't see the point of an expensive condensing unit, and haven't found any suitable for a mobile home anyway.
It also occurs to me to think about the power loss situation. I realize no furnace will run without power, and one reason to stick with oil is that it'll run in a diesel generator. I wonder, would a heat pump be so efficient (down to XX degrees at least) that I'd be better off burning the oil in a generator to run the heat pump, than just burning the oil for heat?
I think what happened is running low - 1/4 tank - on fuel during the snap, then gelling up, then getting more fuel, stirred up sludge that then got sucked in and burnt. It had been intermittently gray smoking for several days before it clogged up and tripped the burner motor thermal safety.
I've called one company out for an estimate; he's still working the numbers, but I've already got misgivings. He did not do a Manual J assessment first of all; I can possibly forgive that for a mobile home though. The analysis might only serve to say whether the smallest available unit is 2x or 3x the size it should be. He also wants to replace it with another open combustion unit to avoid changing the roof jack. I'd feel much better with a concentric vented sealed combustion unit.
I've dug up what I can and think the Miller M5 would be one viable option, though it's a little tall, I might have to cut up the closet door to get it in. It would also be a close reach to flue it in. I do want a coil cavity, though, and it seems an integral unit would take less height.
Can I please get any commentary at all about any aspect of this?
I would like specific recommendations for a narrow cabinet downflow oil fired furnace, pref with a built in coil cabinet. I'd hate to listen to whatever the local contractors are pushing and wind up with some Chinese made piece of crap.
I've learned my lesson. There's 200 gallons or so in my outdoor tank right now, mostly #2 oil, with two bottles of anti-gel, one gallon of kerosene, and one gallon of denatured alcohol. It'll get topped up with kerosene before the new unit is commissioned. It'll get filled with pure kerosene from now on.
I'm hoping to add a heat pump to the system further down the road, hence wanting the coil cabinet up front. I think that also means I'm after a simpler burner, not a modulating or multi-stage or variable speed, since in the end it'll only run when it's 30-35 or colder outside. I also wouldn't see the point of an expensive condensing unit, and haven't found any suitable for a mobile home anyway.
It also occurs to me to think about the power loss situation. I realize no furnace will run without power, and one reason to stick with oil is that it'll run in a diesel generator. I wonder, would a heat pump be so efficient (down to XX degrees at least) that I'd be better off burning the oil in a generator to run the heat pump, than just burning the oil for heat?
