Oil!

[timill]

The reason the Rayburn has been going out (brrrr...) is water in the oil tank. Apparently this is a problem with metal tanks - water condenses on the inside walls when the tank is only part full, and runs down into the oil. After a while, there's a layer of water at the base of the tank. After a longer while, there's enough that it is being sucked into the inlet. Water doesn't burn too well...

So there's a drain tap at the base of the tank. But it's clogged, so it's only dripping instead of running, so it's taken several days to extract about 12 pints of water from the tank. But today, there was a layer of oil in the glass I use to catch drips!

Now if the service people would only answer their phones, we could get it relit.

In other news, the Escort is back with a working clutch pedal. Things look a bit brighter for once...

Comments

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

In other words, there's a maintenance schedule that stops the problem occurring, but you were never informed of it when you inherited the tank.

Ah. Bummer.

[mkillingworth.livejournal.com]

Nor were we told at any of the annual maintenance appointments in the Autumn of every year. I guess we were just supposed to be born knowing this.

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

But of course. It's ... osmosis, yes, that's it. It's osmosis.

I assume that when it was originally installed, there was a manual. And that it'd mention it in there. But that was proobably skimmed and then lost years ago.

[mkillingworth.livejournal.com]

You've seen the Rayburn. Heaven alone knows how old it is. We do have the remnants of a manual for the oil conversion bit of it, but it says nothing about maintenance of the tank. Apparently we are meant to know that from birth.