How to Bleed the Line to an Oil Burning Furnace
If an oil furnace runs out of oil, the furnace may have trouble starting, even after refilling the oil tank. The problem is caused by air getting into the line between the tank and the furnace. If pushing the "Reset" button is ineffective at restarting the furnace, the line between the furnace and tank need to be bled to allow the air to escape from the line. This process is also referred to as "priming the pump." Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Shallow pan
- Pliers or appropriate sized wrench
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Instructions
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Turn the thermostat to a temperature higher than the room temperature. Turn the oil furnace off close to the furnace. If the furnace has a switch near the panel, use that. If not, you may need two people to bleed the line.
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Locate the bleeder valve by locating the oil line coming into the oil burning furnace. The bleeder valve is located near the oil line on all oil-burning furnaces.
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Slowly open the valve with pliers or an appropriate sized wrench.
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Turn on the furnace by turning on the switch or hitting the ""Reset" button, or a combination of both, depending on the furnace.
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Catch the oil that will come out of the bleeder valve in a shallow pan. Close the bleeder valve if the pump stops before fully bleeding the line. Close the bleeder valve when oil is coming out of the bleeder valve without any bubbles indicating that all of the air is out of the line.
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Tips & Warnings
Bleeding the line of an oil-burning furnace may take more than one cycle.
Make sure to close the bleeder valve if the pump stops running for any reason. If the pump stops running, air will be pulled into the line and you will have to begin the process over again.
References
- Photo Credit Pliers image by fejas from Fotolia.com
