What other oils can you burn in the heater? When will your investment pay itself off? How often should your oil furnace be cleaned? As the only authorized distributor of Clean Burn heaters in Colorado and eastern Wyoming, we’re here to set the record straight. Today we’ll be diving into the most frequently asked questions about CB heating systems.

Answering Your Top Clean Burn Waste Oil Furnace FAQs

If you don’t see the answer to your question below, reach out to us directly! Our technicians are always happy to chat about these systems and provide in-depth responses to your questions.

Are Waste Oil Heaters Safe?

Absolutely! Clean Burn heaters are engineered to be efficient, compact, and above everything else, safe. And these heaters can burn just as cleanly as a #2 fuel-oil furnace. The combustion gasses are exhausted through a Class-A rated chimney stack, so you won’t have to worry about emissions or safety!

How Does The Clean Burn Waste Oil Heater Work?

A Clean Burn heating system is composed of 3 different sections: (1) the oil storage tank, (2) the oil pump assembly, and (3) the furnace unit itself. As the name implies, the storage tank houses your waste oil. That oil is drawn from the tank through the oil pump assembly, where the stainless steel 100-micron mesh filter removes particulates from the oil and pushes it to the furnace, where the combustion of the fuels is contained.

The gear oil pump assembly is available in either a metering fuel flow control pump or a positive pressure gear pump. Depending on the application, our pumps enable our furnaces to be located up to 300 feet from the oil supply.

Compressed air is utilized to atomize the oil in the burner assembly. The compressed air is provided from the facility air compressor or by an optional on-board tank-less duty compressor. The oil line tubing and air-line tubing both feed into the burner assembly of the furnace. This burner features a pre-heater block that heats the oil and air before combustion. The burner retention head creates additional air turbulence to generate a larger and more efficient flame.

Combustion then takes place in a large combustion chamber within the furnace. An energy retention plate on the opposite side of the chamber helps direct gasses and unspent fuel back around the flame to ensure complete combustion and hence, a clean burn to the fuels. The heat then moves around the plate and into the heat exchanger’s multi-pass tube array. The heavy-duty blower then draws in cold air and passes it over that tube array and the combustion chamber. This gives the air ample time to absorb as much heat as possible before exiting through the louvered vents. This heated air then circulates through your workplace, thus heating it up.

The CB furnace also includes a Class-A rated chimney stack to vent furnace exhaust through the roof or out through a nearby wall.

What Can You Burn In A Clean Burn Waste Oil Furnace?

As the name implies, a waste oil heater is designed to burn used oils. These will typically include crankcase, ATF, and hydraulic used oils. However, the burner is designed to accommodate a range of oil viscosities, from 10w to 50w. So, you can burn various fuel oils, such as #2, #4, and #5 oils. You can learn more about the differences between these fuel oils from the Petroleum Equipment Institute.

How Do You Clean A CB Used Oil Furnace?

Oil furnace cleaning is an easier process than you might think. You’ll just need some rubber gloves, safety goggles, a respirator, and some other protective clothing.

Once the system has been switched off and you’ve given it time to cool, open the swing away door to the combustion chamber. Here you will just need to clean a few things:

• The stack - Brush and tap the stack to loosen ash and allow it to settle in the stack’s elbow. Then just vacuum the ash out with a shop vac.
• The combustion chamber - Loosen the fitting to reduce pressure in the air and oil lines. Vacuum the remaining ash in the combustion chamber and flues. Before closing the swing-away door, use the flue brush to do a final sweep of the flues. Then reinstall everything before preparing to use again.
• The energy retention disc - Remove this disc and vacuum it separately.

Remember to take note of the color of the ash. Tan or gray ash is a sign that your heater is functioning properly. Lighter or darker ash indicates there may be a problem with the machine.

How Often Should An Oil Furnace Be Cleaned?

Clean Burn prides themselves on having the longest cleaning interval across the entire waste oil heater industry. You can expect to clean your CB furnace every 1,000 hours of operation, on average.

Is It Bad To Burn Used Oil?

Absolutely not! In fact, it is a far safer disposal option as your burner will eliminate the risk of oil spills and environmental contamination. And it's worth mentioning the fact that the EPA has approved the use of waste oil burners for businesses that generate waste oil on site.

How Much Heat Does A Waste Oil Furnace Produce?

This answer varies depending on the furnace that you select. The smallest model we offer, the CB-140, is rated at 140,000 BTU/hour (British thermal units). Meanwhile, an industrial-grade heater, like the CB-3500, is rated at 350,000 BTU/hour. Overall, our furnaces have an efficiency rating of 75%.

How Much Waste Oil Does A Furnace Use?

The right answer will vary depending on the BTU requirements of your facility. Generally speaking, the minimum volume of waste oil your business should generate each year is roughly 500 to 700 gallons. This would be the minimum amount of oil needed to make this an economically wise investment to heat your facility in a normal heating season. Larger heating units will demand larger volumes of used oil. However, you can also burn other fuels if you run short of used oil.

When Will I Realize My Return On Investment?

The exact figure can vary depending on your use of the furnace. On average, your heater will pay off your investment within 18 to 24 months, when it is used as your primary eating source for a standard 40-60 hour work week. From that point on, you’ll be heating your business for free.

Where Can I Get A Clean Burn Waste Oil Furnace?

Right here! Interstate Energy is the only authorized Clean Burn distributor for Colorado and eastern Wyoming. We can supply and install the right used oil furnace for your business needs. And our technicians are always ready to service your equipment to keep it functionally properly for many years to come.

Contact Interstate Energy today to upgrade your business with a Clean Burn waste oil furnace.