Waste Oil Furnace Cleaning: What You Need to Know

Friday, 14 May 2021 14:35

Keeping your waste oil furnace clean is key to ensuring it continues to operate efficiently. Regular, routine cleanings can also extend the lifespan of your heater and prevent part damage that requires repairs. If you suspect it's time to clean your waste oil furnace, but you're not sure how to do it, you've come to the right place. Here's everything you need to know about waste oil furnace cleaning.

How often should a waste oil furnace be cleaned?

How often your furnace needs to be cleaned will depend on a number of factors, such as the product itself as well as how often your furnace runs. Here at Interstate Energy, we sell Clean Burn waste oil furnaces, which are widely recognized as having the longest cleaning interval in the industry.

On average, Clean Burn furnaces need to be cleaned approximately every 1,000 hours. If you don't have a Clean Burn heater, then you may need to clean it more frequently than that interval.

What are the signs a waste oil heater needs to be cleaned?

There are a number of signs that signify it may be time to clean your heater. The first, and perhaps most obvious, is the presence of black soot. Black soot on your heater means the machine is doing more than just burning waste oil.

Be sure to also check the chimney. If the smoke that's passing through the chimney is black, that could be a sign the waste oil is not being fully burned. Both black soot and black smoke are key signs it's time to clean your heater.

While you're inspecting your furnace, it's important to also listen for any strange sounds the machine is making. If there's any unusual rattling or vibrating, it could be cause for concern. Often, odd sounds like these will require more than just a routine cleaning and will instead require professional maintenance.

What materials do you need to clean a waste oil heater?

To ensure your safety, we recommend getting the following materials to clean your heater:

  • rubber gloves
  • protective clothing
  • safety goggles
  • and a respirator

For the cleaning, you’ll also need a wire brush and a shop vac.

What does oil furnace cleaning involve?

Cleaning your furnace might feel intimidating at first, but it's actually pretty easy. First, you'll want to shut down the system. Turn off the electrical power and the fuel supply. Once it has cooled down, you can begin cleaning the combustion chamber.

Start with the stack. To clean it, you simply brush and tap to loosen any ash. Once it's settled, you can use a shop vac to remove all the ash.

Next, you'll move to the combustion chamber. Use the shop vac to vacuum any remaining ash here or in the flues.

And finally, you'll want to remove the energy retention disc and vacuum it separately.

Learn more about oil furnace cleaning

If you still have questions about waste oil heater cleaning, reach out to us at Interstate Energy. We are happy to answer any questions you may have or provide professional maintenance services if needed.

We operate in Colorado and eastern Wyoming as the ONLY authorized Clean Burn distributor.

Contact us today to get help with your waste oil furnace cleaning.