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Boulter Camray 5 90A giving off strong smell of Kerosene

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Hi this is my first post. I have just moved into a house with this boiler fitted about 10 years ago. The house had been rented out by the estate agent and all I know is that it had had the nozzle changed last March so probably has not been used much since. I bought some oil and turned up the thermostat and the boiler came to life and quickly heated up the radiators but it started giving off a smell of burning kerosene after a few minutes in the kitchen where its located so I had to turn it off and open the window.

My question, is this smell because it has not been used for a year or is there something wrong with it. I could see white exhaust coming out of the boiler pipe outside of the house. The pressure dial was at zero when I switched it on and gradually started to rise after a few minutes. Never had an oil burner before so any advice appreciated.​
 
Oil boilers do tend to smell a bit on enitial fire from none use, but concidering that you have limited knowledge of the system you have inherited from an agent and that it is at 0bar presure I would get a registered guy in to check it over. Dont shoot the messenger :2guns:
 
Pressure should be 1 to 1 1/2 bar if sealed system
As its not a condensing boiler it should not be white vapour coming off it
You need it serviced ASAP
As coulda like fumes are getting in house could be a few things but needs sorted out quick
Oil boilers are more dirty than gas and should be treated same both will kill you
Your landlord should have a boiler engineers service it every year and you can ask for the certificate
Changing jet is not a full service
 
If there's been no oil in the tank then the seals have probably gone somewhere with the pressure of the new oil. The 'white smoke' could be water vapour from condensation if it's been stood that long, but would very quickly stop. If it's ongoing and the pressure is dropping, then my guess would be a leak on the inside of the water jacket and the boiler is burning it off when it runs.

Definitely needs an engineer to it asap. It's getting cold and people are busy.
 
There was some oil in the tank ...I was told enough for about 2 weeks but recently had a delivery of 500L. the pressure was slowly rising the longer I had it on but I decided to switch it off because of the strong smell. I have bought the house but it was rented out for a couple of years before that. Does anyone know of a engineer in YO25
 
Oil smell could be from lots of places, - even from a bad seal on the boilers cleaning door or burners flange gasket. It could also be from the oil pump seal which can leak when going if the burner was unused for a long time. You need it serviced immediately as too dangerous. If you are renting then demand from the agent they sort it straight away.
 
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Used to live in Bridlington, but that's two hours from me now.
 
You said it mate
But I don't do fixing boilers so im not as bad as you boys
 
Thanks for your replies I'm trying neighbors and failing that yellow pages. however both immediate neighbors are on LPG....will post back when I get it fixed
 
Try village hall / church if they have oil, they tend to have a good engineer as the machines tend to be old and need a lot of tlc.
 
YO25 isn't far from my Girlfriend's place. I could have a look for you but as it's out of my immediate area I would have to make a modest charge for coming out. I have quite a lot of experience with the old Camray 5s. Fairly scarce but were a good boiler in their day.
 
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WHPES said:
I have quite a lot of experience with the old Camray 5s. Fairly scarce but were a good boiler in their day.
Click to expand...

Sounds funny but WHPESs offer is possibly a pretty good idea as there are many lads going round and service oil boilers without even knowing how an oil boiler works. I have hundreds of pictures of "recently serviced boilers" where I had to make little arrows with the pen on the baffles so the fumes still find their way out of the boiler somehow.

Funny one was a commisioning sheet where the engineer had stated smoke number 24 ;o(.

On a cast iron boiler I got roughly 30 liters of ashes out. Boiler had been serviced one month prior to its break down.
 
There was a so called "service engineer" (unregistered of course) near here who used to "service" a boiler by taking out and cleaning a nozzle, usually putting the old one back in (sometimes charged for a new nozzle even if he reused the old one - a customer spotted this when the guy thought they weren't looking), cleaning the burner and vacuuming out the combustion chamber and calling that it. Didn't own a combustion analyser and never checked a tank or cleaned a fuel filter, and certainly no CD11
 
WHPES said:
There was a so called "service engineer" (unregistered of course) near here who used to "service" a boiler by taking out and cleaning a nozzle, usually putting the old one back in (sometimes charged for a new nozzle even if he reused the old one - a customer spotted this when the guy thought they weren't looking), cleaning the burner and vacuuming out the combustion chamber and calling that it. Didn't own a combustion analyser and never checked a tank or cleaned a fuel filter, and certainly no CD11
Click to expand...

Sounds like he should team up with one of those that stick the FGA in and run without cleaning or anything else ;)
 
I dont use CD11 either. Does not even have a checkbox for the condensate trap. But I wonder if I add a field for checking the watchman battery on my form.
 
You could end up with a form with hundreds of check boxes if you list everything.

I was called to a breakdown once and the boiler had only been "serviced" a few weeks ago. The filter on the tank had not been looked at for years and was totally clogged.

I normally consider the condensate trap as a Combustion Chamber accessory and put comments in that section.
 
Just an update. I tried the boiler again this morning and its been running for about 45 min. This time I tried it with the front cover on and smell not so bad but still there. The white smoke from the outlet pipe disappeared after about 15 min of running. It runs for a while then cuts out then comes back on again even though it has not reached the temp.set on the stat. Even if I turn the stat right up it does not come on when it has cut out. The hot water seems to heat up ok. The pressure gauge has not risen above 0.4 after being on for an hour. I have a carbon monoxide sensor about 5 feet away and it hasnt gone off yet
Whpes I would like you to come and check it out with your experience of these boilers. I will PM you
 
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Had one where the original service engineer hadn't spotted the flue was nearly blocked due to a birds nest.
 
Just an update - called round to see to the boiler this afternoon. Expansion vessel had lost pressure so dropped off the water and re-inflated to 1 bar, no inhibitor in system so added some, re-pressurised and bled system. Oil smell was due to old flexi oil line which had perished and was weeping oil at the joints, replaced. Unable to clean tank filter as inadequate space under filter to remove it. Advised customer to make filter more accessible for next time. Points noted on CD/11
 
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Go onto OFTEC site and it will help you find a registered technician in your area. If he/she is any good is another matter ask locals who they use. Also if you are renting then the boiler should have a 12 month Landlords certificate showing that the boiler was fully serviced and inspected in the last 12 months. A good estate agents would have this done before new tenant moved in so the certificate was new. Saying all this are you renting or have you bought the property?
 
Yes seems ok now, its good to know its had a proper service by someone who knows what their doing. Thanks to Whpes for coming fast.
 
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