Burner tune up and maintenance tips

There were some good youtube videos out on how a burnner works and how to repair. I think Larry H. was the one who put them out.
 
Ah a HydroTek SS. That uses 2 1/2" insulation discs with a hole cut in them. You can use a piece of 1" instead. Then there's the disc retainer, a flat piece of stainless with a hole in it. That may be warped, causing the gap. You can try to pound it flat or get a new one. But 1" ceramic fiber insulation will be fine for the wrap and both ends. That back end is a bit of a pain to get back on, especially compressing against new insulation. A spare set of hands to push on it while you get the screws in would be a huge asset.
 
There is some type of insulation - #27 is listed as insulation blanket and is shown on both ends and as the wrap - but I bet it is a rigid disk and donut. And it shows #28 'insulation disk retainer' so something should be holding it in place. Unless it looks trashed leave it but make sure something is holding it in place or it will fall off. I just cut a piece of the blanket insulation into a circle because the donut is like $40 I think.
 
I recently re-wrapped a coil. I used an engine lift to remove the boiler from the skid. Taking off the stainless steel cover was easy. I rolled over the boiler in order to separate the cover from the coil. Be careful if you need to unscrew the inlet and outlet nipples of the coil. If your coil is old as mine, these nipples can be bent easily with pipe wrench. I am not sure if these are special metal or just stainless steel or galvanized nipples. I put the main piece of the insulation by rolling the coil and then taped it with fire resistant aluminum tape so the insulation is tight. I cut two round pieces for the sides by using the old one as template. I could double the sides, but did not have enough insulation.
I had problems with the burner and I still have after I replaced the transformer, the nozzle and the insulation which all needed to be replaced anyways. Sometimes the burner shuts off and smokes for a sec and then it turns back on. I get the feeling that the fuel pump does not give enough pressure to the nozzle for a good spray pattern and the air blows off the spark. I think I even made some videos with the burner removed from the coil and firing in the air.

I also would like to know how properly to set the air bands.
 
I am in the simple things first school. Did you check the fuel filter? It could be no fuel, then as pressure builds, it restarts.
 
Air band adjustment...

With "everything else perfect",
air band adjustment goes like this..

start with the air-bands about half way open,
Now, fire it up, and close the airbands just enough to make the heater smoke a little, then open them JUST ENOUGH to get the smoke to clear.. NOT a BIT more !
Make this adjustment with the vent attached, or whatever the
"in-use" configuration needs to be.
Too much air isjust as big a problem as too little.

and remember.. where there's smoke, there's fire..
get it adjusted to a "clean burn",
and make sure the firegoes out completely, with the gun off.
saturated insulation, is a huge problem.
 
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