These are basically a fuel oil burner adapted to burn a slightly more viscous (thicker) oil. For several years, while living in Durand MI, I was able to get used diesel locomotive oil (changed in locomotive every 500 hours) that was essentially 30 wt engine oil.
I got it in 50 gallon drums and poured it in my 250 gal fuel oil tank. Worked very well with no changes to the burner at all. The only thing was that at start up, when cold, it would sputter for a few minutes.
Made sure that I never put more locomotive oil into the tank to have less than a 50/50 mixture of fuel oil to locomotive oil. But it increased my cost efficiency by about 100%!
A cheap waste oil burner is the old kind that dripped fuel onto a hot cast iron burner plate where it would flare and burn. Surrounded by a heat exchanger where a far blew hot air about.
Messy, inefficient, smoky, had to get going - but REAL cheap. Have not seen those for decades . . . .
Steve
__________________
consulting on geothermal heating/cooling & rational energy use since 1990
|