If you run out of oil do you need to bleed air out of the fuel line before restarting the heater?

I am a GC in the Seattle, WA area. I came across your question when I myself was looking for the same answer lastnight on the internet.

I had a job today which was to only get the heater to stay on. My customer had some oil put in her above ground tank, only to have the oil level get lower than the exit line from the tank itself.

The answer is yes. You will have to get the air out of the line in order to keep the furnace from coming on only to shut back off. On this particular job, I found an in-line shut off valve that was located just before the oil filter. This is where the incoming line meets the oil filter then to the rest of the unit. Well, this valve wasn't on all the way. That was one problem. There is a "bleeder" screw located on what looks like a black square box mounting on the motor. You will notice this screw because it has a "nipple" on the end for a 1/4 poly tube to slide onto to "bleed" the air out.

Once you have your 1/4 tube, or other container to catch the oil, you loosen the screw counterclockwise. Just remember, righty tighty..lefty loosy! Right to tighten the screw, left to loosen the screw..or bolt, etc.

With this screw loose, push the reset button in on the furnace itself. The thermostat in the house has to be on also before you reset the furnace. The furnace will kick on and you will eventually have the air/oil start to purge out. This step will have to be done a numerous amount of times. Once the oil comes out in a steady stream, you are done. The furnace should stay and you will hear the burner kick on and you should soon feel air coming through you registers.

If you are in doubt, call your local oil service provider for assistance. My customer was going to have her "oil guys" back out to bleed the line and they were going to charge her $80.00.

I assume you have already had this repair done and you don't need this tip but now it is on the net.

• Note= Most newer furnaces will only allow you to use the reset button once for safety reasons. If you are bleeding out your line BECAUSE YOU RAN OUT OF FUEL OIL, holding the reset button down for 30 seconds will allow you to use the reset button again.

THIS WORKED WONDERFULLY for my oil furnace--Thank you to the GC in Seatle and wki for saving me at least $80 :-)