Oil filter/Maint. for home

[coopns]

Just moved in to a new house and it has oil to power furnace. I see a filter on the oil tank, is that something I can change? Is there any other maintenance that I can do on the furnace or oil tank. I am not scared to give things a try though I do know my limits. Is there some DIY' type stuff to be done.

Just looking for some general advice.
(Wasn't sure where to put this post)

 

[mpvue]

basic stuff to do is a filter change once a year, air panel filter quarterly (at least). a good furnaceman will clean out the flue and clean out the funrnace also.
the part that I won't do is the burner servicing. they change the jet and adjust the flame. there is a belt on my burner also. they also know how the thing is 'supposed' to work, so they can fix it. I thought mine was fine until they showed me the broken parts.

 

[JayhawkRoy]

If you are not familiar with an oil furnance, at least the first service should be done by a professional. I believe oil and natural gas furnaces should be serviced by professionals. When my parents owned a house with a oil furnace, we always had our furnace serviced in Sep/Oct by the company that provided the fuel oil. Procedure is basically an annual tune up: check/adjust pilot light, change filters, make sure everything is working correctly. To us, it was worth the price so we had confidence the pilot, etc was working correctly.

If you want to learn about the DIY aspects, be there when the furnace professional does the service and determine what you can do and what you should not attempt.

 

[coopns]

So on the tank, there is a filter...I can change that can I? And the air panel filter, is that on the furnace?

Thanks.

 

[MGregoir]

The tank filter you can probably change yourself, and the air panel filter is in the furnace where it filters the air before entering the ductwork.

 

[eljefino]

Some are assuming you have forced hot air heat.

if you have baseboard, that is an all-water system and there's no filter.

 

[coopns]

Sorry, didn't mention that. I do have forced hot water.

Where can I purchase the tank filter? Do you unscrew it just like a car filter?

And, I thought I read here before that someone ran some AutoRx through?