Best Of
Re: Suntec A2VA-7116 Fuel Pump
I find a lot of oil pumps from the different manufacturers leaking from the pump seal. I rarely find any that fail to pump. I don't consider any of them better than the others.
Re: Periodic fail
If you do not have the Carlin 70200S PRO primary control (with a 5 year warranty) then you are just guessing at the problem. …and by firing the parts cannon at the problem, so far, you have missed the target. The Carlin 70200S PRO has many diagnostic features that can pinpoint the cause of the burner lockout in the Error History Log. You may find that the Ignitor had low amperage on the flame failure cycle. You may find that the flame failure happened during a run cycle. You may also find that the flame failure is a result of the high resistance from the cad cell indicating that the cad cell is pointed at the wrong place and does not see the flame very well. along with many other error codes available. Each message will point me in a different direction to the source of the problem.
When I get stumped by an intermittent failure, that never happens when I am there to see it, I recommend that Carlin primary control, so I can look back at each event in the log and find something like "No Ignition 34 cycles ago" in the log and address that problem, so I don't have to make an uneducated guess with a parts cannon.
Re: Intermittent LGB-11
I had a similar problem in the past. Tiny spiders had built a web in the gas orifice for the far right burner tube where the flame sensor is located. It's so far over to the edge, you won't notice it not burning properly. We've also had a defective gas valve on a new LGB rather recently, IIRC. The valve was not properly adjusted to the correct gas pressure from the factory causing the flames to lift off the burner and not allowing the current to move through the flame for the sensor. Its hard to get a manifold pressure reacing when you can't get the boiler to remain on high fire. We ran it on low fire only until we were able to finally figure out the issue. If the gas valve says Honeywell on it, the possibility of a defect is very high.
AS an FYI, out of the 15 years I've been back in Chicago, we only have a couple of LGB's running on full fire, one we sized and installed and another couple besides that. All of them are so oversized, that we run low fire only. The systems work much better, especially with the incorrect header piping on nearly all of the installations. Low fire keeps the water in the boiler much better.
To give you an idea of the boiler size necessary, an LGB-11 is about the midsize boiler needed to heat a 3 story, 50,000 sq ft courtyard building steam system in Chicago. If its hot water, then a much bigger building typically could be heated.
Re: Observations on my old, rotted out wet return.
Copper below the water line. Easier. Quicker.
Re: Humming to Hold Music
You guys are reminding me why I almost never call customer service for any reason whatsoever. In my case, I would rather waste hours reading, searching the internet, testing, etc. than make that call. I do not have the patience and rarely have a good phone signal in most of the commercial boiler rooms.
Re: Heating Pros: Please Help Us With This Quick Survey About Boilers
it seems having a floor stand accessory might be better for everyone involved instead of having 2 separate boilers to stock for each boiler size and combi/non-combi combination.
mattmia2
Re: Electric heat is too expensive, very high bills/useage
"winter bills month can be anywhere from $400 to $750 dollars a month, using around 4,000 to 4,900 kwh a month."
That actually sounds cheap, in a lot of the northeast electricity is around $.30/kWh now. So that would be $1200-$1500 / month. If you're right you're only paying 10-15 cents.
If electricity is cheap a heat pump might be your best bet. In most of the northeast you can expect an average COP in the 2-3 range, which would cut your bill by a half to a third.
Re: Rebuilding old radiator valves or replace?
The older valves like yours had some finely machined metal to metal contacts.
So…
For the stuck one, WD-40 or PB Blaster on the shaft and wait. Try moving the shaft in either direction (don't be a gorilla). Rinse and repeat. It will free up with patience.
Humming to Hold Music
Some manufacturers and suppliers don't have callback options when you call them and you have to wait and listen to bad, repetitive music while waiting for service or tech. support, sometimes for long minutes. One company had the local NY radio station news available and it was interesting to hear what was going on, but they - unfortunately - changed it.
I, myself wouldn't mind being on hold if they had better music; say Led Zeppelin or Allman Brothers. Even The Ramones would be OK.
