No Heat. Guest Coming!

schiller

call for help it's friday afternoon, so expect to pay over time,or maybe the heat from the melt down your wife is going have will heat your house this week end.
use the find a pro section of this web site to help
T

Peter Means

No Heat, Guests Coming!

So I get home this afternoon and try to turn up the heat with our Honeywell programmable thermostat, and the boiler isn't coming on. It's been working fine for years. The boiler is new (5 years) and was cleaned a few weeks ago. Yesterday we got a fill up of oil, so full tank there. The water level is at normal. Should be all systems go. No blown circuit breakers. The thermostat wires are all connected and the batteries are fresh from a few weeks ago. Switch on side of boiler is on. Wall switch for boilder is one. Ideas on how to proceed? Should I call someone ASAP? Relatives coming to visit and we have a 10 months old... LOL fun stuff! Would like to fix before the wife comes home and goes into a total melt down! LOL I'll be getting down to 37F here in Dover NH tonight.

HEY JUST NOTICED: a reset button on the burner. Should I push that??? Looks kinda popped out. Please advise?

Thanks in advance! --Peter

tom_49

peter,
Press it, but just ONCE!

Peter Means

I pressed it once, the burner came on BUT... It doesn't sound like it normally does... There is an intermittent, but persistent, squeaking noise, like the sound an angry hampster would make, and it's running very roughly. The baffle (is that it is called?) on the exhust is swinging back and forth erratically, also not what it normally does.

It's not running at all right and so I shut it down with the wall switch. Could it be related to the oil fill up from yesterday??? How would you proceed?

THANKS TOM.--Peter

Peter Means

Just placed a call with the Oil company. They are sending a guy out in the next 2 hours... Does this sound like a problem with the fuel, or air/muck in line? Before they filled it yesterday, the tank was about 1/4 full.

don_182

Mr Means

sound like you made the right call.

I too would suspect that it sludge from the oil tank that has created the problem.

Maybe ask the oil guy if there a chance of getting a better filtration system on it.How about maybe removing the return line going back to the tank and adding a tiger loop.

Also back and the day we used to do tank cleaning and removed a good portion of that stuff setting on the bottom of the tank.

I wonder do you have a webster fuel pump on that burner?
I used to like those pump they came with a built in alarm on them when you started pulling high vaccum.

Peter Means

Don I'm gonna have to google that tiger loop thing to know what you are talking about. Just a innocent home owner here. As for the return line, seems like there is only one line to the burner. As for the pump... looks like a Suntec if I'm looking at the right thing.

Hey I'm specializing in steam heat, yeah right (from Dan's books, which I love). Don't know much about the burners. But I did read Dan's article on the burner nozzle maker guy. Good stuff.

Thanks Don... Waiting for the Oil Guy... will he make it before the guests and wife get home??? LOL

Ragu_5

Peter...

Just caught your post. From here, the key words are : Just got a Fill Up. My semi-educated guess is that you have an older oil tank, and the sludge got stirred up from the high delivery pressure of your oil tank fill up of yesterday.

Ask your oil company to add treatment to the oil; ask them about secondary filtration; and also please look into the FAP section here; all good and honest guys.

P.S. My parents used to have a camp on Lucas Pond in Nottingham, N.H. Good Luck! Jack.


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chapchap70_2

From what you posted, it seems that you either have a basement or an outside 275 gallon tank and since you have one oil line, probably by gravity so unless the oil line is plugged, there should be no vacuum.

It could be a variety of things that pertain to the oil delivery to the boiler chamber. How much oil did you get delivered. If there was actually 1/4 of a tank, you should have gotten around 180 gallons. If the gauge was stuck and you got 240 gallons or more, you may have been out of oil and a one line system does not prime itself.

Peter Means

Peter Means

UPDATE!

UPDATE:

The oil guy has come and gone. Turns out it was a stripped pump coupling! The flat spot was completely gone, thus the squeaking noise and the quick on/off oil supply. One hour of OT = $150, plus part $20 or so, and 20 minutes of work later and we have a working burner, so I'm pleased.

I once knew a computer guy that would charge about $100 an hour. He'd fix peoples problems in 10 minutes and give them a bill for $100. When the client would complain he'd tell them. It took 10 minutes to fix the problem, but 10 years to learn how to fix the problem!!

Same kinda deal here, so I'm not complaining. He was good too, ripped the thing down in 2 seconds.

All this before the guests have arrived! Know back to vacuuming!

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOU QUICK POSTS!

--Peter

David Sutton_6

Have a great warm time Peter!!!

Merry Christmas

GW

what a guy

I appreciate that; he blew through the call (tech has a life too) and you didn't complain about the $150.
Heck, they just might come out the next time you need them in a pinch!


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Mitch_6

Cut a little slack Gary

He did do the comparison with the computer teck so he seems to understand.

Besides we all know it is not just 20 min on site but also the travel time.

But my question is if he had a service contract it would have been no additional charge.

Mitch S.


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J.C.A._3

Wow !

A customer that REALLY understands.

I recently had a Saturday call. I asked the owner all the regular questions, and the last one was...did you check the breaker panel? His reply was that he did. So, I shlepped down to the shop to get my truck,(we leave them there)and to make sure I had all the tools and equipment that I need...afterall, I did ask him all the right questions, right?

My magic wand pointed me to the breaker panel in about 2 minutes of "troubleshooting", and I was on my way.

I ASKED ! When the bill gets questioned, I know my bossman will say the same as Mr. Means understands...It took me a long lotta years to learn which switch to throw, and that's what it costs to have me show up on a Saturday. Even for such a simple thing. Happy Holidays to one and all. Chris

Leo

Remember Also

You also have to consider he probably gets paid travel time, that can easily be up to 30 minutes or more. The guy got there quick enough that it is probably a good company to stick with.

Leo