Munchkin F10

Rich W

Condensate trap is my bet. It may be draining- just not fast enough. Clean the trap/drain line first and see what happens.

Good luck.

Bob_38

Help! Munchin F10 code

I've had a Munchkin T80 heating my house and my hot water for two years. I haven't had any problems with it until last night when I came home and noticed I didn't have hot water. I checked the munchkin and it was flashing F10 which the manual says was caused by the flame going out 4 times during a heating cycle. I reset the munchkin and it worked fine all night and all day until a few minutes ago when again it went back to flashing F10. I reset it, and the heat came back on fine.

SO... clearly I have a problem ... any ideas on what might be causing this error? Any ideas on how to diagnose it further? how to fix it? I can call a heating guy, but given the intermittent nature of the problem, I'm guessing that they might not know what to do.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Couderay

F 10

Has the boiler been cleaned and serviced,if not that will be a good place to start. What fuel do you use LPG or natural,if LPG has it been refilled and then problems. Also look at vent termination and make sure there is no obstructions.

Bob_38

I was not under the impression that it would need a cleaning after two years, so I could try that. By "cleaned and serviced" what exactly do you mean -- cleaning the heating rod? replacing the spark plug?

Also, it is a natural gas system and the vents are clear.

Couderay

Yes a yearly cleaning is mandatory in my opinion. You could go to the HTP web site and down load the info on cleaning the heat exchanger or you could call the factory and have them send you the booklet. I also clean the spark electrode and the flame rectification probe with fine steel wool. I would also recommened getting a few spare parts to have on hand. The number to contact HTP is 1(800)323-9651. Again maybe the best place to start is the contractor who installed this boiler for you.

Bob_38

Okay, I guess I'll go back to the contractor unless there's an expert here on the wall who wants the job and is in the Rhode Island area...

S Ebels

Could be

Could be a host of different things. Flame failure can be caused by an actual burner problem where the burner tries to light and fails or it can be a problem that occurs after light off. Another scenario is that the burner is actually lighting and functioning fine but the control doesn't "see it" that way. This is a problem that is electrical in nature and some serious trouble shooting may be in order. I just went through one like that a couple weeks ago and it was simple to fix but a bear to find. Like about 8 hours with the meter, on the phone to HTP, on the Wall etc. The "fix" was to remove the burner, remove the burner screws one at a time, clean them and the mating surface and re-install...while being very careful not to damage the refractory on the front of the combustion chamber. My advice would be to have a good technician have a look at it. Call HTP and ask if they know of one in your area.

tim smith

F10 lockouts

Make sure he cleans contact points of bolts to burner head mount plate and to heat exchanger access cover also to get good ground surface as Steve well knows. Along with regular maintenance items required. Tim

Guy_6

condensate?

Check that the condensate drain is still free to drain. This time of year there is a lot of moving stuff about the home, and occasionally that entails something pinching the drain tubing. It could also mean something having been moved OUTSIDE the home, causing the flue gases to be drawn into the intake. Watch the vent while the unit is running. The steam plume should run off, away from the building.

Bob_38

no luck

I have now gotten the F10 lockout code which very surprisingly to me has come at just about the same time (mid-afternoon) for the last 4 days. That is it runs like a charm shutting off and turning on all night long and into the morning, but by the time I get home at 5, it's off again.

I didn't notice any problems with the exhaust or with the condensate trap. Someone is going to try to service the burner next week, but I'm not at all convinced that's the problem.

One thought ... I do seem to recall that the circulator connecting to the boiler may have been generating a bit more vibration than usual the past few weeks --- is there any way that a problem with the circulator (like a lock-up or reduced flow) could trigger an F10?

Bob_38

More info on F10

I was home at home this afternoon when the F10 failure occured. I reset the system and watched as the F10 failure happened again. One zone was on and calling for heat -- the temperature reading was around 150 and the flame was slowly fading down as the temperature fell to the 140's. Then instead of staying at a low flame, it continued to fade until iw as out and the F10 flashed. The zone that was calling was still calling after the F10. There didn't appear to be any obstructions to the vent or the condensate. The outdoor temp was about 45 and not windy.

Do these observed symptoms significantly narrow down the potential problem space? In particular, will the $200 burner/gasket cleaning I have scheduled for next week likely solve this problem???

[Deleted User]

Water side and fire side not connected...

ESPECIALLY ON AN F10 LOCKOUT.

Suggest you clean your flame sensing probe. (lower right front, two screws, teardrop shaped) with emery cloth of steel wool and try again.

If not that, possible obstruction in the gas valve inlet screen,which is a material smaller than panty hose material. Second problem requires replacemnt gas valve and investigation as to where the DIRT came from.

Sometimes, the local utility has DIRT in their mains, and it goes into suspension and gets caught in these ultra fine filters. Normally, with standard gas valves, it is NOT an issue. But then again, the normal gas valve is not as suceptible to fine particles as these new high efficiency products are.

ME