Carlin G3B burner flame loss

Chris_82

However the Carlin/burner factory is only a few miles away and we have the benifit of their years of experience as they came to this site and additionaly factory tested this particular unit. (more than once.) From the reps..."the new control is very finicky," "we wish we could still obtain the old style unit," "we will upgrade, and reccomend the ez as a replacment and we are very sorry for the inconvience, please accept our most sincere apologies and we will be crediting your account for the full cost of the GB." Yes the "new" GB's have a brand new control, and they are ridiclioulsy easy to set up and install. Have you seen the six pages of addendum that accompany the new GB with the new control? It was diffucult to get them to admit to a bo boo, but they are bending over backwards to solve and take care of every customer that is having diffuculty with this new unit. Once again, till my dying day I will always reccomend Carlin, and the many other oil manufacturers that have been around longer than I have without reservation. I can not say the same for Honewell and their cost control push to place microprocessor controls in everything just because they can!

ABL1111

Carlin G3B burner flame loss


A DIY homewowner here.

I recently purchased a home w/ a Carlin G3B burner unit ( gas conversion from oil ) already in place. I have the owner's / technical manual for it. There has been a slight problem with the burner clicking on and off repeatedly while in the combustion mode.

This past week, I called in a boiler service guy who initially installed the unit about 6-10 years ago - He was quite clueless ( but was quite clear on receiving $150 for his service visit ). The problem still exists.

The burner cycles on perfectly - the fan goes on, it blows for awhile then the igniter plugs glow, gas gets introduced to the combustion chamber and oila - flame. But, after 5- 10 minutes, there is a click from the relay and the flame goes out and within (2) seconds re-ignites, then goes out again, re-ignites.. etc, several times until it either stays lit, or goes out - if it goes out, it will cycle the 45 seconds and succesfully re-ignite.

I have watched the combustion chamber when this on/off cycle happens and there's no problem w/ the flame - the flame looks great. I think that the flame sensor might be malfunctioning as there is no reason for the unit to turn off. I adjusted the air inlet based on the orifice that is being used for my unit.

What can I do to check this ?

Thank you

Big Ed_3

Flame Out

First take a CO reading if its through the roof check the burner side gas pressure , should be 3.5" wc or clean out the lint from the burner. Low pressure will create that condition ....

CO and pressures ok , check and redo the electrical grounds . Check the motor end switch ,TT connections , make sure they are not dropping out

Darrell

Check your grounding, like the previous poster said. Remember that the G3-B, like many other burners, is using the flame as a proving circuit, from the control, through the ignitor, through the flame, back through chassis ground to the control. This just barely works...by design...and is inherently very safe. If the burner has not been pulled and cleaned in the ten years of its life the burner cone...more of a screen...is likely dirty enough to cause a break in the proving circuitry. Dust, sulfur, lint, sheetrock dust, will all coat and insulate the cone. If the ignitor hasn't been changed in awhile...change it and eliminate that from the equation. If the control is subject to being hot...radiant heat from the burner door it will greatly shorten it's life...and one of the first signs of failure is nuisance lockouts. (Whoever installed the burner may have knocked the insulation blanket off the inside of the burner door). It can also be the centrifugal switch on the blower motor going bad and skipping on you.

Darrell

Check your grounding, like the previous poster said. Remember that the G3-B, like many other burners, is using the flame as a proving circuit, from the control, through the ignitor, through the flame, back through chassis ground to the control. This just barely works...by design...and is inherently very safe. If the burner has not been pulled and cleaned in the ten years of its life the burner cone...more of a screen...is likely dirty enough to cause a break in the proving circuitry. Dust, sulfur, lint, sheetrock dust, will all coat and insulate the cone. If the ignitor hasn't been changed in awhile...change it and eliminate that from the equation. If the control is subject to being hot...radiant heat from the burner door it will greatly shorten it's life...and one of the first signs of failure is nuisance lockouts. (Whoever installed the burner may have knocked the insulation blanket off the inside of the burner door). It can also be the centrifugal switch on the blower motor going bad and skipping on you.

Chris_82

See other posts,...

Recent experience suggests if you played with the air shutter, you might need help that is very familiar with this unit. The grounding issue as previously mentioned is a concern, so is the hot/neutral reversal problem, the control is polarity sensitive! If you are faced with purchasing a new control or flame sensor/ignightor, I would spring for a different unit like the ez. The gb3 are notoriously difficult to set up. If you are getting a flame, and your sure it is a flame and not the glow from the ignightor, it is very bright, then the control is suspect, however the air control shutter is very, very sensitive, it can loosen due to vibration, but the interplay between temp of the ignightor and control is so fine...good luck. And as far as adjusting the CO, CO2 whatever, you need the unit to run before you get that far!

Darrell

Boy, I don't know, but Chris' experience is way different than mine. I find the G3-B to be very easy to set up, and very reliable. The preliminary air shutter settings are right there on the burner, and the orifice size should be listed on the set up card or you can find it with a numbered drill. In fact, I'd check it that way just to be sure...all it takes is an allen wrench and the gas valve comes off in your hands and the orifice is right there. It will light and run at the initial settings. It does take instruments to finish setting the air shutter, but the adjustments will be quite slight from the initial settings. Unless something is really wrong, CO readings at or near zero are very possible. The air shutter can come loose...if the nut isn't tightened down. If the burner vibrates that badly, then clean the blower wheel. The EZ is a great burner...but there's no reason to throw away your G3-B just because it needs some tender loving care. If you can't give it that care, any competent serviceman, WITH A CASE FULL OF INSTRUMENTS, can do it for you. The G3-B, or any conversion burner for that matter, cannot be set by eye.

Darrell

I'm jealous. I wish I had readily available factory help. That bit of news about the control is interesting and I'll have to keep that in mind!

I agree with YOUR assessment of Honeywell...sometimes it seems to make more sense to find a back shelf with a few old analog controls on it and horde them for myself.

I haven't had the chance to work on the EZ enough yet...but I'm sure I will like it...it's Carlin.