Burnham Series 2 Natural Gas Boiler

Iwanttobelieve

I have an early 90's Burnham series 2 boiler. Last spring I started experiencing the same problem. I began by replacing the vent damper because it went out twice before, still intermittent, then I replaced the module with an S8610 Honeywell, no fix. SO I replaced the gas valve and transformer. I just replaced the thermostat and am still stumped. I go down and manually reset it and it starts up no problem. The pilot ignites and burns and then goes off.

Tom C._2

Intermittent boiler issue

I have a late 8o's Burnham series 2 natural gas fired (cold start) boiler which controls three heat zones plus another valve which heats the domestic hot water. I have electronic thermostats which control the heat on each floor. The problem is that the boiler sometimes will not run. What I mean is that when heating season comes the themostats are on and ready to go and no heat. When I go to the boiler room I see the boiler is down to 100 deg. temp., the zone valves are open but the boiler is not running. I wake up to no heat/hot water some mornings, but it does not do it all the time. I presume the voltage is there since the zone valves are calling but the relay inside the controller is not pulling in. Sometimes I can hear it 'hunting', clicking on and off and then kick in before it starts also. But, the times it doesn't I manually start by pulling in the relay and after a couple of minutes it will continue to run on it's own. I replaced the controller with a duplicate with what was in it, a Honeywell 8124E, thinking this was the problem. Didn't make a difference. I was told only after that the 8124E that was in it was for an oil fired boiler and the gas one uses Honeywell 8148....but, I was told on the 8124E to set the high limit to 180 deg. and the low all the way down. I did this and no change. Could it be that I need to have the 8148 controller? Could it be the electronic thermostats messing things up? I just don't know what to do. This goes on season after season. I traced the wiring and everything seems to be o.k. I'm familiar with some of the sequence of operation but this has me stumped. And since my domestic hot water comes off this it makes it even more displeasing. Please, any help would be appreciated.

Steamhead (in transit)

Does that boiler

have a Honeywell "SmartValve" control system?

If so, I ran into one that would fail intermittently. Contacted the Burnham rep and they put together a kit to upgrade it to the then-current control system, which I believe was based on the Honeywell S8610 unit.

If this is the case, you'll have to go thru a contractor. The contractor would get in touch with Burnham, get the information and order it from a local wholesaler.

Of course, there may be some other cause, so calling a pro would be the thing to do anyway. Have you tried the Find a Professional page of this site, under Resources at the top of this page?

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Tom C._2

Burnham series 2

No. This unit does not use the smart valve system. The system is a natural gas boiler (no pilot), has a L8124E control and I thought I would mention that it is power vented also. The domestic hot water heats from the boiler all through the non heating months with little to no problem. Once the stats begin to call for heat this "intermittent" problem begins and lasts through the cold season. I have replaced gas valve, thermocouple, control board and still the problem. What else can I do?????

Shawn Ford

Do you have an OT thermostat, if so it could be out of calibration and need replacement. Recently had a service call very similiar to what you are describing, that was the problem.

TimS

Do you have taco control valves? If you do you will notice your thermostats may be flashing on and off...I had this problem when I installed digital thermostats. If ythey are contact taco. They will provide resistors for your valves which will allow your boiler to run continuously