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No heat, but rarely!

Josh_14
Josh_14 Member Posts: 5
in THE MAIN WALL
I have recently been having a problem with our heating system. When the thermostat is set to something low (ie 62 degrees), the system will sometimes not come on, and the temperature in the house will continue to drop. One time, I came home and the house was at 45! Our heating system is one pipe steam heat with a 25 year old gas boiler and a two year old Honeywell digital thermostat.

We keep the house at 62 at night and 68 during the day. About once per week, I wake up freezing and need to cycle the thermostat. This will fire up the boiler and get the heat going.

Before cycling the thermostat, I can see that it is trying to call for heat -- it is showing a little flame icon. But, the boiler is not firing. When I set the thermostat to the off position and then back to the heat position, I can hear the thermostat click, and can then hear the boiler firing up. I can't get it not to fire up; it only does it when I'm not looking.

My question is: could this be a thermostat problem or a boiler problem? Could it be because of keeping the house at 62? Could it simply be the batteries on the thermostat need changing? (the thermostat has a low batt warning, which is not on).

Thanks for your help!
Josh

Comments

  • nicholas bonham-carter
    nicholas bonham-carter Member Posts: 8,578
    thermostat test

    use a jumper to short the wires at the thermostat. this will imitate a call for heat.if the boiler fires then you know the problem is in the thermostat.certainly try new batteries, or a new thermostat.--nbc
  • Josh_14
    Josh_14 Member Posts: 5


    OK, I tried this and it fired right up.
    But, then again, it always fires when I dial in a temp on the thermostat manually. Its only when I let my guard down that the system fails.

    My concern is that it could be the gas valve getting stuck, luckily in the closed position. Is this possible? Is there anything I can check for to see?

    Thanks!!
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    I would

    stick to trying your thermostat diagnosis, if you find anything more than that, get a "pro" in there, don`t start messing around with gas valves yourself!
    Do you still have the old stat?, perhaps try that again to help narrow down the problem.

    Dave!
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