Munchkin not sparking

bhenry

Hi,

I have a 80m munchkin that's about 7 years old.  Last week I cleaned the combustion chamber, replaced the target wall, the refractory and the burner gasket.  It fired up fine but since then it's gone f9 three or four times.  Today it's f9 and will not restart.  I checked the chamber again and it looked good, but the refractory seems moist.  The target wall seems dry.  I checked and cleaned the  the burner screws.  The igniter  and the flame sensor are clean.  The condensate piping seems to be in good order.The ignitor arcs fine outside the unit but when installed I see no spark.  I put the controller in test mode and went to d7 to get a flame sensor reading - 0.0.  I can't remember if flame needs to be present to get the treading?

Could the damp refractory be shorting the igniter?  Getting cold...thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Bill

tim smith

Re: F09

Make sure the refractory in the hole where igniter goes is clear of igniter. Damp or dry refractory will affect the electrodes. Pull igniter and look in hole and make sure no little fragments are hanging. Can some times be trying. We are also finding more hxrs leaking. Look in condensate when unit not running and make sure there is no water coming out condensate. This is a tell tale you have a small pin hole. Good luck.

bhenry

Munchkin not sparking

Tim,

You are a hero in our home!  I carefully cleared the perimeter of the igniter and presto, it's heating.  My wife is thrilled as the tech was not able to show until thursday...

I'll still have him come and do a once over with the proper equipment.



The Munchkin has been challenging to say the least, and the propane bills are sobering.  I have been able to do some of the troubleshooting, but I wonder what others do that don't have the time or inclination to nurse these boilers along?$$$



A neighbor recently had his propane fired radiant floor heating system changed to a heat pump system.  He called it a chiller.  Said it cut his energy bills by 2/3...  The original boiler was left to act as emergency back up for the new system like strip heat in a forced air system.  If the Munckin is not a long term piece of equipment does this set up make sense?  Having said that, I guess there is still need for back up...I live near seattle.



Thanks again to this great site and the folks who share their knowledge,



Bill

JRams

Feeling, Knowing, your PAIN

bhenry... your experience so parallels mine... seems that anyone not DIY inclined would have spent a fortune over the 6 years I have had my Munchkin... blower motors, walls, valves... plus the no part repairs, just some tweedling & coaxing to recover an F09 or F18.  Who ever wanted to know all this?  Even with my many hours of restarts, I have still spent many thousands with the local hydronics folks.  Right next to the nice looking, compact Munchkin is a 21 year-old tank heater which supplies the house... total operating cost? ZERO!  I don't even know the brand 'cause I've never had to get that close.  No amount of energy savings could ever begin to ameliorate the costs of operating a Munchkin.



I was hoping someone would have answered your heat pump query... when I replace the Munchkin it sure won't be with a thankless tankless device.

radiantdave

equipment?

wow every time someone has a heating issue they always blame the equipment!

proper installation ,proper effic. setup at startup with the proper tools ,

and proper trained tech and i dont have the se issues . not trying to be mean about it but it is not always the equipment  it is most often the situation or the enviroment the equipment is used in that is the problem. granted that every product may have a lemon now and then htp has always when that arrise stould firmly behind the product . if you are spending thousands of dollars on parts then the boiler has been in for a while and if it has not performed as advertised fior that long then it was poorly done or poorly set up to begin with  ..

bhenry

Elite

I had the heating contractor visit and ck things out and he discovered a leak in the combustion chamber. The boiler was still under warranty so a new HTP Elite was ordered and installed.



The contractor made some changes to the piping that he said would allow the boiler to operate as designed. He noted that incorrect installations are often the cause of boiler problems.



He said the condensate drain design is much improved on the elite and keeping things clean and flowing is paramount.



The elite looks like a step up from the Munchkin, but time will tell.



Bill