Boiler won't turn on

onlybuilt1906

Hello all. Hopefully someone can help:



I have a Slant-Fin Sentinel boiler. After getting help from this board back in January regarding purging air and filling my system, my system had been running smoothly and problem free until yesterday.



I had company and she complained of it being too hot, so I turned the heat down. Once she left I turned it back up. However, the next morning the house felt cool and all the baseboard radiators were cold.



In a nutshell, my boiler is no longer kicking on when I adjust the thermostat or leave it "wide open" by removing the thermostat and connecting the two wires together. When I flip the power switch to the boiler, nothing happens, though I can hear power going to the aquastat.



However, I was just downstairs fiddling with it and I removed the cover to the aquastat. I pulled a grey lever (circled below) towards me and the boiler came on for a while so long as I held the lever, though it eventually turned off.



Any suggestions?

Charlie from wmass

Careful!

That has line voltage and that "Lever" is part of an electrical relay! is the pilot lit? does it have electronic ignition? Are you sure there is gas. Is it LP or natural?

onlybuilt1906

Re: Careful!

Thank you for the warning!



Yes, the pilot is lit. My boiler is fueled by natural gas. When I light my pilot, I have to hold down a gas button while lighting manually, so I'm going to assume that it's not electronic ignition.



Again, thank you for replying and warning me.