2 Failed Suntec Coils in 1 year

RichC

I am having trouble comprehending how it would be possible for two Suntec 3713824 coils on my Beckettt A2EA-6520 oil pump could fail in 1 year.  These are line voltage devices with no moving parts.  I could see one possibly failing but two in one year?  Nothing else in the house has gone bad so it's not like a surge hit them.   Other than the coil, everything about the heating system seems to work fine.



Thoughts?  Perhaps a design flaw?



Luckilly this is a cheap part but had to wait 4 days for an online order since no consumer shops in the Hartford area carry it.   I wish there was a manual override for the cutoff valve.  If it were winter it would have been a major problem.  There's no reason it can't run with the valve manually opened so it seems short sighted not to provide that capability.

Steamhead

That cutoff valve is there for a reason

to keep smoke and soot from forming during startup and shutdown.



First thing I'd check is the line voltage, both with the burner on as well as off. If it's too high or low that could shorten the life of the coil.

billtwocase

you can't by-pass

As Frank said, they serve a purpose. Are these the time delay plugs that are failing?

BobC

Neutral?

If the house had a faulty ground that could cause the neutral leg to float according to the load levels on each side of the input to the electric panel (this assumes a 240v feed with a neutral). Ask the home owner if they have noticed changes in the brightness of bulbs in the house.I would make sure the ground bonding to the electric panel is tight and that all the neutral and ground connections are tight. It could also be a bad connection on the pole.



Bob