Slant/Fin Galaxy GXH-105 Boiler will not start. Pilot is on

Ravenadam

8 year old gas powered boiler. Steam radiators heat my house







1. Check pilot. It is fine.



2. Originally there was a clicking sound coming from what I would call

the "vent damper area" pictured here (obviously this is not mine but it

looks like this): <a href="http://www.fieldcontrols.com/images/crg_images/GVD2007.jpg">http://www.fieldcontrols.com/images/...es/GVD2007.jpg</a>







I turned off the light switch above the boiler and removed the blue

plastic covering on the back of the "vent damper area". I turned the

unit back on and it started. I thought the problem was solved. I did not

put the blue plastic covering back on.







3. Boiler probably brought temperature up to where thermostat was set for, then when it fell below it did not start again.







4. Put the blue plastic covering back on and off and turned the unit off

and on and it would not start. I feel this is some type of electrical

problem related to the vent damper area. Maybe the damper is not

opening? I hear the boiler "click on" when I turn on the light switch,

but next it does not start the boiler like it usually would. Everything

remains quiet and cold.







Could the damper be closed? Is the button looking thing on the front

(again this is not a photo of my boiler just a clear example of what I

am talking about: <a href="http://www.masterplumber.net/images/Vent_Damper.JPG">http://www.masterplumber.net/images/Vent_Damper.JPG</a> )a manual way to open it? it does not appear like it would turn easily although it moves in and out a tiny bit.







Any advice on what my next steps should be would be appreciated.







Thanks



Adam 

Ravenadam

important info...

I am sure the damper is closed and I have been told that I will break it if I try to open it manually:

It is a Field Controls GVD http://www.fieldcontrols.com/pdfs/46352700.pdf

MTC

A few thoughts...

You said you heard a "clicking" when it turned on before. This was the sound of the motor turning the damper open, it stops clicking once its fully open, then the burner should fire. On shutdown, you get the clicking sound again as the damper closes.



I'm not specifically familiar with that model, but most of the time, the rod that the damper is mounted to will stick through the opposite side of the vent pipe from the motor, and you can see if its turning or not. Some, not sure if that one does or not, have a flattened end on that rod, with markings on the vent pipe to indicate if the damper is currently open/closed. Check that first, see if you can determine the current position of the damper.



If its closed, and you hear noises from the motor upon call for heat, but it doesn't turn, then the motor is blown, or the damper is somehow obstructed. Make sure the vent pipe is nice and round, a dented or out of round pipe can hang up the damper. You could also have an animal in the vent, that was trying to find a nice warm place to crawl into and get out of the cold. You'd have to take apart the vent (usually just a matter of pulling some sheet metal screws) to check for this, if you think that's a possibility.



If you don't hear anything from that motor upon startup, the motor could be blown for the above reasons, or it might not be getting power. If you have a 24V AC electrical tester, this is helpful. You can take off the access panel of your boiler, then follow the power from the transformer to each device, checking for 24V (ish) at each point. Wherever you don't have voltage, you're problem is there. It could be that something else has tripped or failed before the damper, such as a low water cutout, a flue sensor switch, etc. When you find a wire to a device that has power on one end but not the other, you know that the problem is on that device.

Ravenadam

more

I can get a little more specific now.

I turn on the boiler.

The

low water cutoff comes on=  green and red light come on. red light

flashes and sometimes fills tank with a little water. Then it stops

flashing and the green light remains on. Then silence



I took the

motor head off the damper and I was able to turn it. Nothing is stuck or

dead in there. When the motor head was safely removed I did turn on the

boiler again with the damper open and nothing different happened.



Pilot light is still on.

So I am pretty stumped.

Thanks

BobC

Open safety?

Page 16 and 17 of the install manual show the wiring diagram for the different versions of this boiler. Assuming the thermostat is calling for heat there are several things that will prevent the boiler from firing -



1. The roll out switch

2. The blocked vent safety

3. The pressuretrol

4. The LWCO



You have to see which of these is open and the then diagnose what is wrong. You will need a multimeter to check this out. I'd advise getting a pro to look at this if you are not familiar with how these systems work. Do not try and disable any of these safeties because doing so can put you in danger.



Bob