firematic oil burner valve is broken: but how badly?

mfkilian

I went to fire up the furnace this morning and no oil was getting to the burner. It didn't take long to see that the firematic knob at the burner controlling the oil flow had broken into two: The knob and the part that threads onto the valve stem.

I turned the part remaining on the stem and it seems to have opened: I get a flame now and the furnace seems to be operating OK.

However, while turning the part on the threads, the threaded stem also turned. That seems wrong. I expected the stem to move in and out of the valve but not rotate.

Any thoughts on what the right behavior is? I believe this is the second time the knob has given way on this valve (the first time I was told it was a defective knob) so I'm thinking the whole valve may be kaput.

Bob Bona_4

Get the valve changed. Once the stem starts spinning there's a good chance the seal is compromised. Put a little Never-Seize compound on the threads of the new valve handle/stem threads.