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boiler has pilot + power, but not firing on

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lbeachmike
lbeachmike Member Posts: 180
in Strictly Steam
Hey guys - it's me again with yet another new problem.

We had electrical cleanup work done here today and now find ourselves with the boiler no longer working. I figure it must be that either power or the thermostat wire was somehow disconnected somewhere. I opened the junction box with the transformer and confirmed with a voltage tester that there appears to be power there.

So, I figure it next makes sense to test that the thermostat and thermostat wires are working. I am thinking maybe the thermostat wiring got disturbed a midst the electrical work.

What's the easiest way to test ... is there any simple test to see if the boiler will fire up?

It is a Burnham SIN5SNC-HE2

Thanks.

Mike

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  • nicholas bonham-carter
    nicholas bonham-carter Member Posts: 8,578
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    Can you jump the wires on their way to the thermostat, to simulate a call for heat?--NBC
  • lbeachmike
    lbeachmike Member Posts: 180
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    nicholas bonham-carter said:

    Can you jump the wires on their way to the thermostat, to simulate a call for heat?--NBC

    I jumped out the wires at the thermostat to rule out the thermostat. Is there a way to do this locally at the unit itself? It turns out that my emergency shutoff switches do not shutoff the power at the transformer (yet another urgent issue I have to address.) It looks like the thermostat wire goes into the junction box where the transformer is? And then looks like it possibly connects to some terminals inside the unit. Is this correct? I'm trying to determine if I can -

    1. Jump out the thermostat wires locally right at the unit itself, so I can at least prove the boiler is working fine - or is there any other similar method of test?

    2. Jump out one end of the thermostat wires so I can then test with a meter at the other end. I suppose a tone set could also be helpful here, but I don't currently have one (it's in my Amazon wishlist though ... sigh.)

    Thanks.

    mrk
  • lbeachmike
    lbeachmike Member Posts: 180
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    I wanted to test for a short in the thermostat wires, so I set my multimeter for continuity test and it beeps when testing across the two terminals at the thermostat (RH & W.) But when I measure the resistance across the two terminals, it is just 15.6 ohms, so I'm confused.

    If the thermostat wire is continuously connected all the way to the boiler, what typically should I see for resistance across those two terminals at the thermostat?
  • Fred
    Fred Member Posts: 8,542
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    Have you checked to make sure the power switch to the boiler is on? Checked to see if the safety circuit has continuity ? Open circuit at the LWCO? Pressuretrol ?
  • lbeachmike
    lbeachmike Member Posts: 180
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    This was figured out today. The electrical wiring was not done properly. Essentially it is using the hot lead coming from one electrical cable and the neutral from another. We had disconnected that other mystery cable yesterday with some electrical cleanup because it appeared to not be in use. I never know what surprises I'm going to find next in this house.
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 23,426
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    lbeachmike said:

    This was figured out today. The electrical wiring was not done properly. Essentially it is using the hot lead coming from one electrical cable and the neutral from another. We had disconnected that other mystery cable yesterday with some electrical cleanup because it appeared to not be in use. I never know what surprises I'm going to find next in this house.

    Oh wonderful. Just lovely. You may want to do some serious checking of your electrical system...

    But I'm glad you got things working...
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • SWEI
    SWEI Member Posts: 7,356
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    lbeachmike said:

    it is using the hot lead coming from one electrical cable and the neutral from another.

    That was my thought when I first read your post. Your voltmeter really is your friend.
  • lbeachmike
    lbeachmike Member Posts: 180
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    SWEI said:

    lbeachmike said:

    it is using the hot lead coming from one electrical cable and the neutral from another.

    That was my thought when I first read your post. Your voltmeter really is your friend.
    Yes it is. But you didn't get to see how they ran the gas pipe right in front of the transformer box, so it was pretty hard to access things - and pretty late. The electrician who did the work yesterday came back to figure it out and correct it today.

    And yes, I've been checking out as much electrical as I can look at.

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