oil burner lockout help!

grye

Hi Everybody..

It's beautiful today, but a cold front is fast approaching... which means now is when my boiler decides to fight me.

The issue: It keeps locking out. It's a genisys 7505, it will run for a little bit but then lock out, and need a hard reset to start again.

I'm pretty mechanically inclined, but usually don't mess with heat since I have young kids. The problem is, most of the reputable techs are booked up because of this cold front.

Are there any simple items to cross off my list to attempt? It's a one pipe steam system with the oil burner.

Thank you, be safe!

Jellis

Could be many things.
if your unit has not been serviced for a while you could change the oil line filters and the nozzle. This may fix it but you should still have a tech come and look it over.

That being said
You mentioned you have kids, and a safety device on your boiler in sensing a dangerous situation and protecting you and your family from harm.
If you are not comfortable working on your boiler, than don't. it only takes one turn of a wrench to turn your boiler into a Carbon Monoxide generator and put everyone in danger.

Jamie Hall

If it starts and runs for a bit (how long is a bit?) it is more likely to be either a problem with the oil feed or pump giving an unsteady flame, or with the flame sensor not seeing a good flame. Neither of these problems are really something I'd recommend a home owner to fuss with, but your oil company should have an emergency/no heat service which could help, assuming you are a regular customer.

grye

So I happened to get an oil delivery today (I was at about 1/4 of a tank)... and on a hunch I bled the line (didn't need to be bled, but I did anyway and there were no bubbles), restarted it, and it seems to be working fine (i'll delete this comment if i'm proved wrong!)

So here's a question... My boiler sits on cinderblocks. My tank, on small 6 inch looking legs. Plus it looks like there is a grade on the floor, with the oil tank being higher than the burner.

Are these gravity fed? As in, is it possible that I still had 1/4 tank of oil but since the tank is higher than the boiler it wasn't getting enough oil?

Grallert

Not gravity fed. The fuel unit on the burner does the job of moving the fuel from the tank through a fuel filter through a copper fuel line to the burner. Filters block up. Fuel unit strainers can block up and nozzles can block up.
That gensys control should be able to tell you where the fault is. I forget the routine for retrieving the data. google should help. That said. You should call your fuel dealer and ask for service. The combustion side of the system is nothing to tinker with.

SuperTech

No, they are not gravity fed. It's common to see the oil line come out of the top of the tank, across the basement ceiling and back down to the burner. The oil pump that you bled oil from pumps the oil from the tank. It's best to avoid fighting gravity when possible, but not 100 percent necessary.

STEVEusaPA

You need a competent tech with the proper tools and training.
Many things are possible, but it's out of your skill set to test/fix them.

EBEBRATT-Ed

@grye

It's possible you have a dirty filter or pump strainer and the burner was not getting oil properly. Filling the tank may have made the oil easier to get to the burner "fixed" the problem but you still need to have the problem looked at

grye

You all were right (shocking!)

Unit locked up again. Next (and easiest) item to try is the filter?

SuperTech

> @grye said:
> You all were right (shocking!)
>
> Unit locked up again. Next (and easiest) item to try is the filter?

Yeah, if you are really that hesitant to call a professional the only thing I recommend checking out is the oil pump strainer and the oil filter. If you have some automotive brake cleaner I recommend spraying all the sludge buildup out of the filter canister. You can also use this to clean off the strainer in a pinch. But it's usually a good idea to have a replacement in case it's really plugged up, or if you tear the gasket.

The oil line could be plugged up, the electronic igniter or ignition transformer could be on the way out, the nozzle could be plugged. It's really a good idea to get someone who can do a complete evaluation of the entire system, and make sure the system is safe, reliable and efficient.

grye

Last time it ran for an hour before locking out. This time it only ran for a minute or two. Flame lit, it ran, then shut off. Then the next cycle the flame didn’t light. I reset it again, I can hear it kick on, but no flame.

grye

I should mention the boiler was serviced this winter. Cleaned, changed the nozzle, and changed the oil filter.

SuperTech

Could possibly be bad ignition, plugged boiler, plugged oil line or pump strainer...
Why not call the company who serviced it?

HVACNUT

It needs experienced hands at this point. You can't just keep resetting the burner. It could cause parts or life damage.
And apparently you found out how to get the primary out of hard lockout, so it kind of defeats the purpose.

Grallert

If there is no ignition but there is fuel you are delivering fuel to the chamber where it will sit. If it does ignite on a subsequent try all that unburned fuel is going to light at once. That's a big deal and needs to be avoided. I would not reset it any more.

SuperTech

Yes, if you are having an ignition problem rather than a oil to the burner problem you could be creating a very bad situation for yourself by continuing to attempt to reset the burner.
That's why the primary control has a hard lockout.

STEVEusaPA

Keep pushing that button and maybe it won't lockout when it loses flame...

Burn the house down...damage the control?
Which one will happen first? To be fair, if he burns down the house he will damage the control.

grye

Thank you everybody. I replaced the filter, that didn’t do the trick. Then I bought a new pump strainer, and when I saw the old one I knew that had to be the issue. New strainer and she’s running. Good as new. Be safe everybody.

Steamhead

@grye, do I understand that the filter in the oil line was OK, but the strainer in the fuel unit ("pump") was plugged?

What kind of oil line filter is it?