Boiler won’t stay running

Matt316

Hey guys so I’ve been having some issues with my brunham v-14 boiler. It does my baseboard heat and my hot water. So I bought the house on January 4th and the heat has been running fine no problem. Now I know the fire chamber was starting to go so I know that needs repair. But a couple weeks ago it shut off and wasn’t getting fuel. I have an overhead fuel line and I had to prime it every few days. Been doing that fit a couple weeks now. So I eventually found out about a tiger loop deairator. I installed one of those on Tuesday and it’s been running fine no problems. Up until tonight (Saturday) all of a sudden the boiler won’t stay running. If I press the reset button it kicks on and runs for about 10 seconds and shuts down. What could be causing it to shut down? Could it be that the fire chamber needs to be repaired? Not sure if that would cause it to shut down or not.

So my real question is will a damaged fire chamber cause it to run for 10 seconds then shut off or do I have a different problem too?

 If anyone has any help please let me know. Thank you. 

Jamie Hall

If it has a damaged fire chamber... and it's oil... you very much need a competent tech. to come and service the burner properly (pressures, draught, electrodes, cad cell, etc. etc., all with the correct measuring instruments) after he has replaced the fire chamber -- if that can even be done -- and after he has thoroughly cleaned the fire side of the boiler and checked the breeching and the chimney.

Sometimes the fix can be simple -- but from the sound of it, this boiler and burner has been sadly neglected and it may not be -- and in any event everything needs to be checked.

In the meantime, I'd turn the boiler off and leave it off. Whatever you do, never, ever push the reset button more than once if it doesn't fire. You could be asking or a pleasant evening with the fire department...

EBEBRATT-Ed

The fire chamber won't cause it to shut down

The fact that you had to prime the burner pump means that you have an oil supply issue. Plugged filter, plugged strainer in the oil pump, kinked oil line plugged nozzle etc or a vacuum lealkin the oil line

The Tiger loop is a band aid not the fix

EdTheHeaterMan

Your combustion chamber wall may have collapsed further since your last look. If the chamber wall is in the path of the oil spray, you may have a real mess on your hands. As oil needs to be a gas to burn completely, if the oil touches the chamber wall, that will cool the oil below the vaporization point. That is called Impingement. once the oil touches that object it will not burn properly and carbon builds up upon the foreign surface. As that carbon builds up and increases in size, the obstruction may block the light from the flame from reaching the flame sensing eye. This is one reason you need to reset the control. There may be other reasons including the lens of the eye having a covering of black "Puff Back" soot

My advice is to stop hitting the reset button and get a professional out there to replace the combustion chamber and clean the heat exchanger while you are at it. The problem is not going away, it can only get worse.

Mr.Ed

EdTheHeaterMan

I can't say that enough!

Big Ed_4

STEVEusaPA

Geez @EdTheHeaterMan I know you like to use 1000 words when 100 will do, but you didn't have to post it 3x.
But it reality, that advice is so important and spot on, maybe 3 times is whats needed for it to set in...lol.

Erin Holohan Haskell

I've fixed the duplicate posts.

EdTheHeaterMan

STEVEusaPA said:

Geez @EdTheHeaterMan I know you like to use 1000 words when 100 will do, but you didn't have to post it 3x.
But it reality, that advice is so important and spot on, maybe 3 times is whats needed for it to set in...lol.

I don't know how that happened but when it did, I had to leave it there and comment about it.

Thanks for noticing!

Mikeman

I am a novice at all this oil burner stuff but really like to learn what type of problems can cause certain symptoms because burners seem to only break down when it's cold and you need them. Repair technicians are sometimes not available for quite some time. My boiler had an issue similar to this a few years ago and when the tech got here it turned out to be a stripped oil pump coupler. With all the possible electric/electronic circuitry possibilities, it turned out to be a rather simple 20th century mechanical problem and a part that cost less than $10. I guess if you have a gauge to check oil pressure, you'd find that but you may also suspect a bad pump. Is there a way to check the coupler without pulling the motor or pump?

mattmia2

If it isn't pumping at all you can disconnect the line to the nozzle and observe that no oil comes out if you run the burner. If it is low pressure you need a gauge to measure that.

jpulls11

Was the bypass plug installed when you added the tiger loop?

HVACNUT

Mikeman said:

I am a novice at all this oil burner stuff but really like to learn what type of problems can cause certain symptoms because burners seem to only break down when it's cold and you need them. Repair technicians are sometimes not available for quite some time. My boiler had an issue similar to this a few years ago and when the tech got here it turned out to be a stripped oil pump coupler. With all the possible electric/electronic circuitry possibilities, it turned out to be a rather simple 20th century mechanical problem and a part that cost less than $10. I guess if you have a gauge to check oil pressure, you'd find that but you may also suspect a bad pump. Is there a way to check the coupler without pulling the motor or pump?

It takes about 2 minutes to pull the burner motor and inspect the coupling on a Beckett or Carlin. A little longer for a Riello, but I've never had that issue with a Riello. 
A faulty burner coupling could also be indicative of a fuel pump issue. Why did it break? Resistance?

SootBoy

Mikeman said:

I am a novice at all this oil burner stuff but really like to learn what type of problems can cause certain symptoms because burners seem to only break down when it's cold and you need them. Repair technicians are sometimes not available for quite some time. My boiler had an issue similar to this a few years ago and when the tech got here it turned out to be a stripped oil pump coupler. With all the possible electric/electronic circuitry possibilities, it turned out to be a rather simple 20th century mechanical problem and a part that cost less than $10. I guess if you have a gauge to check oil pressure, you'd find that but you may also suspect a bad pump. Is there a way to check the coupler without pulling the motor or pump?

That can be a very difficult problem to find.. doesn't happen alot. and since you can not see the coupling when running and if it only slips periodically it is not the first thing to look at. it runs for 45 or 30 seconds after flame is established and shuts off and it has a "CAD CELL" you can jump out the Cad cell once lit up and if it continues to run past a min or more its probably the cell itself, maybe dirty or wrong angle.. There are a lot of smart techs in these posts. We used to carry a universal pump coupling with ends and could cut it to length if needed