Buderus oil boiler not answering call for heat

joelb88

Hello,

I recently had a Buderus G215(?) installed less than 2 years ago and need help diagnosing a problem. I went away on vacation and got a e-mal from my Nest thermostat that the house was at dangerously low temp. Sure enough it was at 53 degrees Fahrenheit. Had a friend stop by and hit the reset button. Heat got back to 65F. Two days later same thing happened. Got home, hit the reset and boiler got up to temp (170) and kicked off. Never kicked back on despite the "call for heat" indicator light being on.

So for the past couple of days every 2 hours I have to hit the reset button to get the boiler to kick on long enough to satisfy all 3 of my zones that are calling for heat. Plumber that installed it can't get to my house for 2 weeks. I am hoping I can DIY it so I don't have to constantly hit the reset button 24/7.

Yes there is oil.

Any idea's or help would be greatly appreciated!

-Joel

EdTheHeaterMan

Edited below:
The reset button means there is a problem with the flame sensor. either the lense is dirty or the sensor is failing or the flame is not bright enough for the sensor to "SEE" there is a flame and shuts off by the safety circuit. This needs a professional oil burner mechanic and many plumbers are not equipped to handle oil burner problems. Call Your oil dealer for service or a recommendation for service it they don't have a service department.

EDIT: Here is a video of how to change a Cad Cell Flame sensor. Your burner may be slightly different but most burners (NOT ALL) are similar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdqfmc23mNc
Look at the location of the flame sensor eye that is being replaced. You can remove it without removing the gasket material as shown in the video. Look at the glass lens portion to see if there is a coating of soot on it. If there is, then you just need to wipe it off and you will be back in business.

That being said, if you have a coating of soot on the eye lense, it is probably time for a complete maintenance by a professional oil burner technician. That should be completed annually on most burners. When was the last complete maintenance? More than a year? This reset button issue is telling you that you need service.

If it is not the Eye, then it may be a partially pugged oil filter. That is a messy job but can be completed as a DIY. Here is a video on filter replacement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx9g9P_z5So

There are many other reasons for the reset button to trip. These two are the only ones that I feel comfortable sharing to a homeowner in a jam like you are. Any of the other reasons require a profession oil burner tech and a combustion analysis with expensive testing instruments. Whatever you do, be very careful because you are literally playing wit fire inside your home. If you do get it operating, then get a pro there at your earliest possible appointment to check out why it failed.

Mr.Ed

Jamie Hall

May I add one more thought to @EdTheHeaterMan 's excellent comments?

Never, ever hit that reset button more than once. If one punch doesn't bring it back to life, turn off the emergency switch and leave it alone and get a pro. in there to troubleshoot the problem.

Why? Because if the problem is something with the ignition, every time you hit that button some oil gets squirted into the fire box. One squirt isn't enough to create a problem. More than one and enough oil may accumulate so that if it does decide to ignite, it can do so... rather spectacularly. So just don't.

STEVEusaPA

Don't even hit it once. It locked out because it detected an unsafe condition. A competent oil burner tech will watch what happens on reset and use that to help start the diagnostic process.

EBEBRATT-Ed

@joelb88

Could you post a few pictures of what you are resetting? Could be a high limit issue

HVACNUT

You cant just keep hitting the reset button. Only bad things can come of it.
Call other companies. You don't want a plumber anyway. You want a competent oil tech who's familiar with the G215 Buderus and the burner being used.
The tech should have the OEM setup for the burner in a download or a book in the van. 
Has it ever been serviced since it was installed? You should have it done annually with, combustion, smoke, and draft tests/ adjustments. 
Oh yeah, stop hitting the reset button. 

joelb88

Thanks so much for the tips guys. I took out the flame sensor and it didn’t look too bad, maybe a little “dusty. Cleaned it up anyways and put everything back together. Also opened up the damper a bit, worried that it wasn’t getting enough air. Started it back up and it ran to temp, shut off, then no restart despite call for heat. Same issue. 

At this point I don’t want to mess with it much more and blow up the house. I got a couple of space heaters and will try to wait for the tech to come take a look. 

Thanks for the reply guys!

joelb88

Just wanted to close the loop on this. Had the tech come out. He said the nozzle had a little bit of blockage and the oil tank filter was pretty sludged up so he preformed a routine maintenance on it and its been running flawless ever since.

HVACNUT

What size Riello? It looks like an F5 turbulator, but the assembly looks like it's for a long air tube and Buderus specs a standard length air tube on all G215 boilers. And a B nozzle is only used on a 5 section or larger, and that would require the F10 burner. 
What were the combustion numbers because it doesn't look too clean.