Pilot light on, no heat

gattu_marrudu

Hi there,

I have had this problem for some time, earlier rarely enough that I couldn't diagnose it, now it is really affecting my heating system.

The boiler (Utica PEG150, intermittent pilot) is getting a call for heat, starts the piezo igniter and the pilot light fires up almost immediately; then there is a brief pause (1s or so), after that the igniter keeps going as if it's still trying to start the pilot, which is already on; after a minute or so it gives up, and the whole system shuts down, pilot included.

It looks like some sensor that is supposed to "see" the pilot before opening the gas doesn't "see" it. Turning the main switch off and back on triggers another call for heat, and some time the heat starts, some time it doesn't.

I have been reluctant to poke around the system during the coldest month, as the system was pretty much doing its job, but I'd like to get to the bottom of this before I'm left with a cold house.

I'll probably start cleaning up around the pilot, but getting some hints about a possible cause would help. Thanks!

Steamhead

Right- you don't have a good flame signal. This could be a dirty or bad pilot assembly, a bad ground connection between the pilot and the ignition module, or a bad ignition module.

I think it's time to have a pro look at this. Where are you located?

gattu_marrudu

I'm in Philadelphia. So far I have done all maintenance by myself including adding main vents that were missing altogether, replacing busted burners, etc., but I'd LOVE to have a pro look at my whole system and do a general assessment, including combustion analysis.

I looked through the registered shops in this site, but I haven't found any steam expert in my area that is licensed to work in Philly.

gattu_marrudu

Thanks for the confirmation, by the way. I will start with cleaning up the pilot area.

Jamie Hall

For burner work you don't have to have a steam expert — but you do need a person competent to work on gas burners. That may widen the field some.