Burner no flame mystery

David Sutton

hello , is it a pre + post control ?... and would the valve have openned any way if you did not tap it ? have you seen it run up and go off on safty while you where there with out lighting ?. if the unit gos off on safty every now and then and no set pattern and its a standard winding motor it could be a dead spot in the motor and be checked with a olms meter.

Mike R._2

Woke up Saturday and had to push the reset on my 3 year old steam boiler. It ran for about half a day and then went off again. It would light as soon as I pushed the reset and work for 1-4 on/off cycles and then trigger the reset again. I called for service on Monday and a tech showed up on Tuesday. He changed the nozzle and filter, adjusted the electrodes and bled the pump. The burner ran through 2 cycles and the guy left. On the 3rd cycle it tripped the reset again. I tried swapping on a spare transformer in case there was intermittently no spark but had the same problem. While the burner was running with no flame, I tapped the solenoid oil valve with a screwdriver handle and the flame came on. Seems like a new oil valve is the solution. The boiler install paperwork emphatically says to not use Teflon tape on the oil lines and that’s what the installer used. Is the teflon what’s causing the solenoid to be sticky? What other problems will be caused by the Teflon on the pump connections?

Joe Grosso

Hey Mike

Frist it is possible that your electric oil valve is getting stuck.Second did your fuel company put your heating system. Because it is hard to believe that they would use teflon on the fuel lines and this could cause problems

Mike R._2

No, the system was installed by a different company that was recommended by a friend. The plumber is a relative of the friend. Thanks for the reply, I will have the valve changed.

Unknown

Teflon is a big no -no

on oil . Im not exactly sure what it would do to the oil delay valve . Did you try bypassing that valve ? Just hook in the nozzle line right to the pump connection and see what happens . If it runs fine after that , change the oll delay valve as soon as possible .

Leon

Like said earlier teflon tape is a big nono.Get a new service tech.Teflon tape can get into oil lines and clog nozzles,solonoid valve and otherwise cause erratic behavor.Also check for line leak,you may have air in pump.Pressure and vacumm gauges should be used to check pump pressures.

Dave Flood

Hi Mike,
Teflon is not to be used on oil lines, the oil will break down the teflon and it will get into your oil supply to the burner. All the guys bring up great points. Leonmakes a great point when he talks bout gauges. You can have a leak in your oil line without knowing it. The leak is so small that air gets in, but oil doesn't come out. A vacumn gauge will tell a technician this. Make sure you not only get rid of any teflon, but if you have compression fittings on your lines, get rid of thos too. If not there now, have your technician install falred fittings. Call the service manager of your oil company, explain the problem to him, hopefully he'll be able to get it settled this time around.

Dave Flood
Dir of Tech Ed
ICPA Tech Trng Ctr
Wallingford, Ct

jon_6

no flame

they are right on with the teflon tape. manufactures WILL NOT warranty a fuel pump if the find teflon tape in the gears of the pump. Did the service tech check the transformer with a tester. and what kind of transformer do you have on the unit, 14000v or 10000v elctronic or windings? alot of times what will happen with a conventinal trans is that moisture gets in the windings. another problem could lie in the house wiring. when their is a voltage drop in the house current thier is also a drop in the trans windings. its like a ratio, 120v in, stepped up to 10000v out vs 90v in, stepped up to 8000v out and that would cause a low weak spark. could have to much air on the gun and would blow out spark causing a lock out. just trying to help.

Mike R._2

Mystery solved!

Thanks for all of the replies. It would run for about 30 sec. without lighting and then go off on safety.
I decided to replace the oil valve myself. The supply house is out of stock until next week so I took Ron Jr's advice and bypassed it temporarily. The burner lights every time and is running like brand new now. The oil valve looks clean but it only opens about 60% of the time when testing it on the bench.