Grey Honeywell Box with a Red Button

Ben_2

I assume the red button on the Grey Honeywell box on the Oil burner of my Single pipe Steam boiler is some kind of reset switch. Electrical in nature I assume, which I hate to do(assume that is). The question is what does it safe guard against? Why would it start needing to be reset every hour or so, sometime faster than that. What can I look at. test, diagnose, etc?

How much to buy and how easy to replace?

Thanks for you invaluable time once again.

Ben and Anne Marie - Mont Clare PA.

P.S. this is my third topic and bar one all of them have been answered incredibly well. I really apreciate your time. And if anyone needs any help with, computers, snowboards, digital cameras, or how to get yourself into debt by buying a 96 year 'Handy-Man's Special' just ask, I have all kinds of opinions. And a wee bit of knowledge.

BillW@honeywell

safety tripping

I think you mean the red button on the oil primary control marked "reset". DO NOT push this more than once. Call your oil heat service company immediately. This is a safety device, and locks out for a reason. PLEASE do not continue to push the reset button...you will flood the chamber with oil and create a bigger problem. Use the "find a contractor " feature above , or call your oil service company. This is NOT a do-it-yourself item, if installed improperly, it could cause a fire or explosion.

Dale

The red button

It is a reset and Bill's post gives good advice. The control if it's working only allows so much oil to be sprayed into your combustionion chamber unless it "sees" or senses a flame to safely burn the oil that's being sprayed in. So after a short period of time (deemed safe by the burner manufacturer or control maker) of no flame being seen the control locks out and the pump stops spraying oil. Of course after fixing the problem there must be a way to reset the control so it will work again, that's the design purpose of the red button. Sadly it is often abused, I ask how many times it has been pressed and then multiply by the number of people in the house and that number by 10. Many oil service persons have seen flames roar out of a chimney top because of that little button. Time for professional help of the heating variety.

Ben_2

Thanks, need more info

This was the repsonse I was afraid of. It's winter, and we just got hit with a serious snowstorm here in the Philly area. I'm not paying my local contractor night hour prices to come out to fix the issue. Money is way too tight. I'll call them in the morning. Worse case scenario, what would a new oil or gas burner cost? The reason I ask for both Oil and gas is because I have both in the house. I only have Oil because that's what was here when I bought the house. It would not be an issue to run a gas line the few feet needed to the boiler.

So I guess in all my rambling the questions I am really asking are. If someone had to replace their burner

1) Can a Oil burner steam boiler be converted to gas.
2) Does it make sense - Cost of gas over - Oil Cost of Burner?

Once again I thank you all for the honest and quick responses.

ed wallace

honeywell control

you need a service tech to come out get a srevice contract from your oil co. better yet call for service now better to pay to get heat up and running than to pay for major repairs when water pipes freeze and burst

To Learn More About This Contractor, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Contractor"

ed wallace

honeywell control

you need a service tech to come out get a srevice contract from your oil co. better yet call for service now better to pay to get heat up and running than to pay for major repairs when water pipes freeze and burst

To Learn More About This Contractor, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Contractor"

Steamhead

Oil vs. Gas

Ben, if that oil burner is 20 years old or less, it's a "flame-retention" type which burns without producing smoke and uses 15-30% less fuel than older units. If this is the case, and the burner is properly tuned, your combustion efficiency is pretty good. Since it's not running properly now, you really need to have a service tech come to straighten it out.

On steam systems, I see a lot of inefficiency in the system itself- many due to venting or insulation problems. If the burner is OK but the system is sluggish and uses a lot of oil, I'd find out what's keeping the steam from reaching the radiators quickly.

If your oil burner is an older type, a new burner will boost your efficiency. I looked in one supplier's catalog, and a residential-size gas conversion burner (Wayne P250) cost about 40% more than an oil burner (Beckett AF). Of course, if you have a really old boiler (especially a round one) that used to burn coal, your over-all efficiency won't be that good.

The other issue is fuel suppliers. Oil companies are in competition with one another, but gas utilities operate as near-monopolies. Even with the halfhearted deregulation efforts in some areas, the utilities pretty much have a lock on the market. But if you heat with oil and don't like the service you're getting, you can always switch suppliers.

It might make sense to stick with oil. I did.



To Learn More About This Contractor, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Contractor"