safety switch on oil furnace keeps going off

damon booz

The furnace safety switch keeps going off from time to time (very sporadic -- approx. 1/day). We've talked to several professionals and they seem perplexed as well. We go down and push the safety and it starts right up. I do smell a bit of oil from time to time right when it starts up.

John Mills_3

HAVE

any of these professionals looked at the furnace?

ed wallace

oil burner

have the system cleaned and serviced quit pushing the reset button

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Jim Davis

oil safety

Anytime the oil safety locks out it is because the flame failed to light in the first 30-45 seconds. Many times this is do to loss of prime during extended off periods. But many other problems could cause the same situation such as a worn coupling, weak transformer, poorly positioned electrodes, bad oil burner motor. A combustion test that includes CO readings Start-Run-Shutdown is the only way to narrow the problem down. I have seen every part replace on an oil furnace and the problem continued.

damon booz

yes, one fellow looked at it a couple times... replaced nozzles, oil filter, etc. ---it looks good for a week and then starts happening again.

damon booz

a professional has serviced our boiler several times and to no avail---it always looks good for a couple days and then starts coming back again.

damon booz

thanks for your very knowledgeable and thorough response. I have been thinking about this problem often and was puzzled. I have talked to a couple pro's and had a service man out a couple times and still could not solve the problem. I never considered the prime issue---is there any way to resolve a prime loss?

ed wallace

oil burner problem

> thanks for your very knowledgeable and thorough

> response. I have been thinking about this

> problem often and was puzzled. I have talked to

> a couple pro's and had a service man out a couple

> times and still could not solve the problem. I

> never considered the prime issue---is there any

> way to resolve a prime loss?



ask your oil man if he has an onwatch oil monitoring system and if he does have hij hook it up to the oil burner it will monitor the burner for problems

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Mark Wolff

Resolve a prime loss

Have the service guy check every fitting in your fuel supply line. If they were all tight and you have lost prime

A. Replace the fuel lines from the tank to the boiler.
B. Install a Tigerloop Oil Deaerator (it removes air from the line and provides a small day tank of fuel by the boiler. Additionally the flow check valve should compensate for a possible weak check in the pump.


Before that though, have the service technician push the reset and right after the furnace fires cross the FF terminals on the primary control (this tells the furnace that there is still a flame). If the primary control still trips out check the other items. If it keeps running, replace the cadmium eye.

steve_29

Is your tank located outside or in a cold enviroment? What are you using for fuel?

damon booz

Thanks,
I'm going to replace the fuel line.

damon booz

The tanks are inside and we use oil.

jim lockard

fittings

Fitting for the oil line(s) are they flare or compression ?
All of your fittings must be flare if not change em. Best Wishes J.Lockard

CDFishies

Same thing...

happened to me last year. First they thought it was sludge from the tank, then it was the sight inside the gun, then they thought the shut-off was leaking. In the end, I replaced the old gun with a rebuilt one and the problem went away. This summer I replaced the entire system with a gas boiler and I'm lovin it!

ed wallace

oil reset

if the unit locksout in the middle of the night it could be a weak transformer or a bad air adjustment

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JacktheShack

Intermittent Safety Lockout

> if the unit locksout in the middle of the night

> it could be a weak transformer or a bad air

> adjustment

>

> _A

> HREF="http://www.heatinghelp.com/getListed.cfm?id=

> 256&Step=30"_To Learn More About This

> Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in

> "Find A Contractor"_/A_



> if the unit locksout in the middle of the night

> it could be a weak transformer or a bad air

> adjustment

>

> _A

> HREF="http://www.heatinghelp.com/getListed.cfm?id=

> 256&Step=30"_To Learn More About This

> Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in

> "Find A Contractor"_/A_



What make of burner do you have & does it have an oil-delay valve??

I've had this same thing happen to my Beckett AFG oil burner; it turned out to be an intermittent failure of the solenoid oil delay valve which sits on top of the fuel pump; to test the valve, it can be completely removed from the pump to see if this clears up the problem.

damon booz

You, my friend, hit the nail on the head. Yesterday, I stayed home from work to figure out this problem once and for all. I had my friend, who repairs oil burners for a living, come out and double-check my diagnosis. I was going through alot of the responses on "The Wall" and narrowing down the problem...the transformer spark seemed weak(about 1/4"), which made sense. So, while I was writing down the model# off of the transformer, I heard a grinding noise in the motor right before the furnace started up and it soon went off on safety. To make a long story short, my friend and I replaced the burner motor, and the transformer and she's been purring like a kitten ever since. Thanks again to everybody for their invaluable help.

damon booz

Excellent point! Although I resolved the immediate problem with the safety popping up (which was happening 3/day) by changing the transformer and gun motor yesterday, only time will tell if I will get my normal "off on safety once/week" problem back. I was wondering myself about that solenoid oil-delay valve (by the way, mine is also a Beckett AFG gun) wondering if that might be the culprit for my intermittent problem. It's nice to hear that you solved yours by replacing that valve, and if my intermittent problem crops up again, I will surely suspect this valve. HOw would I go about testing this? Thanks greatly for all of your help.

JacktheShack

Checking Delay Valve

The delay valve solenoid can be checked by changing the upper coil section with a new one ($5-$10) by unplugging the 120v connector & removing the 3/8" nut; the coil slips right off & the new one is slipped on; the other way is to remove the valve from the pump & connect the connector tube to the pump nozzle port (the original fitting on the older suntec pumps is needed); the burner will run fine without the delay valve while you watch it for a few days to see if that is the problem.

JacktheShack

Checking Delay Valve

The delay valve solenoid can be checked by exchanging only the upper coil section with a new one ($5-$10) by unplugging the 120v connector & removing the 3/8" nut; the upper coil slips right off & the new one is slipped on; the other way is to remove the valve from the pump & connect the connector tube to the pump nozzle port (the original fitting on the older suntec pumps is needed); the burner will run fine without the delay valve while you watch it for a few days to see if that is the problem.

JacktheShack

Checking Delay Valve

The delay valve solenoid can be checked by exchanging only the upper coil section with a new one ($5-$10) by unplugging the 120v connector & removing the 3/8" nut; the upper coil slips right off & the new one is slipped on; the other way is to remove the valve from the pump & connect the connector tube to the pump nozzle port (the original fitting on the older suntec pumps is needed); the burner will run fine without the delay valve while you watch it for a few days to see if that is the problem.