Lochinvar / Knight Boiler 80-285 Issues

Well, we probably need more information, but… several clues and a couple of places to start looking.

First, you are still getting hot water, and therefore the boiler will and does run — when something tells it to run.

Now we need to go and figure out what tells the boiler to run for heat, and what transfers that heat to the baseboards.

Sorry, but the first question is… does your thermostat take batteries? And, if so, are they fresh?

Does anything happen on the system when you turn up the thermostat?

What makes the water from the boiler reach the baseboards? There must be a pump somewhere. Is there also a zone valve? In the simplest arrangements, the thermostat on the wall will either turn on the pump (usually with a relay) or will open the zone valve. Can you describe what you have along those lines? In systems with just a pump, sometimes the thermostat is wired directly to the boiler — or through a control board. Do you know what you have for that, and describe it for us? In systems with a zone valve, often the thermostat opens the zone valve, which in turn has contacts which turn on the boiler…

The boiler changing its message the moment you touched it suggests another avenue to explore (or rabbit hole…): check — or have an electrician check — all your wiring related to the boiler, from the boiler right on back through the fuse box/circuit breakers to the electricity meter. Some controllers which your system may have are fussy about being properly grounded.

On the exhaust — what is "excessive exhaust"? Depending on temperature and humidity, you may see quite a bit of exhaust. The only way to find that out is to make sure that the air/fuel ratio is correct, and that takes a combustion analyser — which not every tech. knows how to use, or even has. Out of adjustment combustion can also account for odd sounds.

I notice a red pump in one of your pictures. When does it run? What is it pumping from and to?

I also notice a picture of a pump in what looks like a pan or sump of some kind. What does that do? (It looks like a sump pump to me…?)

Do either or both of the red pumps turn on when the thermostat is calling for heat? If only one, which one?

Do either of them turn on when calling for hot water?

I see a zone valve over the left circulator,

it should have a manual lever on it, and with it's thermostat calling, the lever should swing freely, side to side, that might prove power to that stat and valve,

the left circulator, use a long screwdriver, or wood dowel, handle to your ear, and tip to the circ, you might detect a whiring, compare to the lower circ,

try tapping / wrapping on the circ with the screwdiver handle, or dowel, not too hard, just some sharp wraps,

is it whirring now?

and you mentioned work in the house?

anything to do with the heating baseboards, an air blockage was suggested above, and can't be discounted,

I think you're looking for a flow issue

that's a zone valve,

lever?

sometimes pictures post in mirror image, left, right, left, , ,

that Honeywell silver box in your last picture,

I can see the lever under it hiding in the shadows, it's small and sticking out of the base of the silver box

and does the lever swing freely?

a rapid temperature increase suggests the system is not flowing

A defective pump, air lock in the boiler or piping

could you tell if either circ is running?

you need someone there with a meter and knowledge to use it,

wrapp on the 2 circulators a bit, knock, knock, knack, carefully, at the base by the piping,

ok, so you kinda know you have power holding the valve open,

now you need to make the circulators spin,

Do you see any air vents above the boiler? at the ceiling? or at the baseboard radiation?