restarting 1988 peerless boiler

[hildebrand91]

undefinedI cleaned my 1988 peerless boiler, but now I can't get it started. When I hit the reset button it goes through the 45 second cycle and shuts off. Any suggestions on a starting point, I can't afford a repairman right now and it's getting cold.undefined

[KField]

Some of the answer depends on what you did when you cleaned it. You need fuel, air, and a source of ignition, and you will be back in business. The air is probably not the problem. That leaves the other 2. Did you mess with the fuel system? Do you have spark at the transformer? Are the electrodes set correctly?

Brushing out a boiler does not require a trained technician but everything else works better if it is adjusted correctly and set up with combustion test instruments. Your boiler may need to be brushed out again soon if the burner isn't set correctly.

Ken

[hildebrand91]

When I cleaned it I vaccumed out the soot from the upper and lower chambers as well as the chimney. I aslo cleaned the outside of the fuel nossel with a little alcohol. In the process I kinked the fuel line, but I replaced it and bleed the system. I still get a good spark and a clean, big flame but it shuts off after the 45 second cycle is over. It doesn't respond to a low temprature signal from either termastat (two zone system).

[KField]

If you have flame and it still shuts down, the flame sensor is not verifying the flame. Either it is dirty or not making a good contact with the socket it is in. Possibly the yellow wires are not connected to the F terminals.

Ken

[hildebrand91]

I cleaned the flame sensor and it seemed to do the trick. It ran for about 25 minutes, then it shut down again. I hit the reset button and it only went for about 1 minute. Now I'm back to where I was before. I'm getting a bit frustrated by it but I need some heat in november in Maine. Any other ideas?

[KField]

Well if it ran for 25 minutes, it may have gone off on high limit and not lockout. Do you get an LED indicating lockout? If not, you have to see if the burner starts right when you leave off of the reset button. If the burner does not start immediately, it wasn't locked out. A flame that is out of adjustment will sometimes be too dim to register correctly with the flame sensor. You have to realize that the flame that can be seen by the sensor is only a fraction of the real flame. It is looking down the tube and around the static plate and through the retention head. How has it behaved since your last post?

Ken

[hildebrand91]

I don't think its been lockedout. The temp never got much past 100 degrees. It still wont kick on unless I hit the reset button. When it first lights, it sounds like it is struggling to keep the flame on. I'm begining to think its a backdraft problem. I vaccumed out the upper and lower chambers as well as the chimmney, but I didn't clean the furnace pipe. There might be something in there (seems unlikly, but possible). I had trouble in the chimney because the cleanout was sealed in concrete (before I bought the house), so I have to go in through the pipe opening. Or it could be something completely different...

[KField]

I would suggest that you get it inspected and adjusted by a professional with combustion test instruments. Then you may be able to maintain it without their help every year. But it sounds like you are at the limit of your ability and with oil costing as much as it does this year, a few percent in efficiency will mean a substantial amount of money. Let alone the aggravation of the lockouts.

Ken