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Erratic gas pilot Boothbay 04-25-2006
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Posted by Boothbay on April 25, 2006, 9:24 am
I have an old gas burner and a digital thermostat. On some mornings it
does not come on when heat is called for. I manipulate the thermostat,
thinking it may be faulting. I have it set to come on at 4:30am with
the temp set for 72. When Its not coming on as it should, the temp of
the house says 68. I lower the set temp just below 68 and i hear the
click on the thermostat, then i raise it again to 72 and i hear the
click again and the heat comes on. I cannot afford to replace this
boiler just for that reason. Does anyone know what causes this and how
to rectify it, other than buying a new boiler? and possibly the cost.
Maybe it needs a new pilot switch? BTW, when its not running with this
problem, I do hear a constant running in the background...sounds like a
burner running, but there is no flames .


Posted by Tony Hwang on April 25, 2006, 10:14 am
Boothbay wrote:
> I have an old gas burner and a digital thermostat. On some mornings it
> does not come on when heat is called for. I manipulate the thermostat,
> thinking it may be faulting. I have it set to come on at 4:30am with
> the temp set for 72. When Its not coming on as it should, the temp of
> the house says 68. I lower the set temp just below 68 and i hear the
> click on the thermostat, then i raise it again to 72 and i hear the
> click again and the heat comes on. I cannot afford to replace this
> boiler just for that reason. Does anyone know what causes this and how
> to rectify it, other than buying a new boiler? and possibly the cost.
> Maybe it needs a new pilot switch? BTW, when its not running with this
> problem, I do hear a constant running in the background...sounds like a
> burner running, but there is no flames .
>
Hi,
When the heat is called for little relay inside the thermostat energize
to supply the voltage(usually 24V AC) to the main gas valve at the
burner. If you have a multi meter, I'd check the voltage at the valve
terminals to see if it is getting the proper voltage.

Posted by Sev on April 25, 2006, 10:36 am
It is a bit hard to tell from your post, but does sound like problem is
with thermostat. This is not expensive to replace, if necessary.
Needless to say, be very careful if you are really talking about about
problems with gas burner, and you're not experienced fooling with
these. Might be good idea to spend a few hundred on a plumber/ heating
contractor, at least call a _knowledgeable_ friend.


Posted by Boothbay on April 25, 2006, 6:35 pm
Well I got a plumber and heating guy over and after some testing, he
came to the conclusion...it was not the pilot switch or thermostat at
fault..it was my low water cutoff gizmo. He banged against it a couple
of times and the boiler came on. He suggested 2 remedies. Replace the
water cutoff valve..$250 for that and $250 for labor and/or do a
chemical cleaning of the boiler for $120. He said he would have to
drill a hole in one of the pipes above the boiler and insert some
chemical cleaning fluid to scrape out the crud that is at the bottom of
the boiler which in turn is making my cutoff valve getting stuck. I
never heard of drilling a hole for that purpose. I seem to remember
years ago in another house there was a valve nearby on the boiler where
you can open it ..aka the radiator valve on a car, and just pour the
liquid in.Is there a plumber here that can give me an explanation of
the chemical cleaning?


Posted by zero on April 25, 2006, 8:23 pm

>Well I got a plumber and heating guy over and after some testing, he
>came to the conclusion...it was not the pilot switch or thermostat at
>fault..it was my low water cutoff gizmo. He banged against it a couple
>of times and the boiler came on. He suggested 2 remedies. Replace the
>water cutoff valve..$250 for that and $250 for labor and/or do a
>chemical cleaning of the boiler for $120. He said he would have to
>drill a hole in one of the pipes above the boiler and insert some
>chemical cleaning fluid to scrape out the crud that is at the bottom of
>the boiler which in turn is making my cutoff valve getting stuck. I
>never heard of drilling a hole for that purpose. I seem to remember
>years ago in another house there was a valve nearby on the boiler where
>you can open it ..aka the radiator valve on a car, and just pour the
>liquid in.Is there a plumber here that can give me an explanation of
>the chemical cleaning?


Don't call him back. Ask around at the local wholesale supply
houses for the names of a few of the best boiler service companies.
The low water cutoff should never have gotten that bad, and that's not
how to service a boiler.

Any boiler needs a yearly service by someone who is experienced and
good. A well maintained boiler could last 25+ years without major
problems.

(no boiler maintenance is kinda like buying a car and never taking it
to a mechanic, just keeping it going with a little of this/that till
it dies and then back to the dealer for a new one. I'm NOT saying bad
on you! This is just how boilers are generally looked at and have been
looked at for years by most people.)


-zero


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