Oil Boiler fires intermittently

[Clint]

So here's the situation. I have a Weil-McLain oil fired boiler with an older Beckett burner (by older I mean that the boiler is probably original to the house, 1940 ish, and the burner slightly newer). Recently I have noticed that the burner will fire for a second or two, and then shut off, only to repeat the process a few minutes later. This happens regardless of thermostat setting. The thing is, it doesn't always happen. Sometimes the system will work like a champ for days.

Last night I finally got worried enough that the temp in the house was going to continue to drop, so I called a service company. The guy I got on the phone told me to check the Cad Eye Sensor to make sure it was clean. Turns out I don't have one...I have an older stack switch. The service guy that came out today spent about 15 seconds in front of the boiler, pronounced that my stack switch was bad, charged me $99 bucks and left.

So, does it sound like my stack switch is bad? What does that mean, (repeated questions to the service tech only got me half-assed answers).

Any and all opinions are welcomed.

[Noon-Air]

You got a 1940ish boiler and your wondering why its not working like it was new???

Ok, here's my opinion..... You need a new boiler.

[-zero]

"Regardless of thermostat setting"... So it will come on by itself without calling for heat? if so, that's dangerous and should be fixed ASAP.

You asked him to not repair, only troubleshoot? Why isn't he comming back?

What questions do you have?

-zero

[<kjpro]

Can&#39;t we get just one more year? :-)

[Bubba]

English translation: I have an old piece of shit that heats my home. Sometimes it works but lately it doesnt. Its worked for a good long time and Im not about to change it now no matter what anyone says. Ive done everything I could to try and make it work right and I gave up. I broke down, got a tech out and he diagnosed a bad stack switch. No way was I going to pay what he wanted for a stack switch so I sent him on his way being the tight-ass I am. I want to ask everyone here if that could truely be the problem before I go spending $20 on a used one on E-bay. Crystal Ball says, "You need a new thermostat. Its almost always the thermostat." Bubba