Hi,
We have the above oil fired boiler, and the lockout keeps operating. It was serviced mid October, and the guy who did it cleaned everything, and replaced a jet, but could find no obvious fault.
It locked out 29th Oct., twice on 8th Nov. and four times (so far) today. Any idea what the problem might be, before I call the guy back? I know nothing about boilers, and am not about to start pulling it apart. Cold up here, in NE Scotland :-)
I hope that the guy who serviced the boiler also tuned it by checking the oil pressure, smoke and CO2 % and adjusting the air.
Your problem maybe dirty photocell, maybe oil supply.
I have filters in my oil supply, if I don't change the elements every few years they clog up and stop the boiler.
I also have a non return valve in my oil supply and this recently gave me some trouble.
Apart from making sure that you have some oil I don't think that there is much more that you can do without a spanner.
In message , Michael Chare writes
I'm not sure, to be honest. He did have what looked to be equipment - something with a long black tube. Sorry to be vague - I haven't a clue about boilers.
I don't think I have filters, in that there does not appear to be one at the tank end outside, or the boiler end, inside.
To be honest, I'm looking for suggestions I can make to the engineer, without looking as though I'm trying to teach Grandmother etc.
One thing I noticed is the odd sound the boiler makes, when it is running. There is the usual roar, but behind that is a sound more like a vintage tractor. Pah, pah, p, p, p, pah, pah, if that makes any sense, which it probably doesn't.
I would just stick to describing the symptoms!
If you don't have the boiler installation and maintenance manual, you can probably download a copy. It may well contain a troubleshooting guide.
The boiler should run evenly. If you can see the flame it should be constant. Air ingress via the flexible oil pipe that is connected to the burner is yet another possible cause of uneven running.
Useful information - thank you. It locks out whilst running. It will start OK, then run normally, then suddenly stop. I'm certainly not blaming the engineer; merely wondering if there are obvious reasons why lockouts occur.
It certainly does not sound healthy, so I have turned it off, pending further investigation. Set the immersion heater for hot water, and a couple of calor gas fires to keep us warm :-)
In message , Michael Chare writes
Wise words :-) Yes, you're right, of course. He is the guy who knows, and will doubtless not welcome my thoughts.
The new noise could be due to fuel starvation. Possible causes are water contamination of the fuel or filters partially blocked. You do not specify which model of burner is fitted but if it has a Danfoss oil pump these have a fine mesh within the body of the pump as well as the normally fitted tank outlet filter or secondary indoor filter. Some bodged installs omit the primary filters. Starting ok then dying would fit with a clogged filter. Other causes might be the solenoid coil heating up and going open circuit while hot, a photocell which is ageing and becoming unstable, or a problem with the sequence control box. Intermittent faults are swines to cure especially when they only occur at long intervals.
In message , cynic writes
Strange. Yesterday, I turned off the heating, due to the odd noises the boiler was making, before cutting out. However, I left the HW to come on early morning, fully expecting that it would cut out, so I set the immersion heater timer, too.
This morning, the boiler had not cut out, so I tried the heating. Perfect. Been running all day, and did not cut out until an hour ago. Reset, and running fine again. An intermittent fault. Oh joy.
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