Oil burner would not fire, then blew smoke...problem??

[Bluesman]

Last night the house got cold, I hit the thermostat and it only mkae clicking noises, the burner wouldn't fire up. (I hae a Weil-Mclain Gold, Oil heat to hot water radiators - separate gas hot water heater.)

I go downstairs, and the red light is on. Don't know what that is, but I hit the red button, it came to life with a blast of oil smoke escaping from the chimney vent. This stopped after a couple of minutes..the house heated up and the heat worked throughout the night and this morning.

What happened? It seems like it was clogged up somewhere, the nozzle, the burner itself? - but if it was clogged, did the blast of oil clear it out?

I can call the oil co. to check it, but I will probably only need ocasional heat for another 4 weeks...should I see if it keeps working, or call it in and pay?

Thanks,

Bluesman

[CAStinneford]

Makes more sense to get it repaired now if it needs it than to forget you had a problem until it reoccurs next winter and you end up needing emergency service.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

When is hte last time is was service? If it has been close to a year, do it now and avoid the rush in the fall. You'll have more confidence that is will work when required and know that it is safe to use. Ed

[JohnB]

A repair service tech at my oil burner service once alleged that furnaces sometimes shut off and need to have the reset button pushed for no reason anybody can figure out. When in doubt, call the repair person.

The company I use offers service contracts to reduce the financial risk of midnight emergency calls. Does yours?

[*CBHVAC*]

No...somethings acting up. They dont just fix themselves.

Why dont you just keep wondering? I mean..after all...its working now...

Sorry. We see this all the time. Most times, we dont even get told that the little red buttons been pressed 40 times to try to get it to run. Then, when we DO get it running, all hell breaks lose and everyone sits there with this look like...what did YOU do to my furnace????

Man...somethings not right....either you have a control thats bad...an optical thats gone...or something else. No one...not one person in here can tell you. You need to get the thing checked, and repaired. No..they DONT just trip for no reason.