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Old 02-20-2011, 03:55 PM   #1
bigdog
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Post Furnace Problem ?

Hope I can gets some feedbak on a recent furnace issue, I experienced.

The facts:
Oil fired furnace: Weil-McClean
Beckett Burner
Forced hot water system
Tank located in a shed outside of house-Shed is heated by furnace heated
generated, so never gets cold or freezing
#2 Oil used - treated with 'Hot Shot'
Power-Vent Exhaust - from furnace room to outside

Issue:

This morning I woke up, and house seemed very cold, so I turned up the thermostas, and didn't think anything of it. However, when I went to take a shower, I had 'no' hot water, zip, nada ! Just cold water coming out.

That know, I wne to the furnace shed, and sure enough the furnace had shut down. I have no idea, how long it was in this state, but shutdown, sometime between midnight and 7am.

Just FYI:
Have had many recent parts replaced on furnace and Power-Vent, and basically all tuned-up, by Oil dealer. I'm talking repairs within the last 2 wks. Wondering why the furnace shut down, for no reason?

Now I don't know if this is a factor at all, but yesterday and all night long there were VERY high winds ! Could this somehow be a factor, and maybe the wind caused some back-drafts to the furnace, and shut it down?

I might be reaching on this one, but I have no other explanation?

Anyone have thoughts or ideas about the furnace failure.

Thanks,
BD
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Old 02-20-2011, 05:02 PM   #2
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Power Vents are notorious for locking out burners and it could be the fan prover switch.

The fan prover switch is activated when the power vent take out fan comes on. If the switch is faulty or the tube that goes from the fan to the prover switch is plugged up then the burner will not startup.

Most burner technicians will clean the tube that goes to the switch each time that the burner is tuned up.

Questions:

1. What is the make of your power vent? Tjernlund is the most popular one.
2. Did you press the reset button for your burner and if you did what happened?
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Old 02-20-2011, 05:54 PM   #3
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Kevin,disconnect power to the unit for 1 minute and turn back on se if it resets. How much fuel in tank?
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Old 02-21-2011, 08:03 AM   #4
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Call the oil burner company.
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Old 02-21-2011, 09:06 AM   #5
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Default Furnace Issue?

Thanks for the feedback, greatly appreciated !

Latest status, furnace started !

I pressed the 'reset' button for about 1-2 seconds, then released, and furnace blower came on for 30-45 seconds. I believe that's what it's suppose to do? However, it shutdown right after this.

Since I was already down on my knees, I figured I just say a prayer !
I then said to myself, I'll give it one more try. I did remember though, the last time the oil dealer performed same furnace reset, he held the 'reset' button in, for about 30 seconds, then released it, so I did same this time.
Wha-la ! Furnace started ! Yippee ! I suspect holding the reset button for the 30 seconds must have been shooting oil into the burner, and maybe first time, didn't have any oil in burner to keep it going? Again, just a big assumption on my part? However, when the furnace did come on, a huge puff of black smoke came out of burner, and I suspect at exhaust vent also.
Long story short, furnace is running and has been for 24hrs without any issues so far?

Rusty,
Just to let you know, the tube that goes from the fan to the prover switch
was cleaned out and the ' prover switch' itself was replaced with new in the last 2 wks. Oil dealer said it was faulty, as a result of the furnace issues 2 wks ago. Again, "Do you think the 'wind' had any factor in furnace shutdown" ?

Robmac,
I did not shutdown the electricity to furnace, before hitting 'reset' switch, will remember that next time. Didn't see your Post about this until after the fact, but it certainly makes sense.

Oil dealer coming to house soon, anyway to deliver more oil (still have 1/2 tank).

Thanks All !

BD
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Old 02-21-2011, 09:35 AM   #6
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Power Vents are very complex and have had some nuisance shutdowns when the pressure safety switch mistakes windy conditions for blocked vents.
We have had some windy weather so that could have been your problem.

Power vents are a cheap way to vent the burner exhaust but they sure can cause a lot of problems if not working properly. I know a lot of burner technicians who refuse to work on any burner that doesn’t have a chimney.

Next time this happens shut your furnace down with the safety switch and then turn it back on to see if it will reset itself.

You want to be careful how many times you try to reset the burner because it could buildup fuel in the burner and cause an explosion.
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Old 02-21-2011, 10:37 AM   #7
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Default Furnace Issue?

Thanks Rusty about the info. you've provided. I've gotton to know so much about oil furnace heating systems this winter b/c of my own issues, I think I'm ready to take the oil-burner technican Certifcation test myself !

Yes, Power Vents are very complex and a pain in the *** !
I think the recent high winds could have tricked the power vent and/or swotch and shutdown the furnace. I don't have any other explanation for the recent furnace behaviour?

My dealer does and happens to know about the funxtions and repairs to Power vents. I would rip out the power vent, and replace with a chimney, if this was practical, but cannot b/c of the current configuration. I would have to run a 25' foot chimney up the side of the house. Being a Condo, would never get the blessings of the Condo Assoc.to do this, besides the location would make this look VERY ugly.

There is a weight adjustment nut, located on vent stack, that balances the ampunt of air which flows through the furnace. If this isn't adjusted properly I suspect it could cause the power vent switch to not work porperly. Just guessing here?

Next time this happens, I will shut your furnace down with the safety switch and then turn it back on to see if it will reset itself.

FYI, I am very careful how many times I reset the burner because I am aware that oil is pushed into the burner each time 'reset' button is pushed and can build-up. Can you say KABOOM ! Learned that lesson a while ago.
I do want to go to heaven, but I don't want to go today !

Thanks,
BD
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Old 02-21-2011, 10:56 AM   #8
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bigdog,

Glad to hear that you got your burner going.

When you have a power venting system for your exhaust fumes, this is how it works:

1. The thermostat calls for heat and energizes a relay which activates the power venter. After the venter motor has come up to speed, the pressure switch closes. This closes the circuit to the burner and allows the burner to fire.
2. After the heating requirement has been satisfied, the thermostat circuit will open and deactivate the burner.
3. The power venter operates for a period of time after the burner has shut off to purge remaining flue gases.


Any malfunction is these critical steps will make the home owner very unhappy on a cold and windy day or night.
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Old 02-21-2011, 01:34 PM   #9
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As Rusty just described, powervents are not complicated at all. They are either on or off using a simple motor. They all have a proving switch which tells the control that the power exhaust is working and lets the burner fire. A heavy wind could be a possible problem but not likely unless the prevailing winds that day were directly at your discharge fitting outside the house. Even then they should work against high winds. It sounds more likely that the burner had a faulty start up for some reason and it needed a reset. Multiple resets are not recommended because each time more fuel will be pumped into the combustion chamber and when it does fire a small explosion could occur. I would definitely call the people that serviced your burner and let them know what happened since it sounds like this condition did not exist before it was serviced.
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Old 02-21-2011, 03:19 PM   #10
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I have seen alot of power vent tubes that have not been installed properly IE the outside pipe. I always make sure if it's a 90% furnace to have it above the intake by at least 12 inches and that I have a 45 fitting on the end with plumbers cloth stuffed in so no rodents or birds can clog it. Always make sure your outside exhaust is free and clear.
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Old 02-21-2011, 08:43 PM   #11
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I wouldn't bank on the wind being your problem with it being power vented usually they work or they don't have seen very few phantom problems like that ..... one other thing to keep in the back of your mind when its time to replace there are now direct vent boilers no chimney no power vent..... I would get your oil co back out
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Old 03-02-2011, 09:04 PM   #12
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Default Furnace Issue ?

Just to review, Some days it would run fine, then without warning signs, the furnace would go off for no apparent reason ? I was able to restart the system after several reset attempts. However, it shut off sometime early morning.

FYI, had a new burner motor, and burner motor control installed last Spring. Both found to be defective at that time.

Got the oil dealer back out to house to check the furnace system issue.
Anyway, oil dealer indicated I definitely have a power vent 'motor' problem, as the motor heats up and very hot to the touch. Sometimes you can only touch the motor casing for a few seconds because of the heat generated.

Oil dealer Tech, made many adjustments. and checked the 'Igniter' module. This part throws a serious spark into the combustion chamber which ignites the oil which is being pumped in. This checked out fine, as I watched this with my own eyes as he was testing. MAjor spark, no issues there.
He buttoned everything up, and started the furnace this time w/o any issues. He then left. That was in the morning.

By mid afternoon, I noticed the house getting cold again. I went to check the furnace, and sure enough it was out again. Called the oil dealer again, and he came right out to the house. He rechecked everything he checked earlier that morning. Last thing he checked was the Igniter module. This time there was little, almost no spark. That same morning, the spark was like a lightning bolt ! Igniter DOA ! He replaced the Igniter module with new, furnace started right up and has been running fine (crossing my fingers), ever since. Then again, it's only been 24 hrs. I'll be a believer, that the Igniter was the probable cause, if after 2 wks the furnace is still running.

FYI, I bought this property a year ago, and had a 'Home Inspector' evaluate all the systems in the house. He didn't think any issues about the furnace, then again, he didn't perform any tests on it !

Furnace is about 25 yrs old, and had all original parts So that considered things were basically overdue to happen, just because of age. Previous property owner neglected any furnace maint., tuneups, etc for years and never did a thing for upkeep to keep in best operation.

After property purchase I had a complete furnace tune-up, but nothing at the time was indicating any issues with parts failure.

Hopefully, the furnace mystery has been solved, with the replacement of 'Igniter' module, but still have concerns about the longevity of the 'power vent'.

Praying for Spring and warming temperatures!

BD
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Old 03-04-2011, 10:05 AM   #13
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I wouldn't expect an inspector to find a problem with your furnace with the situation you described. An intermitent problem is just that, hit or miss. I should have thought of your as I just had my tech at my house to clean my oil fired FHW furnace. He looked at the spark coming off my igniter and showed me how it was very marginal. My igter itself was fine but this showed that my transformer was getting near its end. I could keep using it till it totally died but it was going to happen sooner or later and probably when I was gone for the weekend right? I had him change it out. I should have thought of this as being a possible issue for you. Sounds like you found the problem.
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Old 03-05-2011, 01:41 PM   #14
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I had a problem with my ignitor a few years back but forgot all about it until you said that was a likely culprit. I could not get my furnace to go on by hitting the 'reset' though. Since it was not freezing weather I had to wait a couple days for the technician which was not a major issue at that time.

The most frustrating part of the affair was the first thing the technician did was hit the reset button and the darned thing worked! Since he was there he said he'd check things out in more detail. He called me down about 15 minutes later and said watch this...

He had the ignitor coil module in his hand and there were two spring contact abut 3-4 inches apart. He laid a screw driver on one and brought it towards the other. When the blade was about 1/4-1/2 inch from the contact a spark jumped between the two. Apparently if the coil had been working correctly it would have spaked about and inch and a half out. The new part filled the hole but apeared to have spacing engineered into it because after 50 years they had been able to design the coil to be a lot smaller.

The next thing to go a couple years later was the blower on the ignition unit. Same thing, smaller part with a plate to fill the space. That's probably going to be your next thing to go so when you have service again ask the tech if he can inspect it closely and maybe check the resistance, or however they test blower motors.

Good luck with your furnace!
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Old 03-05-2011, 08:57 PM   #15
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Default Furnace Problem ?

SIKSUKR
Ignitier spark was marginal but OK, during first test, the Technician performed early in the morning, but when he came back later in the afternoon, after furnace went out again, there was litterally little if any spark, DOA !
Igniter was replaced Monday, today is Sat., and furnace appears to be running OK, at least it hasn't shudown, since new Igniter part was replaced.

You mentioned 'Transformer' ? That was replaced last Fall 2010.
So you're saying a bad Transformer will affect the amount of spark the Igniter module will create?

Kamper
My Burner Technician did that same test you described with Iignitor coil. LaMy tech did same, laying a screw driver across the 2 coil elemnets, to test the spark. Origianl Igniter proed to have no spark. Replacement Igniter spark was at least 1". Seem to do the trick.

As far as blower motor, replaced that previous Jan (2010) ! $$$


Thanks guys for all the valuable info., much appreciaited!

BD
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Old 03-07-2011, 01:00 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bigdog View Post
SIKSUKR

You mentioned 'Transformer' ? That was replaced last Fall 2010.
So you're saying a bad Transformer will affect the amount of spark the Igniter module will create?

BD
Oh yes. The transformer gives the ignitor, which is basically like a spark plug, the necessary voltage to generate that spark. It puts out somewhere around 10,000 volts.
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Old 05-09-2011, 09:41 AM   #17
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Default Furnace Problem ?

Rusty,
Thanks for the great picture of Cad Cell and Ignitor terminals.
Thought it was in this location.

VitaBene,
Taking your advice,to get new service tech provider.
Made that decision after the last fiasco failure !
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Old 05-10-2011, 06:51 AM   #18
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Default Pressure check

One thing that gave me headaches a while back was the pump pressure setting. My burner was set too low, causing flame-outs. The pressure should be around 180PSI I believe. Have the tech check the actual pressure setting vs. the burner spec. A simple adjustment has resolved all my prior issues. I went through techs also changing all the parts out, only to find it was a pressure issue. May be worth a look......
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