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Thread: Gas fired Boiler question.

  1. #1

    Gas fired Boiler question.

    I heard a click, click, click sound coming from the Basement. Went down to check it out. Boiler is heating up the cast iron radiators fine, but when I went in the basement , I heard the clicking sound. Then, it sounded like the gas was shutting down . 5 seconds later , I heard a wump sound as the boiler fired back up..


    Anyone know what might be causing that?


    I had the Aquastat and a new pressure tank installed about 2 years ago. It was running fine until today.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Medina Ohio
    Posts
    4,516
    Is it the electric igniter mine clicks before the gas fires

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Livonia, Michigan
    Posts
    780
    Hi Clarence,

    Sorry to hear your heating system is acting up. Always seems to happen when it's cold out. Why is that?

    This needs to be checked out. The spark igniter may not be working quite right or the mechanism that senses the flame isn't quite right.

    First thing is to clean out the burner area. At my house the dryer is close to the furnace. Pulling out the dryer screen throws a lot of dust in the air. Woe befall me if I don't clean out the burner area each year. Otherwise dust will build up so the flame is shifted and miss the flame sense rod. Then the furnace shuts down on a fault.

    Years ago at Mom and Pop's house my Dad complained of a "bang" when the furnace started. That "bang" blew a panel off the side of the furnace! Turns out the high voltage system was messed up and the delayed spark was allowing gas to build before lighting. A replacement control board was over $400, this was back in the late '80's. The old board needed a 25 cent diode. It's still working today.

    I would have someone turn up the thermostat while watching the burner. If the gas ignites immediately but the igniter continues to spark then the flame sense system isn't right. Or if the flame ignites and shuts down anyway. Often the flame sensors are stainless rods that get crudded up and can be cleaned up with sandpaper. When the gas starts the spark should occur immediately. If the spark is delayed then the ignition system has a problem. That's a serious and dangerous problem. In other words watch from a distance.

    If you have a steam system there could be a problem with the pressuretrol causing the boiler to cycle incorrectly. But the first thing would be to check and vacuum out the burner area. They should be cleaned out annually but usually aren't checked until a problem happens or every 130 years, maybe.

    Lots of luck figuring this out.

    -Tom

  4. #4
    Must have been a hiccup in the Boiler ! I shut it down, then started it up about 30 minutes later. No problems since!

  5. #5
    Update on the Boiler:

    Sunk like the Titanic !!!!!

    Been without heat for 5 days now. Furnace Man came out and said it is TOAST !!! Cost more to repair, than to just replace. 25 years , and it is all rusted out inside. Ordering a new Boiler in . Should be here by the end of the week or early next week.

    At least it's not Winter yet! Woke up to 48 Degrees this Morning !

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Missouri
    Posts
    2,151
    I don't know if the gas companies still provide the service. They used to do what they called a season check for free or sometimes a minimum charge. A service person would come out and check the equipment and put it in service for the winter. Well worth it.
    PS I should add that I was qualified to work on gas equipment. I can't do it anymore but I have the people who installed my furnace do it every year.
    Jim
    Last edited by James Pallas; 11-28-2017 at 12:49 PM. Reason: Add ps

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Carlyle IL
    Posts
    2,183
    I can relate. Earlier this year I replaced a 260,000 BTU boiler for my branch shop (business). it is 88pct efficient, then this summer I had to replace a furnace at a business rental proerty,

    Then last month I had to replace a 990,000 BTU boiler for some of my greenhouses. The new boiler is a 600,000 BTU boiler that is 98 pct efficient.

    It is a Lochinvar Fire Tube FTXL model and it is awesome! It measures outside air temperature and heats the water based on need. It modulates down 7:1 or 10:1 when only a small gain in heat is needed. I often walk in and check the monitor and see it running at 10pct.

    After I purchased this boiler and due to its cost ($20K), I looked at Ameren Illinois' website. It turns out that I am going to receive a $2700 rebate because I purchased a greater than 93% efficient boiler. My old 22 year old boiler, when new was 85% efficient, probably was down to 70% efficient. So, upgrading made sense. I figure my payback could be around 6-7 years.
    Vortex! What Vortex?

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