Heating question : Dunkirk gas boiler not heating.

[Clarence Martin]

Something went on the boiler and not sure where to start. Got one of those electronic thermostats in the hallway to set the temp and that seems to be working . I turned the heat up and I hear something , but I don't hear the regular sound of the boiler when it is running. Last night , I went to the circuit breaker box to se e if the breaker was tripped. I turned the circuit breaker off and on. Nothing. Did it 4 more times and finally the boiler kicked on.

This Morning, the Radiators are stone cold and I hear this huming sound from the boiler , but not thee Boiler firing up.

What should I be checking next ?

[Clarence Martin]

Checked gauges. They all read on the low end where they start. Nothing obstructed on the vent.

[Frank Drew]

Fuel supply ok?

[Clarence Martin]

have a gas stove in the Kitchen. No problem with that.

[Robert LaPlaca]

Standing pilot or electronic pilot? If standing pilot, is the pilot lit? If electronic, well sometimes they are a pain the backside, might want to check there is not a reset sequence you need to go through to make sure gas valve didn't lock out..

[Matt Day]

My boiler stopped worked this past winter as well. My pilot would light but not the main burner, turned out to be the Mercury sensor (iirc) broke. That's the part that heats up and tells the valve to let gas flow. Cost me $250 parts and labor to have a pro do it since I couldn't diagnose it and the temp was in the single digits.

[Clarence Martin]

Not sure what type of pilot light it is. The date on the Boiler, it is a Dunkirk boiler, says made in 1993.

[Matt Day]

Is the pilot light on?

[Lee Schierer]

A few years ago, I was called to help a young couple living in a rental property. Their furnace was not working there was a metallic ignitor 311381 that had cracked from thermal fatigue. Your furnace may have on of those.

[Myk Rian]

If you don't know what you're doing, call a pro. Gas fired equipment is nothing to mess around with.

[Clarence Martin]

repair man came out today. Won't know the prices for a day or 2. The intermittent control is shot. That is the expensive part. something like $400 or so. He will get back to me on prices. Then there is that pressure tank that sits above the boiler, he said that the reason the pressure reading is low on the boiler. it is at 9 Lbs. is that the tank that was installed on the boiler originally, was not designed to allow for the radiators to be bled. It doesn't refill itself. So, that has to be replaced.

Got a rough quote on a new boiler. Around 5 Grand. The new boilers require stainless steel pipe for direct vent. Figure on keeping the house for a year and then selling it. So just going to get it repaired.

[Matt Day]

I hope you have a trusted repairman. I was quoted more for just the part from one guy than it cost for labor and materials from the guy that installed it. I was surprised as the difference.

[Shawn Bush]

Sounds like that could be kinda high for an ignition control board. A lot of boilers use a Honeywell S8610U control, probably less than $150 for the part if it uses that one.

Also i'd be surprised if you don't have a pressure reducing valve on your system. It automatically adds water when any is lost to maintain the set pressure.

[Clarence Martin]

311486This a picture of the same type and model Dunkirk boiler that I have. If you look on the right hand side of the picture, you will see a gray square box . The part inside the box is what needs to be replaced.