Oil burner HELP!

[neparesident]

I have a Burnahm oil burner that is vented through a side wall via a Tjernlund venting system. The entire unit is only about 12 yrs old. Since early spring the safety switch on the Honeywell box that sits on top of the motor has been tripping. When I push the rest button the burner fires up right way. It can take anywhere from 12 hrs to weeks before it will trip again. In the spring when the burner was running often it tripped almost daily. Now it trips every 1-2 weeks. I have had a serviceman from my oil company out here on 2 occassions. I have replaced the motor, the honeywell switch, the electronic eye sensor and the proven switch on the venting system, but I still have the same problem. I am getting tired of replacing parts. The only thing I want to replace now is my oil company. Any suggestions as to what might be the cause? I am desperate to fix this problem. HELP PLEASE!

[frozensolid]

Come back in the winter.

[spotts]

heat in the end of June? Or does it heat your domestic water too?

I'm sorry to say step by step instructions to homeowners is outlawed here. Have you tried http://www.burnham.com/ ?

They can point you to the right contractor........ Or I'll bet you can find and download service instructions.

[wink]

CALL THE PRO

[jakester65]

It could be getting air into the oil line somewhere, I would make sure the filter and all fittings are tight. Maybe the pump strainer is clogged? Could be many things actually.........

[The Penguin]

That safety switch is the burner safety, I recomend you get your oil furnace serviced by a reptuble quality company in your area

It is dangerous to keep resetting that switch

When was the last time you had your oil furnace serviced?
I bet its due!

With all due respect oil furnaces are dangerous if not serviced at leat anually.

[HeyBob]

I'm thinking that burner needs to be serviced by a pro that can set it up and adjust it.

[Green Mountain]

Check the entire flue. Side wall venting is tricky. In 12 years you could have pinhole leaks that the service people have overlooked. Check the breeching as well. Do you smell any products of combustion?

Check for any blockage. Birds nest, colasped inner liner, etc. Actually take the flue apart and physically check it.
Often techs will make a mistake by just taking a draft test and miss some blockage.

[oil lp man]

Theres a lot involved in keeping your boiler running great.
Sounds like the tech(s) working on it are missing something they don't often run across.
There's no way we could tell you the problem without checking your boiler. It could be any number of things.

[glenn stanton]

I will have to agree with the others that if this is happening as frequently as you say that there is something external causing it. As stated, this could be an inability to get the oil to the burner properly (plugged filter, oil line or vacuum leak) or a draft problem. Based on what I see out in the field, I would suspect the setup of the power venter to properly maintain the over-fire draft that we would like to see.

On Tjernlund power venters the pyramid shaped diffuser cone on the outside pertion of the venter is what has to be adjusted to maintain proper overfire draft. The problem with this is that unless the tech keeps running outside and then back inside to make the adjustments necessary to maintain the -.02" w.c.overfire draft or has someone else making those outside adjustments while he monitors the draft, then it has not been set up properly.

It could also possibly have something to do with the way the aftermarket power venter has been wired to the burner control. Depending on the model number of the venter and boiler, it could possibly be wired incorrectly. There are many reasons that this could be happening as stated but a qualified tech should have the ability to correct it. Hope this helps.