Beckett burner won't stay lit - but fires up fine on reset - cold - snowing
#1
10-29-11, 08:49 AM
Beckett burner won't stay lit - but fires up fine on reset - cold - snowing
This is an old New Yorker with an older Beckett burner. Aquastat has obviously been replaced as it has a digital display (haven't even seen one of those yet) I'm sorry I don't have specific model numbers. I'll update with that info as soon as I get back up there.
Boiler fires fine when you hit reset and runs for about 45 seconds then hard shut off. I'm not experienced enough to judge the flame but it looks OK to me. My uneducated guess is photo cell. If you hit the reset again it fires right off and runs for the exact same period of time everytime, which again is about 45 seconds.
Any thoughts besides photocell? How do I test and/or clean?
The burner does not appear to be on a hinged plate like mine is. Can I access it from the top or do I have to remove all the oil lines and take the burner completely off?
Thanks for any feedback.
Boiler fires fine when you hit reset and runs for about 45 seconds then hard shut off. I'm not experienced enough to judge the flame but it looks OK to me. My uneducated guess is photo cell. If you hit the reset again it fires right off and runs for the exact same period of time everytime, which again is about 45 seconds.
Any thoughts besides photocell? How do I test and/or clean?
The burner does not appear to be on a hinged plate like mine is. Can I access it from the top or do I have to remove all the oil lines and take the burner completely off?
Thanks for any feedback.
#2
10-29-11, 07:53 PM
The burner does not appear to be on a hinged plate like mine is.
Most likely, on top of the burner there is an ignition transformer. That transformer itself is 'hinged'. Usually two screws hold it down. Remove those two screws and hinge back the transformer. The cad cell should be right there... unplug it and plug in a new one, or try cleaning the lens on the old one.
If the burner has not been serviced recently, it's possible that the head is gunked up and the cell can't see the flame. I would think though that if it were that gunked up, it wouldn't run right.
You could be right that it's the cad cell.
#3
11-01-11, 06:13 PM
Thanks for the feedback. I actually haven't gotten to look at it yet. Fifteen minutes after I posted all hell broke loose here in PA and we just got power back a few hours ago. So tomorrow I'll have to try to fix the boiler!
#4
11-11-11, 11:47 AM
cleaned the cad cell and everything fired up just fine - but the circulator won't come on 
You can hear the relay click, but the pump doesn't fire. I'ts time for a new boiler. This thing is just tired
You can hear the relay click, but the pump doesn't fire. I'ts time for a new boiler. This thing is just tired
#6
11-11-11, 06:04 PM
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Whoa! If you change the boiler an leave a bad circulator then you'll have a new boiler and a bad circulator!
Fixing the problem is cheaper!
Fixing the problem is cheaper!
#8
11-12-11, 09:05 AM
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Whoa!
I'm from the sixties (early),
actually now come to think of it I'm kind of tired
Buying a new system instead of fixing an old system is not usually cost effective. Old system parts are way cheaper then new systems, so I agree that maybe it is worth a shot to TRY to fix up that old girl!!
actually now come to think of it I'm kind of tiredBuying a new system instead of fixing an old system is not usually cost effective. Old system parts are way cheaper then new systems, so I agree that maybe it is worth a shot to TRY to fix up that old girl!!
#9
11-12-11, 09:16 AM
LOL - I don't think we are yet ready to compare boiler life spans to human life spans!
It's not my boiler and it's not my call, although my input does have influence. It's an aging (gracefully) family members boiler. You would have to see it but you can tell just from a quick inspection that it's a very tired unit. I'm pushing to get it through one more winter - do some major insulation improvements next summer - and then put in a new unit to match the new lower heating load. I think He's thinking that at his age he might as well just replace it now and that certainly should last him the rest of his life. If a replacement lasts another 40 years he'd be about 110
At least he has a boiler. I ripped ours out six weeks ago to convert to NAT. Things are going much more slowly than expected. We are in the final stages but fact is we still don't have central heat. Thank goodness my wife is a patient person I figure Thanksgiving is my cut off - meaning if I don't have it done by then my head will be cut off!
It's not my boiler and it's not my call, although my input does have influence. It's an aging (gracefully) family members boiler. You would have to see it but you can tell just from a quick inspection that it's a very tired unit. I'm pushing to get it through one more winter - do some major insulation improvements next summer - and then put in a new unit to match the new lower heating load. I think He's thinking that at his age he might as well just replace it now and that certainly should last him the rest of his life. If a replacement lasts another 40 years he'd be about 110
At least he has a boiler. I ripped ours out six weeks ago to convert to NAT. Things are going much more slowly than expected. We are in the final stages but fact is we still don't have central heat. Thank goodness my wife is a patient person
I figure Thanksgiving is my cut off - meaning if I don't have it done by then my head will be cut off!
#10
11-12-11, 09:42 AM
Sounds like your nickname is a misnomer! 
I'm in your club... slow and steady wins the race... turtle... turtle... turtle...
You still didn't tell us what the circulator make/model is?
Or perhaps I'm not reading your thread right? Your plan is definitely to not fix, but replace now?
I'm in your club... slow and steady wins the race... turtle... turtle... turtle...You still didn't tell us what the circulator make/model is?
Or perhaps I'm not reading your thread right? Your plan is definitely to not fix, but replace now?
#11
11-13-11, 09:44 AM
At the moment there is no definitive plan. He has a salesman coming this week to give a quote for a new boiler but has not committed to doing so. I'll try to get the circulator info today if I can.
If he decided to repair the current system realistically what is there to be done? the Aquastat is obviously new and I'm pretty sure the burner was replaced at one point in the past 15 years. So really what would you do?
This thing gets so dirty in one season it's not even funny. It looks worse after one year than my New Yorker did when I went three years without a service. They do not run it hard either, keep the stat way down all the time and use wood stoves for the rest.
If he decided to repair the current system realistically what is there to be done? the Aquastat is obviously new and I'm pretty sure the burner was replaced at one point in the past 15 years. So really what would you do?
This thing gets so dirty in one season it's not even funny. It looks worse after one year than my New Yorker did when I went three years without a service. They do not run it hard either, keep the stat way down all the time and use wood stoves for the rest.
#12
12-04-11, 07:21 AM
It was replaced with a new system. When we really looked at the boiler after it was removed it was so rusted I'm surprised it ran at all. Looks like something that had sat in a scrap heap for 20 years. Lots of pieces of metal rusted off and laying at the bottom of the combustion area. This thing was ready to be replaced.
Thanks as always for the help.
Thanks as always for the help.
