Help Please!!! I have an old Peerlerss model MM-95B-W Gas Boiler heating my house. It appears to be gravity operated. 4 times so far this season it has not come on and when I check it the pilot light is lit, When I drop the metal plate covering the pilot/burner back in place the heater suddenly decides to work??????????????????? Can any one tell me what is going on and how I can fix this? More importantly do I need to shut it down as a safety risk? Thank you, Chris Wright:confused:

I am finishing about 1/2 of my basement (725 sq ft). Currently have heat pump which is small for the size of the house, but we manage ok, excpet on coldest days. It is a 4 ton unit supplying about 2700 sq ft of living space in DC area. [The original heat exchanger in the basement was replaced last year. I took the opportunity to upgrade the unit to acommodate 5-ton capacity with 4-ton coil. This way, when the compressor goes (more than 10 years old now) I can add a 5-ton compressor and change out the coils ($250) and I will have 5-ton capacity in heat pump, heat exchanger, and blower.] Back to the finishing question. Problem is that I would prefer not to tap into existing ducts for additional air flow as this would reduce supply to rest of house. Basement is routinely warmer in winter and cooler in summer than rest of house. So, I see no reason to add capacity to the basement except that we will be closing in the existing slab, foundation, and ceiling with insulation/vapor barrier/drywall/carpet. The existing system returns air down the center of the house and supplies it through a main rectangular duct to both "wings" of the house up and out at the perimeters. 8" round ducts (I think) supply the first floor perimeter. I was thinking about tapping into those with perhaps 4" ducts just to be sure I had air flow in the basement. There is currently no return duct in the basement, but I planned to add on at the air handler. Another option occurred to me as well. I could add heat-only to the basement in the form of baseboard electric or something like that. Since the temp in the basement is pretty constant year round, this heat would not be expected to run much if at all. I would not need separate cooling since the basement is mostly below grade and stays nice and cool in summer. There will be no bedrooms down there either. As an added bonus, I could seal up the ductwork better than it is now and add some insulation in the ceiling (which I am planning to do for sound proofing anyway) and hopefully improve flow/climate upstairs. Other than complicating my electrical capacity plans in the second approach, I would appreciate any thoughts about these two approaches. Does the first approach make sense, and does the second approach have merit? What would you do? Either of these or some other more sensible approach? Thanks.