I have an oil burning Lennox D1202-70-3 (I believe that's the model number, its a little worn). It has a Wayne MSR pump.
My problem is, the furnace was cleaned this time last year. That was prompted by a similar problem. The fan stayed on constantly, signaling a problem. I tried pushing the reset button, but that did not work. When the tech came out, he replaced 2 filters, and the nozzles, and readjusted the electrodes. Unfortunatly, I had a tech out a 2nd time, since the nozzle immediately plugged.
Anyway, I'm experiencing a similar problem now. I set the temp, and the heat comes on, sometimes. Other times, the house gets cold, I press the reset button, it takes a bit for ignition, I get the black smoke and rumbling, and I have fire. The flame looks normal. The furnace may run fine for a couple days, then not start, and I press the reset button, and it comes back on for another couple days. I've had to hit the reset 2x now in the past week.
Unfortunatly, I do not know much about this unit, since I don't have an owners manual. I purchased this house just about 2 years ago, and it is now 20yrs old. I have no idea how old the furnace is. The tech that came out last time was from/recommended by my oil supplier.
Is there something else I can do myself for troubleshooting? Or should I just call the tech again?

 

you should have a tech come and look at it, you shouldnt be having any black smoke, more than likely the furnace is sooting up and is having a hard time maintaining a flame. could be a clogged nozzle, clogged oil filter, poor combustion air etc. have someone well qualified come out and look over everything, from your tank condition to the oil feed lines and so on. usually recurring problems is from someone getting tunnel vision and not looking into all the possible issues. its best not to mess with it if your not sure of what your doing.

 

To clarify, that black smoke only comes out when the furnace fires up after I press the reset button. I've heard this is a not uncommon occurance when you do that.
The tank is in the basement, and outside, it looks to be in excellent shape. The lines also look to be in great shape.
I agree that someone more qualified should probably look at it. However, I've only been through the equivalent of 2 tanks of fuel, maybe 3, since the filters/nozzle was replaced. They can clog back up that quickly? If it was clogging, wouldn't that be a permanent problem, not an intermittent?

 

the nozzle and filter need changed every fall no matter what as well as an electrode cleaning, adjustment and combustion analysis, and in some cases the filter will need to be changed every tank fill depending on how big your tank is. can you tell if the furnace is sooted, there should be clean out caps you can take off on the furnace to access different areas of the heat exchanger, the furnace shouldnt puff black smoke unless its been sooting.

 

If your fuel system is set up as a two pipe configuration, you could dramaticly reduce the nozzle & filter clogging problem by installing a Tiger Loop.

 

Id say for sure find another tech that know oil burners. To work on it That light and not light could be from the transformer going bad. Dont hit the reset more then 3 times if it dont light then stop.

 

2x is the most I've tried the reset. I've read all over not to push it more then a couple times, and to wait in between pushing it.
I'll check around and try and find another tech that can have a look at it. Also plan on calling the oil company, maybe get some question/answer time in with them.
I'm not familiar at all with what a tiger loop is. I also do not understand what you mean by a 2 pipe configuration.
Thanks for all the help and info. Its been working since I posted, but its to much of an on/off problem to just let go.

 

If there are two lines running from the tank to the burner, you have a 2 pipe configuration. Here is a link to some information about the Tiger Loop.

http://www.westwoodproducts.com/tigerloop.htm

 

I have a similar problem with my oil furnace. Last winter it kept sooting up and failing to ignite. I cleaned it myself, and looked for problems, but eventually had a tech come out. He ended up doing the same thing, cleaning, but I had failed to clean the optical sensor that checks for flame. It had also sooted up, and once it is covered, it cannot detect the light which indicated the presence of flame, and it shuts off. I had it cleaned twice last year and also payed for a service call when it stopped again in the spring.

I have been burning a lot of wood this year, to minimize my use of it, and am considering just replacing it, as I have had both of the local oil companys out to work on it, and no luck fixing the problem.

But I am going to try the two pipe configuration first, as a last resort. I just had heard about that recently, and now read about it here, and it seems like it may help.

 

I also want to use a sludge solvent/oil conditioner. I was quoted $300 by my oil company, and that is simply ridiculous. Can anyone reccomend one that I can apply to my tank?

 

Grady,
Can you post information regarding the two pipe loop?

 

Here is a link to a good bit of information about them. http://www.westwoodproducts.com/tigerloop.htm