furnace goes on and shuts off after a minute

i have burnham boiler no. p-206-w
it is natural vented, everything goes on but only stays on for a minute, pilot stays lit, flames in the burner establish, does not have a vent switch

 

This is your third post and in two different topics. Please keep all the questions and responses in one thread.
For the record, the boilers forum was the correct place for your questions.

Without knowing anything more than what you have posted I am going to state that the most likely problem is a malfunctioning flame sensor, assuming that this boiler even has one. Look at the burner(s) on the side farthest from the pilot and see if there is a slender steel rod inserted where it would be immersed in the flame when the burner is firing. This rod would have an insulated wire going back to a control board. If you have this try polishing the rod with a Scotchbrite pad.

Or, post some pictures of the burner area of the boiler. To post pictures you need to first upload the pictures to a photo hosting site such as photobucket.com or villagephotos.com. and then post the public URLs for the pictures (or album) here. More pictures are always better than fewer. Please have CLEAR pictures and have both close up pictures and ones from a far enough distance that we can see how the various parts are interconnected.

 

I think the P206W is a standing pilot ignition system with a pilot light, while a P206EI has an electronic ignition.


Perhaps Mikey can tell us if the boiler has a pilot light that stays lit all the time.

If so, I'd guess that it's shutting off on a limit control, water level control or other safety control.

 

Maybe when the burner comes on, it draws the pilot flame into the burner dierction and somewhat off the thermcouple. ???

What kind of thermostat do you have? If an older mechanical type, boilers require longer heat anticipator setting. Make sure thermostat not shutting off on you. And if you have an antipicipator inside it, what is it currently set at? (Like: .4, .6, .8, 1, 1.2?

 

yes the pilot light stays lit

 

During the time the burners are on, what temperature does the boiler reach? Do you have any zone valves? If so, what make & model?

 

no zone valves, temperature goes to 170f

 

Is this during a call for heat from the thermostat? If so, are the baseboards or radiators getting warm/hot?

 

yes, yes the radiators get warm

 

If the house is warm, it sounds like the boiler is simply making heat faster than the radiation can get rid of it. Not unusual, in fact, common.

 

Is there a pump to circulate the hot water?

Does the thermostat control the pump, or turn on the burners?

Does the pump switch on and appear to be working normally?