My Becket oil fired baseboard hot water boiler goes on but immediately goes off sometimes but it usually runs fine. Why is this happening?

 

Going to need a lot more information for diagnosing the issue.
By “goes off” do you mean you have to push the reset button?
When was the boiler last serviced and cleaned? Fuel tank level ok?

 

I am upstairs. It is in the basement. I can hear it go on and go right back off. 2 seconds. It was just serviced a couple of weeks ago. Fuel tank is full. I got up and moved the thermostat up about ten minutes later and it went on fine. It is running OK. It is just that this on and immediately off doesn't seem right. Has this got something to do with the cycling rate? Once and hour?

 

It should not cycle like that.

 

If your thermostat is an old mercury type, the heat anticiipator could need adjustment.

 

Thanks Grady. Good point but I fixed that last time i had the same trouble a year or two ago. I adjusted it all the way down as far as will go to I think point one. I don't need that as I have base board and not the old cast iron radiators. I notice no new thermostats have that feature. I was painting and i had the thermostat off and i dropped it. It seemed OK until I noticed this problem of shutting off immediately after turning on. It only happens once in a while and other wise it is fine. I should say except it has always been a couple of degrees off. I purchased a new one but my oil burner man told me they weren't as good as the old mercury ones (that I have) and also I was confused about the two little switches on the back of the new one for cycling. So I never installed it.

 

S,
Do you have zone valves and if so what brand are they. If you have zone valves that heat aticipator you have at .1 needs to be adjusted dependind on the brand.

 

I do not have zones. Two loops, first floor and second. That's it.

 

Also I have a fairly new control box. In the control box there is a little label that says to put the anticipator setting at 0.1.

 

Spetho,
I have digitals but the only good thing I can say about them is they respond quicker. Of the little swithches; one is likely for "electric" or "gas". Set it for gas. Nobody thinks there are some of us who still use oil. The other may be for scorched air or hot water heat.. If so, set it for hot water.