Bentone Oil burner not working

zapata · 15-11-2007 4:41pm #1

I have a problem with this burner. I reckon it is about 10 years old. The burner is a Bentone. It has a danfoss oil pump and a danfoss\landis & gyr control box. I had a fill of kerosene about a month ago and after bleeding it fired up and worked until now.
The photo sensor is spotless.
The thermostat reset button seems ok.
It seems to be in lockout mode - red light on the reset button.
After pressing this, red light goes out, the relays click, and then click after about 4 seconds. It then resets again. I can hear and feel the water pump running
The motor\blower does not kick in nor start up.
I disconnected the burner from the boiler and noticed that the motor is very stiff to turn manually. Should this spin freely?
Any other checks or am I goose'd…

JamesM · 16-11-2007 10:14am

If you just hear the clicks and not the motor whirring, then it is very likely that the motor is sticking. If you take off the oil pump, the motor should spin very freely. Sit the burner as you have it in the first photo and squirt plenty of WD 40 into the motor where the drive connects. Run the motor for a few cycles to free it up - If it spins freely, put back the pump and make sure that you replace the burner in the boiler before trying to start it. That's the most likely problem - try it - it may work for a day or a year. The oil pump can also be sticking or the motor may be just burnt out. You do have to make sure that the pump is properly lined up when re-fitting it. Leave the screws loose and slowly tighten them, one at a time, as you run the burner
Jim.

zapata · 19-11-2007 12:18am

Hi JamesM and thanks,
I knew from reading the other 'oil burner problem' threads that I would get a reply from you. Do you or have you worked in that game..
Anyway i disconnected the mains and oil feed and stripped the burner down. Checked all the components and cleaned the nozzle insitu (couldn't remove the nozzle as the blast tube seems to be welded - even with the screws removed). Some of the wiring connections in the control box were iffy, so sorted them too. Put it all back together and it worked. Like you say - maybe for a day or a year. Nice warm house for now....

JamesM · 19-11-2007 10:00am

zapata wrote: »

Do you or have you worked in that game..

'Fraid so

Glad it's working

:)

MAC200sx · 10-03-2008 12:22am

hows tricks?can see that you know your stuff!have a bentone b9,suntec pump as47c,was working fine,serviced 8 months ago,new stat,nozzle,filter,fire valve,
.no strange noises,no soot or anything obvious.took motor off,spins free,cleaned photosensor and the flue,it runs for 30mins and knocks off.have to press reset button to start again.sumtimes it wont relight.seen an earlier thread that ye mentioned a capacitor mite need changing??any ideas man?

JamesM · 10-03-2008 2:34pm

I presume that you are pressing the reset button on the control box on the burner, not the button on the thermostat !
It's the times it won't restart, that you can tell most about what's going wrong. During a failed restart, does the motor turn or is there just a bare hum (almost silent) from it ? If that is the case, It is the motor or the oil pump that is stuck - take the pump off and, if the motor is sticking, try the WD 40 trick. If the motor is turning at full speed, then it is likely that the solenoid coil is acting up when it gets hot - it is not opening up and letting the oil through. Also make sure that the electrodes are sparking - sometimes there can be a breakdown a the transformer.
If there is a fault in any of the major parts, it is usually better to buy a new burner - The Riello G3 is one of the best and will fit where there was a B9 - you just change the flange.
To be honest, it's mainly experience that identifies an intermittant problem like that.
Jim.

squealypig · 17-03-2008 9:08pm

Any pointers gratefully received. Have just had a refill and noticed the smell of Kero from the boiler. Have removed the Burner cover. All the fittings are dry however there is some wetness under the burner casing. With everything visible being dry I'm at a loss as to where the oil could be seeping from. Are their any gaskets etc. beyond the oil pump fixing. Apologies for my vagueness!

Thanks

JamesM · 18-03-2008 9:38am

If the leak is not visible, it can be the seal on the oil pump drive shaft. Or filling the tank may have stirred up some dirt, which may have damaged the nozzle and messed up the spray patern - there could be a drip from the nozzle, working down through the burner - new nozzle. If it is the oil pump, you have to replace the pump, or the burner.
Jim.

squealypig · 18-03-2008 10:23am

Thanks Jim

Time to call in the boilerman!!

Cheers

Mark

Morrisseeee · 27-01-2009 6:50pm

..........HINT for people with oil burners not working........

not the button on the thermostat !

Could someone tell me, (is JamesM around?), what this button does ?
Does it simply reset the thermostat ?

The reason I ask is, it saved me this Xmas ! ie. my burner wouldn't start-up. I tried all the usual things but still no action. I happened to mention it to my neighbour and he said : try this: 'there's a button hidden under a black screw cap on the thermostat box, ie. where you can change the temperature. Press this button to see if it will work for you.'
It was by chance that he tried it at another persons house a while earlier !
So......I'm glad it worked, but curious as to what the button does !

JamesM · 27-01-2009 9:56pm

It's a high limit stat. If the temp gets near boiling point, it hops out. If it hasn't happened since, I wouldn't worry. Don't have the boiler stat set too high.
Jim.

davidoco · 28-01-2009 12:09am

Morrisseeee wrote: »

......., but curious as to what the button does !

During a cold spell (especially holiday season XMas week) people may turn up their boiler temp or start having the heating on all day. Then they worry about the price of oil and start turning off certain rads, these houses have thermostatic rad valves but no by pass valve or rad that acts as a by pass which has been turned off. Even though the regular thermostat will turn the burner off with no heat removed from the boiler by circulation (as no flow route available) the boiler temp can reach the trip out on the safety valve very quickly.

JamesM · 28-01-2009 12:34am

davidoco wrote: »

During a cold spell (especially holiday season XMas week) people may turn up their boiler temp or start having the heating on all day. Then they worry about the price of oil and start turning off certain rads, these houses have thermostatic rad valves but no by pass valve or rad that acts as a by pass which has been turned off. Even though the regular thermostat will turn the burner off with no heat removed from the boiler by circulation (as no flow route available) the boiler temp can reach the trip out on the safety valve very quickly.

There's the explaination I didn't have time for

Also if the timer switches off just as the boiler reaches the end of a cycle, the temp can shoot up and the limit stat will trip.
Jim.

darior · 10-08-2011 9:22pm

hi guys
i also have a bentone oil burner that will not fire
it goes through its proceedure the fan kicks in but it locks out
i checked the oil pressure which goes up to 10bar
i took the nozzle out in case it is blocked
has anybody got any suggestions whats wrong?

davidoco · 11-08-2011 11:13pm

for darior

do you hear the electrodes sparking? if you have gone to the trouble of taking the nozzle out go and get the exact same one new (less than 10 euro).

Diarm007 · 11-02-2013 3:12am

my burner was working fine the last two weeks but now nothing.. power coming from thermostat to control box but it wont start to do anything.. oil coming to burner..no air locks..

reset button does nothing...

Any suggestions greatly appreciated..

Billy Bunting · 12-02-2013 8:35pm

Try removing control box, screw on side and pull towards you, once out remove photocell thats fixed to front of box by slipping forward, clean contacts and replace in reverse order.

Briskit · 25-02-2013 6:13pm

darior wrote: »

hi guys
i also have a bentone oil burner that will not fire
it goes through its proceedure the fan kicks in but it locks out
i checked the oil pressure which goes up to 10bar
i took the nozzle out in case it is blocked
has anybody got any suggestions whats wrong?

Hello Folks,

Like Darior, I have a benton burner and all, type FC4A

it hasn't been igniting lately... everything starts up and runs as it should but it's just not catching and ingniting at the end of the nozzle.... I've lit the mist up manually and everything is working fine... thing is, when it pauses at intervals, it won't then reignite itself!

It happened a month ago, and my usual guy cleaned off the electrode or something, and it worked fine since, but now it's off again.

Does it sound like I need a new capacitor or ignition electrode?

Any experienced response appreciated - as these things do tend to happen during cold snaps!!!

jimf · 26-02-2013 9:00am

from your post it sounds like you have a faulty transformer or faulty electrodes

and please for yours and others safety stop the dangerous manual igniting of the burner oil vapour is not something you want to be playing with

Briskit · 26-02-2013 11:00am

Thanks jimf.

Diarm007 · 25-03-2013 7:56pm

Hi again.. Never got around to replying.... After cleaning photocell it made no difference.. Power coming to control box but not a purr or a buzz or a click from it... absolutely dead.. any suggestions or faults that would cause nothing to happen when its turned on??

Pump or control box itself?? Thanks

Billy Bunting · 25-03-2013 9:00pm

Diarm007 wrote: »

my burner was working fine the last two weeks but now nothing.. power coming from thermostat to control box but it wont start to do anything.. oil coming to burner..no air locks..

reset button does nothing...

Any suggestions greatly appreciated..

Is the reset button illuminated ??

Diarm007 · 25-03-2013 9:18pm

no..
control box broke?

Billy Bunting · 25-03-2013 9:24pm

You say you have power at the control box, are you using a phase tester or milti meter ?

Diarm007 · 25-03-2013 10:09pm

Phase tester..where the live connects there is power... I have a multi meter aswell..

Billy Bunting · 25-03-2013 10:18pm

Test again between L and N with meter.

Sounds like a bad nautral, possibly in the thermostat control.

Diarm007 · 25-03-2013 10:28pm

what should the reading be?

Billy Bunting · 25-03-2013 10:33pm

230ish volts

Diarm007 · 25-03-2013 10:44pm

Got 235.8

Billy Bunting · 25-03-2013 10:53pm

Yes sounds like control box.

Diarm007 · 25-03-2013 10:55pm

Ya my friend has same burner so i'll swap control box and see does it work... Thanks

Bentone Oil burner not working

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