Help. Gerkros 90/120 oil boiler locking out

Spoon1236

Hi,

I'm at my wits end with my boiler, it has been locking out for nearly a year now. I have had my own plumber out to service it 3 times and a Gerkros technician out fix it.
Firstly my plumber, cleaned and service it, it seemed to work fine for a few weeks but then the problem returned, he then replaced the control box. Again it working fine for a while. It locked out again and he replaced the reset switch on the front panel. Again after another few weeks it locked out again, I called Gerkos for help, they sent out a technician who completely dismantled the entire boiler, and using meter of some kind, said that the boiler was burning too much oil and that it was taking in too much air, which was blowing out the flame. He adjusted it and again for a few weeks it was like having a new boiler.
2 weeks ago it started locking out again. When it locks out, it starts up, the pump runs, the fan starts and then click it locks out,when the button on the control box resets I press it to reset the boiler and it trys to start, sometimes it does start for a while and then locks out, but mostly it locks out again. When it locks out there is also a smell of fumes in the whole house.

The boiler is a Gerkros 90/120 Gem domestic heating boiler, with a Bentone burner, model: Sterling 50 ST120, Type: ST120 (EM), Manufacture year: 2002.

Can anyone suggest anything?
Would a new Burner fix the problem, as its nearly the only thing not replaced so far?

Thanks,
Spoon1236

ART6

I'm no expert on that particular make, but generally on oil burners the fan starts first to purge the furnace of any residual oil vapour. Then the oil pump starts and the igniter flashes a spark between prongs close to the burner nozzle. If the oil doesn't ignite within a set time then the unit locks out. So, your problem: If you get fumes in the house when it locks out, that suggests that the pump is squirting oil into the combustion chamber, but it isn't igniting. Could be several reasons for that -- the igniter has an intermittant fault, or the spark prongs are either too far apart or too far away from the burner nozzle, or the air damper linkage has slackened off, allowing the damper to open too far and blowing the oil away from the spark prongs, or the nozzle is partially blocked, or an oil filter (in some makes inside the nozzle) is dirty.

I'd first check to see if the igniter is creating a good spark, then take out the nozzle and blow it through. Check any filters and check the fan damper linkage. Where the position of the spark prongs is concerned, it seems unlikely that they are wrongly positioned and they wouldn't change, but they could have been placed on the borderline position where they will ignite most times but not others.

JamesM

Are you using diesel (gas oil) or kerosene ?
Jim.

Spoon1236

Thanks for the replys,

ART6, I have my plumber calling round and I'll ask him to check these, as I'm not really confident enough to try to work on a boiler myself, I'll keep you posted on what he finds.

JamesM, I'm using kerosene.

JamesM

Spoon1236 wrote: »

Thanks for the replys,

ART6, I have my plumber calling round and I'll ask him to check these, as I'm not really confident enough to try to work on a boiler myself, I'll keep you posted on what he finds.

JamesM, I'm using kerosene.

There can be problems with a burner running on diesel, blowing out the flame, but with kerosene, you should not have that problem as long as the burner is adjusted properly. As ART6 says there could be an intermittant fault with the transformer which gives the spark to light the oil, but it sounds more as if the flame is trying to ignite and not forming properly. You don't try to clean a nozzle, if you are having trouble with the shape of a flame - a new nozzle should certainly have been fitted by the last engineer. He should also check for water in the oil. It's amazing the amount of water that can "burn" without actually stopping the burner.
Jim.

barbican

Spoon1236 wrote: »

Hi,

I'm at my wits end with my boiler, it has been locking out for nearly a year now. I have had my own plumber out to service it 3 times and a Gerkros technician out fix it.
Firstly my plumber, cleaned and service it, it seemed to work fine for a few weeks but then the problem returned, he then replaced the control box. Again it working fine for a while. It locked out again and he replaced the reset switch on the front panel. Again after another few weeks it locked out again, I called Gerkos for help, they sent out a technician who completely dismantled the entire boiler, and using meter of some kind, said that the boiler was burning too much oil and that it was taking in too much air, which was blowing out the flame. He adjusted it and again for a few weeks it was like having a new boiler.
2 weeks ago it started locking out again. When it locks out, it starts up, the pump runs, the fan starts and then click it locks out,when the button on the control box resets I press it to reset the boiler and it trys to start, sometimes it does start for a while and then locks out, but mostly it locks out again. When it locks out there is also a smell of fumes in the whole house.

The boiler is a Gerkros 90/120 Gem domestic heating boiler, with a Bentone burner, model: Sterling 50 ST120, Type: ST120 (EM), Manufacture year: 2002.

Can anyone suggest anything?
Would a new Burner fix the problem, as its nearly the only thing not replaced so far?

Thanks,
Spoon1236

Hi there, also having this problem with exact same boiler, think it's about the same age as your one too, I'm also living in Louth - maybe it's something in the air!! Just wondering if you ever got problem sorted because no one I've called out can seem to get to the bottom of it. Would be delighted if you could give any advice.