Firebird (Oil Fired) Hideaway 90 cutting out!

suitseir

I recently had the oil fired Firebird Boiler serviced, and put in 500 litres of Oil. So good to go, and it did for about two weeks. Then I noticed one evening last week that it stopped. So I called back the service guy and he got it up and running again.

He told me if it cut out again that we needed to isolate the problem. He told me to press the reset button and if it didn't fire up, to press it again along with the little white button beside the thermostat....I did and it worked but only for a half an hour. He said that would indicate that the thermostat needed replacing.

So this evening, he did that and it fired up again, except after about 45 mins it stopped so I pressed the reset button....nothing....then I pressed the reset button and the button on thermostat (small white button) and it worked.It is still working as I post! He says he needs to isolate the problem....could be solenoid, photocell or worse case, burner which is 16 years old.

Sorry for being long winded....but any experts out there with ideas?

Wearb

What temperature or position is the boiler stat set to?
Have you had any work done on your plumbing?
Are your rads hot when it cuts out?
Do you have thermostats and zone valves on you heating system?

Could be circulating pump or the boiler stat. Of course it could also be other things, but unlikely to be the burner, going on what you have reported here.

jimf

it sounds to me like you have a circulation issue especially if you are pressing the little white button

low water content or gammy circulating pump

your pump may be working but is not able to circulate the water away from the boiler fast enough

do you have your temp set to max on the stat if yes turn it down to minimum and see how you get on

suitseir

Wearb wrote: »

What temperature or position is the boiler stat set to?
Have you had any work done on your plumbing?
Are your rads hot when it cuts out?
Do you have thermostats and zone valves on you heating system?

Could be circulating pump or the boiler stat. Of course it could also be other things, but unlikely to be the burner, going on what you have reported here.

Thanks for replying.

Stat is set at 75 Farnheit (23c) Boiler put in year 1998
No work done on plumbing
Rads and water hot when it cuts out
No themostats and just one zone - upstairs which is never closed off because tank upstairs in hotpress...dormer bungalow.
Burner sounds fine according to service guy and also says pump fine.
He is trying to narrow it down; he changed thermostat...says if it still cuts out, which it did, once this evening and I pressed reset button and button beside thermostat and it took off again..... could be solenoid?...a mystery. Worse case scenario, a new burner? It's like the dentist with the toothache!

Wearb

The boiler stat measures in centigrade. See if turning it back to about 67/68 helps. Is there an auto air vent on top of boiler?
Post a pic of boiler.

Is your system open or sealed?
Is your circulating pump controlled by a stat?

Once again, with info I have, it is unlikely to be a burner problem.

jimf

I would be pretty confident it is not a burner issue

do you ever have to press the reset button on the front of the burner to get it going

new burner is not a fix I would be happy to go with at this time

turn your stat down to the lowest setting 75 is a bit high for that boiler as its enclosed its hard for the heat to dissipate

its a process of elimination at times to get a fix

Dtp1979

suitseir wrote: »

Thanks for replying.

Stat is set at 75 Farnheit (23c) Boiler put in year 1998
No work done on plumbing
Rads and water hot when it cuts out
No themostats and just one zone - upstairs which is never closed off because tank upstairs in hotpress...dormer bungalow.
Burner sounds fine according to service guy and also says pump fine.
He is trying to narrow it down; he changed thermostat...says if it still cuts out, which it did, once this evening and I pressed reset button and button beside thermostat and it took off again..... could be solenoid?...a mystery. Worse case scenario, a new burner? It's like the dentist with the toothache!

If you have to press the little white button then it has nothing to do with the burner. That button is an overheat high limit reset. If it detects water at 95 I think, then it trips.
Have you an auto air vent on the boiler. Sounds like it could be air in top of the boiler of a pocket of steam that can't be released

Wearb

jimf wrote: »

I would be pretty confident it is not a burner issue

do you ever have to press the reset button on the front of the burner to get it going

new burner is not a fix I would be happy to go with at this time

turn your stat down to the lowest setting 75 is a bit high for that boiler as its enclosed its hard for the heat to dissipate

its a process of elimination at times to get a fix

Parrot.

Dtp1979

Great minds ......

jimf

Wearb wrote: »

Parrot.

feck off I nearly said it first :P:P

jimf

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Great minds ......

go on say it dtp and fools seldom differ

jimf

sorry wearb only seen your post of 20.56 now

apologies bit of parrot goin on there alright

Wearb

OP
Seeing as is 3 fools are singing of the same hymn sheet, I think your man should start with those suggestions.

Don't forget to answer the questions we asked. We are not just being mosey

Wearb

jimf wrote: »

sorry wearb only seen your post of 20.56 now

apologies bit of parrot goin on there alright

Too late Jim. I am in a huff now.

jimf

im sure you will get over it

you could always tell the mods im upsetting you

agusta

Make that 4 wearb

Wearb

jimf wrote: »

im sure you will get over it

you could always tell the mods im upsetting you

I am tired pm-ing them about you. Getting me nowhere. Are you supplying them with turkey's (or a brace of pheasants) at Christmas time.

suitseir

Wearb wrote: »

The boiler stat measures in centigrade. See if turning it back to about 67/68 helps. Is there an auto air vent on top of boiler?
Post a pic of boiler.

Is your system open or sealed?
Is your circulating pump controlled by a stat?

Once again, with info I have, it is unlikely to be a burner problem.

I have turned temp down to minium...service guy advised same.
Don't know if there is an auto air vent on top of boiler....
Sealed
AFAIK circulating pump not controlled by stat.
Will arrange pic.

suitseir

jimf wrote: »

I would be pretty confident it is not a burner issue

do you ever have to press the reset button on the front of the burner to get it going

new burner is not a fix I would be happy to go with at this time

turn your stat down to the lowest setting 75 is a bit high for that boiler as its enclosed its hard for the heat to dissipate

its a process of elimination at times to get a fix

OK. This is the first occasion that I have had to press reset button as in, since this problem arose.
Have turned down stat and will try it at lowest temp.
Agree, a process of elimination and service guy also says he is sure not a burner issue.
Thanks.

Dtp1979

suitseir wrote: »

OK. This is the first occasion that I have had to press reset button as in, since this problem arose.
Have turned down stat and will try it at lowest temp.
Agree, a process of elimination and service guy also says he is sure not a burner issue.
Thanks.

Sorry I thought u said earlier that the service guy said it might be photocell, solenoid or worse!

suitseir

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Sorry I thought u said earlier that the service guy said it might be photocell, solenoid or worse!

The service guy said that it could be thermostat, which he replaced this evening and if that does not solve, it could be solenoid or worse case scenario, burner, but he reckons that would be the last resort as he is confident burner and pump working fine.

Can't imagine what else it could be.

jimf

this is getting a bit confusing for me at this stage if the burner is ok according to your service guy its not the solenoid coil

best to leave it to the guy on site to fix as we are really only guessing here at the end of the day

Dtp1979

suitseir wrote: »

The service guy said that it could be thermostat, which he replaced this evening and if that does not solve, it could be solenoid or worse case scenario, burner, but he reckons that would be the last resort as he is confident burner and pump working fine.

Can't imagine what else it could be.

I'm starting to doubt the ability of the Servuce guy. You say it was service s few weeks ago. Could you tell us what the flue gas analysis readings are from the Service??

agusta

The little white button that your pressing is the high limit thermostat,its a safety device that cuts off power to the burner when the temperature on the top of the boiler reaches between 104 and 114 degrees.[it should not reach this temperature]if your resetting this it is "not" a burner issue.I would be checking the temperature of the flow and return before changing the thermostat.
If you can answer the lads earlier questions about the auto air vent and whether the its an open or sealed system you will get a more accurate diagnosis on the fault

suitseir

Dtp1979 wrote: »

I'm starting to doubt the ability of the Servuce guy. You say it was service s few weeks ago. Could you tell us what the flue gas analysis readings are from the Service??

I know I am confused and know nada about boilers.

Flue gas analysis:
O2........8.6
CO(ppm).......23
CO2(%) ........9.1
Ratio...........0.0002
Temp net (C)......218
Temp flue (C)......236
Eff gross(%) ........81.1
XS air ............70.2

Serviced 4.9.2015

agusta

You need a new service guy..,these readings are way off the mark

you should have approx

CO2 11.5
02 below 6
xs air 35 to 37

suitseir

agusta wrote: »

You need a new service guy..,these readings are way off the mark

you should have approx

CO2 11.5
02 below 6
xs air 35 to 37

Ok. Thanks.

jimf

agusta wrote: »

You need a new service guy..,these readings are way off the mark

you should have approx

CO2 11.5
02 below 6
xs air 35 to 37

+1