Boiler's red lockout light is on

11 years ago

So this morning I noticed it was colder than normal. I turned up the thermostat (even though it was already up) and took a hot shower. Afterwards, I see that it's still cold. I go to the basement and see that we still have 1/2 a tank of oil. I then go to the boiler and see that the red lock out light is on.

I press and hold the reset button, let it go and the boiler starts up. However, every once and a while you can hear it sputter and a little smoke comes out of that swinging round door. Then it shuts off. Sometimes it will run for 30 seconds or a minute or two. Sometimes it will run but you don't hear that "roar" that seems to indicate that combustion is happening.

It's a Weil McLain boiler that was here when we moved into the house in 1999. It hasn't been cleaned in well over a year and I'm guessing this is the problem. How do I go about diagnosing what's wrong? I'd prefer not to get a boiler repair person in here and get a $600 bill for something that I can fix myself.

I'm fairly handy and have even fixed our four zone relay system in the past. I have basic tools including a multi-meter. If I had to guess, like a dirty carb on a lawn mower, the equivalent on my boiler needs cleaning. Any help in diagnosing this would be greatly appreciated.

Featured Answer

berlin

11 years ago

You need to take a boiler brush and clean the pins on the boiler. You need to replace the nozzle, set the depth, and set the electrodes (possibly replace). The air needs to be adjusted properly and if it's a beckett, you need to look down the blast tube and make sure the retention head is still there: http://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400311815257#ht_500wt_1156 (they have a tendency to burn off) Without the proper tools and/or experience this is may not be easy to get working properly - and probably not efficiently. There also needs to be TWO filters in the fuel line, install an additional one if there is only one there - as your tank ages (esp. if it's improperly pitched) moisture and sludge will end up in the filter and some might pass - two filters is a necessity. and change the elements yearly and you'll not have any problems - if you don't have two, buy a flare tool and the filter and connections (lowes carries them) and install another filter JUST BEFORE the burner (within 6"). Also, use the rayon filter element, not the cotton one that you showed a pic of.
All this supposes the burner was previously adjusted correctly (air/fuel) and draft was properly set (baro damper) and that there's no other mechanical or electrical issue or component failure on the burner.

Comments (7)

bigyellow
Original Author
11 years ago
Ok, I just watched this video on how to change the boiler's filter. Question. Could a dirty filter stop the boiler from running? Again, this boiler hasn't been cleaned in a while so I will eventually want to change this anyway. However, right now I just want to get this bad boy running.
bigyellow
Original Author
11 years ago
Ok, off to Home Depot to get this filter. Looks like it's easy enough to replace it. Hopefully this solves my issue. I'll let you know how it goes.
bigyellow
Original Author
11 years ago
Ok, after a little fighting, I replaced the (very dirty) filter. Not getting combustion at all now. I bled out the air, but it just red lights on me every time without even giving that "roar", indicating combustion. Just the first "fire" sound without the second "roar" sound. The nozzle might be clogged from what I'm reading. Let me see what I can do.
bigyellow
Original Author
11 years ago
berlin

Thanks for responding. So I replaced the filter then took the nozzle out and soaked it in a sludge cleaner I was able to find at the Home Depot. Honestly, the nozzle "looked" clean, but what do I know! I then took the pump apart and cleaned the screen inside, which looked surprisingly clean. No sludge like I've seen in many of the youtube videos. Still no "atomization" (which I learned is what that combustion is called.

So I know that my neighbor is pretty handy and I called him over. I didn't realize just how handy he is! He just happens to have extra nozzles, pumps and burners at home! He even created a vegetable boiler a few years back that he ran for a while! Who knew?

Anyway, he figured that my nozzle must be clogged still and replaced it with one he had. Still no dice. He thought that maybe I didn't install the new filter correctly, as there was still a lot of air coming out of the bleeder. He specifically kept saying, "Why is your oil foamy?" Finally he asked me where my oil tank was. I showed him and he questioned, "Do you have oil?" I told him of course I did. That was the first thing I checked. Sure enough, the gauge read about 2/5 full. He finally started doing obvious stuff I should have done and never thought of. He tapped the side of the oil tank. "This tank is empty." He unscrewed the gauge and shined a light down it. Empty.

Well, I learned a lot about boilers and replaced the filter, which apparently should be done every year. Two filters? Would the pump have to work extra hard to get the oil past both of them? I'm imagining the pump is sucking in the oil and it would have to create more suction to get it past two filters. Anyway, that's a great suggestion and I'll look into doing that. In the future, I'll be sure to keep extra parts like nozzles and such so that when that I can handle emergencies no matter when they happen (even New Year's eve!).
berlin
11 years ago
Oil heat equipment really is fairly (comparatively) simple and the wear/replacement parts are fairly inexpensive. Keep a few spares of the major items: 1. spare nozzles (2) spare filters (2) and, if it's a beckett, a spare burner head. all of these things are under $10 each.

Two filters does not make the pump work any harder, on a one pipe system the pump is fed via gravity feed and has more oil available (provided the filter isn't clogged) than it knows what to do with - those filters are rated at 25gph ish flow and your home boiler isn't going to come close. What this will do is protect your nozzle and pump, giving both a longer life and giving your nozzle a more efficient spray pattern longer. The copper oil line also flakes internally from acidic moisture and these particles and sludge created in the line are not caught by the filter at the tank- they may pass through your pre-pump screen, but they'll slowly degrade and eventually clog your nozzle. As I said, I do this on all the equipment I service and this is one of the reasons why problem units that I service are no longer problem units. I very strongly recommend that you do this.

Glad you (and your neighbor) got it figured out.
bigyellow
Original Author
11 years ago
Ok, so it's settled; I'll add the extra filter. Thanks for the advice!