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Boiler needs to be reset

3K views 8 replies 2 participants last post by  Chris12047 
#1 ·
Hi,

I have a 12 year old "Smith" residential gas boiler with standing pilot. Lately, I'll hear the circulator running for a long time and the boiler isn't firing. When I check it out, I find that the little red reset button on the top of the detection device (which aims at a hole into the fire box) needs to be reset. Once I press the button and reset it, the boiler will work fine for a couple of days, and then the detector will need to be reset again. Otherwise, the boiler seems to be working fine. What is detection device called? What might be causing it to trip? Could it just be the detection device is faulty?

TIA for any help!
 
#2 ·
assuming were speaking about oil fired here? the detection device is the gray box mounted to the side of the burner? if so, have you had nozzle replaced lately as well as the oil filter?should be done seasonally. if you dont have a filter you should have one installed as the only protection against crud is the screen in the pump which isn't designed to be a filter so if it hasn't been serviced id suggest calling your oil supplier and getting service i say your supplier because thats ALL they work on and they will get right the first time just make sure you are home when they come so you can observe/learn and take them out of the equation for future problems
 
#4 ·
ok so im a dumba/s/s/ not aware of any visual dectection device on gas fired by visual i mean it has to "see" the flame but oil has this called a cad cell so if indeed has to see the flame you might see if its clean other than that im clueless about what this detection device is sorry
 
#7 ·
Problem solved!!!(?)

In the spirit of self reliance, and through a combination of web research, memory and observation, I believe I have solved the problem.

First, the detector that I speak of in my post is a "rollout switch". It is a safety device, mounted outside the fire box, the purpose of which is to shut the boiler down in the event that flame, or even excess heat flows out of the firebox. It is usually manually re-settable. It is unwise to re-set the rollout switch without determining what caused it to trip.

In my particular case, I replaced my gas thermocouple near the end of last heating season. When I did this, I jostled two of the burner tubes so that they were no longer centered on their orifices, I then reinstalled a flame blocking plate, which, because of the misinstalled burner tubes, was leaving wider than normal gaps around the burner tubes. This allowed excessive heat, and possibly some flame, to "tresspass" outside the firebox, thus tripping the rollout switch.

It helped tremendously that I have two identical boilers, side by side. This enabled me to observe any differences between the working and non-working boiler.
 
#8 ·
congrats nothing more rewarding than fig it out yerself id have been more help if i knew we were referring to a rollout instead of the term you used but in reality it is a detector just not called that normally if you are having recurring probs with thermocouple if pilot flame isnt engulfing the thermo its dirty or if its not a steady blue color its dirty,you can try gently smacking the pilot assembly with a screwdriver if you notice the pattern change you know you got it also if that dosent work remove the pilot tubeing and blow out with compressed air boilers are notorious for dirty pilots due to condensation falling on the pilot anyways good luck
 
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