1) Do I need to clean the wires making connections?
Normally I use a knife to clean the dark coating off of wires before I
hook them up. Certainly before I solder them but even when using screws
or wire nuts.
Tonight I replaced the primary controller on my oil furnace and because
my work bench is only a foot from the furnace and so it was awkward to
get to the wires, and because today my back was sure to start hurting in
10 or 20 minutes, I skipped that part.
Bad connections were not part of the previous problem. I tightened the
screws firmly. The furnace is working fine. Still, is it likely that a
bad connection will arise in the future because I didnt' scrape the
wires???
When summer comes, I can redo it, pausing whenever need be if my back is
still hurting.
There are 4 wires from the thermostat, 2 wires from the cadmium flame
sensor, 2 from the fan relay coil, and 2 to the compressor contactor
coil, all 24-volt.
The next 2 questions might require experience with oil furnaces:
2) The diagram of the inside of the controller shows a "solid state
switch" but the one in my old controller was mechanical**. Clear
plastic cover showing contact pins like a relay, some little round thing
(looks like a little motor but isn't), and some other stuff (it's in the
basement. I'll give more details if you think it will help.)
**Except maybe for the solid state heater, which is part of its timer
This is the device with the red reset button, that trips if the furnace
runs without a flame. And this's the part that failed this time.
Normally one just pushes the button once and, sometimes after waiting 2
minutes, the furnace starts up again. But Monday, it was necessary to
press the button usually 5 or 6 times, later in the week up to 30 times,
and then, every time the house was warm enough for the furnace to turn
off, it wouldn't restart automatically. I had to go press that button
again. The thing on occasion makes 2 or 3 different clicking sounds,
one after some timer somewhere, and one when it's ready to reset, and
maybe one when it actually connects and starts the furnace.
Does this thing have a name besides "solid state switch", especially
since most or all of it is mechanical??? Or where could I learn more
about it??
3) I bought the new controller, used, because it was an exact
replacement for the one that was there, including the extra terminal,
and it was only 75 miles from here, but I could have bought similar,
NEW, for even less money! The big difference is the safety delay (lock
out) time. That is the length of time the furnace can spray oil into
the firebox without a flame before it turns off? Therefore, is the
proper time that definite? The flame start within 3 seconds almost
always, and if not always, then within 8 seconds the rest of the time.
So should it use a 15-second delay, or do they use a 30-second delay
just so the furnace will still work when it's having a bit of trouble
sterting?*** Or are there furnaces that don't light for 20 seconds?
***If this is the reason why not wait 45 seconds?
Oil sprayed but not burnt is disposed of iiuc by dropping some sort of
flare (what are they called?) in the bottom of the firebox, where it
burns off the excess oil. Though iiuc, the oil can sit there for years
without causing tremendous problems. ???
This one is new, but it's 45 seconds:
https://www.supplyhouse.com/ICM-Cont...ing-45-Seconds
For completeness, nothing you really need he
https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.supplyho..._PROD_FILE.pdf
4) Even though it was only 75 miles from here, its delivery path was
surprising. (It met its predicted arrival day.) Xmas I noticed house
was cold and also I had to press reset more than once. 2 hours later,
bought replacement on ebay. 5PM Xmas, email says it's shipped (although
that usually just means the paperwork was done). Still, it was in
Quakertown by 2PM Tuesday and Philadelphia by 10PM.
Could easily get to Baltimore, 70 miles away, by Thursday (maybe even
Wednesday), but instead goes to Rochester NY on Wednesday, Hyattsville
Md on Thursday, and Baltimore on Friday. Of couse Rochester is 100's of
miles in the opposite direction. I don't know if this was the plan,
a fluke, or an error in the routing database. ??? I'm not going to
complain but I will write them in case they don't know they're doing
this.