Oil boiler r8uns but only occasionally fires
 

Boiler:
Camray 5 circa 2001, oil, non condensing

Symptoms:
It seems to be on, and yet it hasn't fired. Sometimes after tens of
minutes it does, and then works fine.

The flameout/lockout *doesn't* come on. (although it did twice in the
high winds)

There is oil in the tank


http://vps.templar.co.uk/Odds%20and%...Camray%205.jpg

It sounds as though the oil pump and air blower are doing their stuff.
Not sure about circulation pump, but water is cold.

Any ideas?


--
Theres a mighty big difference between good, sound reasons and reasons
that sound good.

Burton Hillis (William Vaughn, American columnist)

Oil boiler r8uns but only occasionally fires
 

On 15/02/2021 14:16, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Boiler:
Camray 5 circa 2001, oil, non condensing

Symptoms:
It seems to be on, and yet it hasn't fired. Sometimes after tens of
minutes it does, and then works fine.

The flameout/lockout *doesn't* come on. (although it did twice in the
high winds)

There is oil in the tank


http://vps.templar.co.uk/Odds%20and%...Camray%205.jpg

It sounds as though the oil pump and air blower are doing their stuff.
Not sure about circulation pump, but water is cold.

Any ideas?



have you checked the photocell? They can get sooted up and normally get
replaced as a matter of course as part of the annual service.....

Oil boiler r8uns but only occasionally fires
 

On 15/02/2021 14:17, S wrote:
On 15/02/2021 14:16, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Boiler:
Camray 5 circa 2001, oil, non condensing

Symptoms:
It seems to be on, and yet it hasn't fired. Sometimes after tens of
minutes it does, and then works fine.

The flameout/lockout *doesn't* come on. (although it did twice in the
high winds)

There is oil in the tank


http://vps.templar.co.uk/Odds%20and%...Camray%205.jpg

It sounds as though the oil pump and air blower are doing their stuff.
Not sure about circulation pump, but water is cold.

Any ideas?



have you checked the photocell? They can get sooted up and normally get
replaced as a matter of course as part of the annual service.....

Wouldn't that cause a lockout though, as in 'no flame detected' ?

I haven't checked anything yet.

I thought I would ask first...


--
Climate is what you expect but weather is what you get.
Mark Twain

Oil boiler r8uns but only occasionally fires
 

On 15/02/2021 14:16, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Boiler:
Camray 5 circa 2001, oil, non condensing

Symptoms:
It seems to be on, and yet it hasn't fired. Sometimes after tens of
minutes it does, and then works fine.

The flameout/lockout *doesn't* come on. (although it did twice in the
high winds)

There is oil in the tank


http://vps.templar.co.uk/Odds%20and%...Camray%205.jpg

It sounds as though the oil pump and air blower are doing their stuff.
Not sure about circulation pump, but water is cold.

Any ideas?

You could check the call for heat is getting as fas as the boiler to
make sure its not a problem with the system controls rather than the
boiler.

There is a brief section in the manual:

Page 63 onwards:

http://www.gotogasdocs.co.uk/f/m/Wor...lity%20ISM.pdf

(although


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

Oil boiler r8uns but only occasionally fires
 

On 15/02/2021 14:16, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Boiler:
Camray 5 circa 2001, oil, non condensing

Symptoms:
It seems to be on, and yet it hasn't fired. Sometimes after tens of
minutes it does, and then works fine.

The flameout/lockout *doesn't* come on. (although it did twice in the
high winds)

There is oil in the tank


http://vps.templar.co.uk/Odds%20and%...Camray%205.jpg

It sounds as though the oil pump and air blower are doing their stuff.
Not sure about circulation pump, but water is cold.

Any ideas?



Are you able to hear the igniters?

You may also be able to check whether the coil gets volts so that oil is
released into the boiler.

If the motor runs properly for 5 minutes and does not light or lock out
I would be suspicious of the control box.


--
Michael Chare

Oil boiler r8uns but only occasionally fires
 

On 15/02/2021 16:25, Michael Chare wrote:
On 15/02/2021 14:16, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Boiler:
Camray 5 circa 2001, oil, non condensing

Symptoms:
It seems to be on, and yet it hasn't fired. Sometimes after tens of
minutes it does, and then works fine.

The flameout/lockout *doesn't* come on. (although it did twice in the
high winds)

There is oil in the tank


http://vps.templar.co.uk/Odds%20and%...Camray%205.jpg

It sounds as though the oil pump and air blower are doing their stuff.
Not sure about circulation pump, but water is cold.

Any ideas?



Are you able to hear the igniters?

that's the odd thing, I don't think I can


You may also be able to check whether the coil gets volts so that oil is
released into the boiler.

If the motor runs properly for 5 minutes and does not light or lock out
I would be suspicious of the control box.


Yes...that makes a lot of sense.

Its a riello burner...what do they have?



--
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign,
that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."

Jonathan Swift.

Oil boiler r8uns but only occasionally fires
 

On 15/02/2021 14:16, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Boiler:
Camray 5 circa 2001, oil, non condensing

Symptoms:
It seems to be on, and yet it hasn't fired. Sometimes after tens of
minutes it does, and then works fine.

Does it only do this first thing? I had a fault like that where there
was a very slow solenoid valve leak allowing oil to build up overnight.

It would flash off on the first ignition and fail but then work properly
after about 15 minutes to recover and then be fine for the rest of the
day. The sensor was gradually sooting up as a result but it was a
slightly leaky solenoid that was guilty.

The flameout/lockout *doesn't* come on. (although it did twice in the
high winds)

There is oil in the tank


http://vps.templar.co.uk/Odds%20and%...Camray%205.jpg

It sounds as though the oil pump and air blower are doing their stuff.
Not sure about circulation pump, but water is cold.

Any ideas?

I presume you can hear the HT ignition spark?
Smell of kerosene?

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

Oil boiler r8uns but only occasionally fires
 

On 15/02/2021 16:38, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 15/02/2021 16:25, Michael Chare wrote:
On 15/02/2021 14:16, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Boiler:
Camray 5 circa 2001, oil, non condensing

Symptoms:
It seems to be on, and yet it hasn't fired. Sometimes after tens of
minutes it does, and then works fine.

The flameout/lockout *doesn't* come on. (although it did twice in the
high winds)

There is oil in the tank


http://vps.templar.co.uk/Odds%20and%...Camray%205.jpg

It sounds as though the oil pump and air blower are doing their
stuff. Not sure about circulation pump, but water is cold.

Any ideas?



Are you able to hear the igniters?

that's the odd thing, I don't think I can


You may also be able to check whether the coil gets volts so that oil
is released into the boiler.

If the motor runs properly for 5 minutes and does not light or lock
out I would be suspicious of the control box.


Yes...that makes a lot of sense.

Its a riello burner...what do they have?

The Reillo burner I have is an RDB. It has a control box but no separate
transformer.


--
Michael Chare

Oil boiler r8uns but only occasionally fires
 

On 15/02/2021 21:26, Tim Streater wrote:
On 15 Feb 2021 at 14:16:11 GMT, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:

Boiler:
Camray 5 circa 2001, oil, non condensing

Symptoms:
It seems to be on, and yet it hasn't fired. Sometimes after tens of
minutes it does, and then works fine.

The flameout/lockout *doesn't* come on. (although it did twice in the
high winds)

There is oil in the tank


http://vps.templar.co.uk/Odds%20and%...Camray%205.jpg

It sounds as though the oil pump and air blower are doing their stuff.
Not sure about circulation pump, but water is cold.

Any ideas?

I often see that our thermostat shows the little flame saying it is asking for
heat. But the boiler doesn't fire. Moving the slide switch on the thermostat
from Auto to Off and back again usually cures this. Poor contact in the relay,
I'd say. Might this or something similar be happening to you?

dont have any of that.
I cleaned the flame sensor but that didn't work. however it suddenly
started on the timer later on with a foul stink of raw kerosene. Maybe
it got flooded?

am trying to find a heating engineer who is remotely interested in work

--
How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think.

Adolf Hitler

Oil boiler r8uns but only occasionally fires
 

On 16/02/2021 02:21, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 15/02/2021 21:26, Tim Streater wrote:
On 15 Feb 2021 at 14:16:11 GMT, The Natural Philosopher

wrote:

Boiler:
Camray 5 circa 2001, oil, non condensing

Symptoms:
It seems to be on, and yet it hasn't fired. Sometimes after tens of
minutes it does, and then works fine.

The flameout/lockout *doesn't* come on. (although it did twice in the
high winds)

There is oil in the tank


http://vps.templar.co.uk/Odds%20and%...Camray%205.jpg

It sounds as though the oil pump and air blower are doing their stuff.
Not sure about circulation pump, but water is cold.

Any ideas?

I often see that our thermostat shows the little flame saying it is
asking for
heat. But the boiler doesn't fire. Moving the slide switch on the
thermostat
from Auto to Off and back again usually cures this. Poor contact in
the relay,
I'd say. Might this or something similar be happening to you?

dont have any of that.
I cleaned the flame sensor but that didn't work. however it suddenly
started on the timer later on with a foul stink of raw kerosene. Maybe
it got flooded?

That does sound a lot like the solenoid valve may be leaking oil into
the burner jet so that with time off it ends up too wet with kerosene.

am trying to find a heating engineer who is remotely interested in work

I expect they would want to do a full service on it as well as a repair.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

Oil boiler r8uns but only occasionally fires
 

On 15/02/2021 19:24, Michael Chare wrote:
On 15/02/2021 16:38, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 15/02/2021 16:25, Michael Chare wrote:
On 15/02/2021 14:16, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Boiler:
Camray 5 circa 2001, oil, non condensing

Symptoms:
It seems to be on, and yet it hasn't fired. Sometimes after tens of
minutes it does, and then works fine.

The flameout/lockout *doesn't* come on. (although it did twice in
the high winds)

There is oil in the tank


http://vps.templar.co.uk/Odds%20and%...Camray%205.jpg

It sounds as though the oil pump and air blower are doing their
stuff. Not sure about circulation pump, but water is cold.

Any ideas?



Are you able to hear the igniters?

that's the odd thing, I don't think I can


You may also be able to check whether the coil gets volts so that oil
is released into the boiler.

If the motor runs properly for 5 minutes and does not light or lock
out I would be suspicious of the control box.


Yes...that makes a lot of sense.

Its a riello burner...what do they have?

The Reillo burner I have is an RDB. It has a control box but no separate
transformer.

RDB sounds familiar

http://vps.templar.co.uk/slideshow.p...Camray%205.jpg

is the beastie

Well it fired up in the middle of the night so I rushed down and turned
the UFH on and it ran for a few hours then stopped as it should, and now
it wont relight

Of the 5 trustatrader people listed locally, two have replied to say
they cant do it. The other three haven't bothered.

Any hints on how you get the mythical 'man in' ?





--
Climate Change: Socialism wearing a lab coat.

Oil boiler r8uns but only occasionally fires
 

On 16/02/2021 10:58, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 15/02/2021 19:24, Michael Chare wrote:
On 15/02/2021 16:38, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 15/02/2021 16:25, Michael Chare wrote:
On 15/02/2021 14:16, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Boiler:
Camray 5 circa 2001, oil, non condensing

Symptoms:
It seems to be on, and yet it hasn't fired. Sometimes after tens of
minutes it does, and then works fine.

The flameout/lockout *doesn't* come on. (although it did twice in
the high winds)

There is oil in the tank


http://vps.templar.co.uk/Odds%20and%...Camray%205.jpg

It sounds as though the oil pump and air blower are doing their
stuff. Not sure about circulation pump, but water is cold.

Any ideas?



Are you able to hear the igniters?

that's the odd thing, I don't think I can


You may also be able to check whether the coil gets volts so that
oil is released into the boiler.

If the motor runs properly for 5 minutes and does not light or lock
out I would be suspicious of the control box.


Yes...that makes a lot of sense.

Its a riello burner...what do they have?

The Reillo burner I have is an RDB. It has a control box but no
separate transformer.

RDB sounds familiar

http://vps.templar.co.uk/slideshow.p...Camray%205.jpg


is the beastie

Well it fired up in the middle of the night so I rushed down and turned
the UFH on and it ran for a few hours then stopped as it should, and now
it wont relight

Of the 5 trustatrader people listed locally, two have replied to say
they cant do it. The other three haven't bothered.

Any hints on how you get the mythical 'man in' ?

Try the OfTec website for a list of OfTec accredited local traders?

(I have a a possible contact if you are around the Kidderminster area)

Oil boiler r8uns but only occasionally fires
 

On 16/02/2021 11:13, S wrote:
On 16/02/2021 10:58, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 15/02/2021 19:24, Michael Chare wrote:
On 15/02/2021 16:38, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 15/02/2021 16:25, Michael Chare wrote:
On 15/02/2021 14:16, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Boiler:
Camray 5 circa 2001, oil, non condensing

Symptoms:
It seems to be on, and yet it hasn't fired. Sometimes after tens
of minutes it does, and then works fine.

The flameout/lockout *doesn't* come on. (although it did twice in
the high winds)

There is oil in the tank


http://vps.templar.co.uk/Odds%20and%...Camray%205.jpg

It sounds as though the oil pump and air blower are doing their
stuff. Not sure about circulation pump, but water is cold.

Any ideas?



Are you able to hear the igniters?

that's the odd thing, I don't think I can


You may also be able to check whether the coil gets volts so that
oil is released into the boiler.

If the motor runs properly for 5 minutes and does not light or lock
out I would be suspicious of the control box.


Yes...that makes a lot of sense.

Its a riello burner...what do they have?

The Reillo burner I have is an RDB. It has a control box but no
separate transformer.

RDB sounds familiar

http://vps.templar.co.uk/slideshow.p...Camray%205.jpg


is the beastie

Well it fired up in the middle of the night so I rushed down and
turned the UFH on and it ran for a few hours then stopped as it
should, and now it wont relight

Of the 5 trustatrader people listed locally, two have replied to say
they cant do it. The other three haven't bothered.

Any hints on how you get the mythical 'man in' ?

Try the OfTec website for a list of OfTec accredited local traders?

(I have a a possible contact if you are around the Kidderminster area)

Sadly I aint...



--
"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow witted
man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest
thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly
persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid
before him."

- Leo Tolstoy

Oil boiler r8uns but only occasionally fires
 

On 15 Feb 2021 at 14:29:19 GMT, "The Natural Philosopher"
wrote:

On 15/02/2021 14:17, S wrote:
On 15/02/2021 14:16, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Boiler:
Camray 5 circa 2001, oil, non condensing

Symptoms:
It seems to be on, and yet it hasn't fired. Sometimes after tens of
minutes it does, and then works fine.

The flameout/lockout *doesn't* come on. (although it did twice in the
high winds)

There is oil in the tank


http://vps.templar.co.uk/Odds%20and%...Camray%205.jpg

It sounds as though the oil pump and air blower are doing their stuff.
Not sure about circulation pump, but water is cold.

Any ideas?



have you checked the photocell? They can get sooted up and normally get
replaced as a matter of course as part of the annual service.....

Wouldn't that cause a lockout though, as in 'no flame detected' ?

I haven't checked anything yet.

I thought I would ask first...

I had an old Firebird boiler with a Riello RDB burner and most of its faults
did indeed lead to lockout after up to 15sec. They include a capacitor in the
EHT generator, a motor capacitor and the common one of the flame sensor
getting too dirty to detect the flame.

I afraid my recollection is a bit hazy, but I think I did have one fault that
led to the pump and fan running indefinitely without an attempt at ignition.
This was due to the light sensitive sensor failing iin a "flame detected"
state, so that the controller became confused and never initiated the spark.
I don't remember for sure but I think the sensor is an LDR that goes low
resistance when illuminated and mine had failed in a low resistance condition.
It is either that or vice versa! Anyway it was the opposite failure to the
normal failure to detect the flame,

However, one would expect the combustion chamber to accumulate kerosene until
the boiler was turned off so the pump/fan stopped. I can't honestly remember
if mine did (I also had a few pump seal failures but these led to kerosene ++
outside the combustion chamber with a working boiler. If my sensor fault
didn't lead to kerosene accumulation it may be because of the confused
controller not opening the solenoid.

TL, DR try a new sensor, possibly after measuring its resistance with the
window covered - I can't remember where I got the spec.



--
Roger Hayter

Oil boiler r8uns but only occasionally fires
 

On 16 Feb 2021 at 12:12:47 GMT, "Roger Hayter" wrote:

On 15 Feb 2021 at 14:29:19 GMT, "The Natural Philosopher"
wrote:

On 15/02/2021 14:17, S wrote:
On 15/02/2021 14:16, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Boiler:
Camray 5 circa 2001, oil, non condensing

Symptoms:
It seems to be on, and yet it hasn't fired. Sometimes after tens of
minutes it does, and then works fine.

The flameout/lockout *doesn't* come on. (although it did twice in the
high winds)

There is oil in the tank


http://vps.templar.co.uk/Odds%20and%...Camray%205.jpg

It sounds as though the oil pump and air blower are doing their stuff.
Not sure about circulation pump, but water is cold.

Any ideas?



have you checked the photocell? They can get sooted up and normally get
replaced as a matter of course as part of the annual service.....

Wouldn't that cause a lockout though, as in 'no flame detected' ?

I haven't checked anything yet.

I thought I would ask first...

I had an old Firebird boiler with a Riello RDB burner and most of its faults
did indeed lead to lockout after up to 15sec. They include a capacitor in
the
EHT generator, a motor capacitor and the common one of the flame sensor
getting too dirty to detect the flame.

I afraid my recollection is a bit hazy, but I think I did have one fault that
led to the pump and fan running indefinitely without an attempt at ignition.
This was due to the light sensitive sensor failing iin a "flame detected"
state, so that the controller became confused and never initiated the spark.
I don't remember for sure but I think the sensor is an LDR that goes low
resistance when illuminated and mine had failed in a low resistance
condition.
It is either that or vice versa! Anyway it was the opposite failure to the
normal failure to detect the flame,

However, one would expect the combustion chamber to accumulate kerosene until
the boiler was turned off so the pump/fan stopped. I can't honestly remember
if mine did (I also had a few pump seal failures but these led to kerosene ++
outside the combustion chamber with a working boiler. If my sensor fault
didn't lead to kerosene accumulation it may be because of the confused
controller not opening the solenoid.

TL, DR try a new sensor, possibly after measuring its resistance with the
window covered - I can't remember where I got the spec.

PS. It turns out I have a new spare sensor (and a 530SE controller plus
another 530SE which was old but serviceable after capacitor replacement as I
recollect)[1]. The resistance in room light is about 18k to 26k depending on
how light, and about 380k in the dark. So if it is below, say, 50k with the
window occluded it could cause your fault, IME.

[1] The controllers are probably available for a fairly nominal sum if anyone
needs them. They should have gone on Ebay but I never go round to it.

--
Roger Hayter

Oil boiler r8uns but only occasionally fires
 

On 16 Feb 2021 at 12:38:11 GMT, "Roger Hayter" wrote:

On 16 Feb 2021 at 12:12:47 GMT, "Roger Hayter" wrote:

On 15 Feb 2021 at 14:29:19 GMT, "The Natural Philosopher"
wrote:

On 15/02/2021 14:17, S wrote:
On 15/02/2021 14:16, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Boiler:
Camray 5 circa 2001, oil, non condensing

Symptoms:
It seems to be on, and yet it hasn't fired. Sometimes after tens of
minutes it does, and then works fine.

The flameout/lockout *doesn't* come on. (although it did twice in the
high winds)

There is oil in the tank


http://vps.templar.co.uk/Odds%20and%...Camray%205.jpg

It sounds as though the oil pump and air blower are doing their stuff.
Not sure about circulation pump, but water is cold.

Any ideas?



have you checked the photocell? They can get sooted up and normally get
replaced as a matter of course as part of the annual service.....

Wouldn't that cause a lockout though, as in 'no flame detected' ?

I haven't checked anything yet.

I thought I would ask first...

I had an old Firebird boiler with a Riello RDB burner and most of its faults
did indeed lead to lockout after up to 15sec. They include a capacitor in
the
EHT generator, a motor capacitor and the common one of the flame sensor
getting too dirty to detect the flame.

I afraid my recollection is a bit hazy, but I think I did have one fault
that
led to the pump and fan running indefinitely without an attempt at ignition.
This was due to the light sensitive sensor failing iin a "flame detected"
state, so that the controller became confused and never initiated the
spark.
I don't remember for sure but I think the sensor is an LDR that goes low
resistance when illuminated and mine had failed in a low resistance
condition.
It is either that or vice versa! Anyway it was the opposite failure to the
normal failure to detect the flame,

However, one would expect the combustion chamber to accumulate kerosene
until
the boiler was turned off so the pump/fan stopped. I can't honestly
remember
if mine did (I also had a few pump seal failures but these led to kerosene
++
outside the combustion chamber with a working boiler. If my sensor fault
didn't lead to kerosene accumulation it may be because of the confused
controller not opening the solenoid.

TL, DR try a new sensor, possibly after measuring its resistance with the
window covered - I can't remember where I got the spec.

PS. It turns out I have a new spare sensor (and a 530SE controller plus
another 530SE which was old but serviceable after capacitor replacement as I
recollect)[1]. The resistance in room light is about 18k to 26k depending on
how light, and about 380k in the dark. So if it is below, say, 50k with the
window occluded it could cause your fault, IME.

[1] The controllers are probably available for a fairly nominal sum if anyone
needs them. They should have gone on Ebay but I never go round to it.

PPS The quick test now I think back to my fault analysis is to remove the
flame sensor from the control box and put the latter back. If the fault is a
low sensor resistance the boiler will go through a normal start sequence,
detect no flame (as no sensor) and lock out in the usual way.


--
Roger Hayter

Oil boiler r8uns but only occasionally fires
 

On 16/02/2021 12:12, Roger Hayter wrote:
On 15 Feb 2021 at 14:29:19 GMT, "The Natural Philosopher"
wrote:

On 15/02/2021 14:17, S wrote:
On 15/02/2021 14:16, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Boiler:
Camray 5 circa 2001, oil, non condensing

Symptoms:
It seems to be on, and yet it hasn't fired. Sometimes after tens of
minutes it does, and then works fine.

The flameout/lockout *doesn't* come on. (although it did twice in the
high winds)

There is oil in the tank


http://vps.templar.co.uk/Odds%20and%...Camray%205.jpg

It sounds as though the oil pump and air blower are doing their stuff.
Not sure about circulation pump, but water is cold.

Any ideas?



have you checked the photocell? They can get sooted up and normally get
replaced as a matter of course as part of the annual service.....

Wouldn't that cause a lockout though, as in 'no flame detected' ?

I haven't checked anything yet.

I thought I would ask first...

I had an old Firebird boiler with a Riello RDB burner and most of its faults
did indeed lead to lockout after up to 15sec. They include a capacitor in the
EHT generator, a motor capacitor and the common one of the flame sensor
getting too dirty to detect the flame.

I afraid my recollection is a bit hazy, but I think I did have one fault that
led to the pump and fan running indefinitely without an attempt at ignition.
This was due to the light sensitive sensor failing iin a "flame detected"
state, so that the controller became confused and never initiated the spark.
I don't remember for sure but I think the sensor is an LDR that goes low
resistance when illuminated and mine had failed in a low resistance condition.
It is either that or vice versa! Anyway it was the opposite failure to the
normal failure to detect the flame,

Yes, that is exactly what is happening.
I finally got hold of a Man who says he can be Got In later tomorrow,
and after describing the issue he seemed to know exactly what it was.


However, one would expect the combustion chamber to accumulate kerosene until
the boiler was turned off so the pump/fan stopped.

The boiler room now stinks of kerosene

It fires up if cold, but not if hot.


I can't honestly remember
if mine did (I also had a few pump seal failures but these led to kerosene ++
outside the combustion chamber with a working boiler. If my sensor fault
didn't lead to kerosene accumulation it may be because of the confused
controller not opening the solenoid.

TL, DR try a new sensor, possibly after measuring its resistance with the
window covered - I can't remember where I got the spec.


The Man will do that, or fit a new control box if that doesn't work, I guess




--
Climate Change: Socialism wearing a lab coat.

Oil boiler r8uns but only occasionally fires
 

On Monday, 15 February 2021 at 14:16:15 UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Boiler:
Camray 5 circa 2001, oil, non condensing

Symptoms:
It seems to be on, and yet it hasn't fired. Sometimes after tens of
minutes it does, and then works fine.

The flameout/lockout *doesn't* come on. (although it did twice in the
high winds)

There is oil in the tank


http://vps.templar.co.uk/Odds%20and%...Camray%205.jpg

It sounds as though the oil pump and air blower are doing their stuff.
Not sure about circulation pump, but water is cold.

Any ideas?


--
Theres a mighty big difference between good, sound reasons and reasons
that sound good.

Burton Hillis (William Vaughn, American columnist)
Coming late to the party but if the boiler is a low level flue version it may have an auxiliary run-on timing circuit which operates the motor and fan to purge the combustion chamber of fumes at the end of a flame demand cycle so in adverse wind conditions the ball of flame and hot gas in the chamber wasn't blown backwards into the burner leading to burnt photocells and stink in the room. These had a failure mode where the motor and fan would run indefinitely but no ignition attempt was forthcoming.