I have a cast iron gas boiler circa 1991 that has been running perfectly until yesterday. I routinely (weekly to bi-weekly) check the sight glass, purge rusty water refill w/ clear from the hot-side (refill is off hot water heater) as needed.
Life intervened I went about a month w/out checking on the boiler. The site glass was down about 1.5 (nowhere near critical), but it is usually spot on when I'm checking it routinely.
In the past I have purged while the furnace is running occasionally, depending upon the amount of purge, it will shut itself off temporarily, and come back on after a short recess. .... Well, not so lucky this time. I didn't notice until this morning, when the house was about 8* below the normal thermostat setting, the boiler never kicked back on after my purge/refill.
This morning, following all the directions on the backside of the access plate to bring it all the way down back up (including a full water purge - on the outside chance I had an air-lock), I still have had no luck. The gas is working the pilot is lit, but that's where my inner dummy kicks in.
I assume the problem is electrical in nature and related to ignition of the burners but, alas, I'm friggin' clueless
Any suggestions /or help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance, - Dennis
What model is the boiler, and is your low water cut off a 'float type' or a 'probe type'...?
NJ-
thanks for your quic response. re: model, I see no specific model # per se, does this help?:
[IMG] 2012-01-27_10-11-39_541 by denwood73, on Flickr[/IMG]
this:
[IMG] 2012-01-27_10-12-21_114 by denwood73, on Flickr[/IMG]
with regard to the low water cut off, how would I know?
a pic from the business end:
[IMG] 2012-01-27_15-48-15_185 by denwood73, on Flickr[/IMG]
I tried going to Flickr to see larger images, but it says I need to be signed in...
I'm admittedly not a 'steam-head', asked the questions to try and entice those that know more about steam than I do to jump in...
I believe that your unit has a float type LWCO... and that may be the problem... it may not be signaling that the water level is up where it needs to be.
Is that rubber jacketed electrical cord wiring the components together? That's a big no-no... and I see loose wires hanging too... that needs a little work.
Can you upload the pics to a site that one doesn't have to sign in to in order to see the larger images? Something like Image hosting, free photo sharing video sharing at Photobucket ? Or perhaps somehow set up your Flickr account to allow viewing by 'others' ?
Gonna ask some more questions based on what I see in the pics...
What is the setting on the gray 'pressur-trol' box on top of the 'pigtail' on top of the water feeder?
It appears that something is leaking onto the top of the water feeder? (rusty spot)... what is that about?
(including a full water purge - on the outside chance I had an air-lock)
Not really necessary with a steam system... there is no 'water' in the pipes.
My initial thought is that the LWCO is acting up and not making contact.
Other possible problems could be that the pigtail siphon tube with the Pressur-Trol on it is clogged. If this happens, the boiler will 'think' there is pressure and the burner won't fire.
Additionally, there are a couple safety switches... a 'Flame Rollout Switch' (FRS) and a 'Blocked Vent Switch' (BVS). The FRS is down by the burners, the BVS is on the atmospheric hood on the flue pipe.
You should also have an automatic vent damper on the flue pipe. When there is a call for heat, can you tell if the damper is opening? The burner won't fire if the damper doesn't open. DO NOT try to manually turn it if it doesn't open, you WILL damage the motor and gears if you do!
Do you own and know use a multimeter? (or maybe a geiger counter? JUST KIDDING!)
If you do, I will be referring to this manual... not sure if it's your exact model, but it will be close enough:
http://www.peerlessboilers.com/Deskt...hod=attachment
The wiring diagram Fig 7-9 or 7-10 will be very close to your system.
Tags: problem, peerless, boiler, denwood73 Flickr, back after, burner fire, chance air-lock, doesn open, float type, flue pipe, full water
