Reillo 40 series takes several attempts to light-SOLVED

[Newfiestang50]

Hello forum, this is my first post to this very bust forum. I have an issue with my reillo burner. It seems that for some reason the burner lately has been making several attempts to light but cant seem to stay going. After maybe 3 or 4 attempts it will stay going but then may even loose fire sometime during burn cycle and then relight again. Does anyone know what may be causing this. There are some technicians around but they really gouge on the fee most times. If this is something fairly simple I can fix it myself. I am a journeyman instrumentation tech so I am familiar with the operation of similar equipment just not burners.

Any help would be great.

 

[tamz]

Could be to do with the photocell. Take it out and clean it.

There are more experienced oil guys on here who could offer some more detailed advice.

 

[casius66]

Photocell is a good place to start.
Has it run OK it warmer weather and played up in colder? Could be slightly over aired but you'd ideally need CO2 test equipment to set this up properly.

 

[slapper]

Sounds like fuel starvation,check and clean any oil filters, if they partially block they will only allow a limited amount of oil thru.

 

[Newfiestang50]

Sounds like fuel starvation,check and clean any oil filters, if they partially block they will only allow a limited amount of oil thru.

That is what I suspected as well, I have cleaned the photo cell but it did nothing. I should have mentioned earlier that this problem use to have before and the photo cell cleaning would do the trick but it would start happening again in a few months. How about a dirty nozzle, could that cause a similar condition?

 

[Newfiestang50]

Photocell is a good place to start.
Has it run OK it warmer weather and played up in colder? Could be slightly over aired but you'd ideally need CO2 test equipment to set this up properly.

I dont have access to that type of equipment and form the burner mechanics I have seen around my area they wouldn't even know what I was asking for. So with that in mind is there any other way to check and see if the burner is even close to the correct air/fuel ration.

 

[slapper]

Sounds like fuel starvation,check and clean any oil filters, if they partially block they will only allow a limited amount of oil thru.

That is what I suspected as well, I have cleaned the photo cell but it did nothing. I should have mentioned earlier that this problem use to have before and the photo cell cleaning would do the trick but it would start happening again in a few months. How about a dirty nozzle, could that cause a similar condition?

Yes a dirty nozzle can cause a similar problem,does it smell of oil when it decides to strike up

 

[Newfiestang50]

Sounds like fuel starvation,check and clean any oil filters, if they partially block they will only allow a limited amount of oil thru.

That is what I suspected as well, I have cleaned the photo cell but it did nothing. I should have mentioned earlier that this problem use to have before and the photo cell cleaning would do the trick but it would start happening again in a few months. How about a dirty nozzle, could that cause a similar condition?

Yes a dirty nozzle can cause a similar problem,does it smell of oil when it decides to strike up

Now that you mention it, I have smelled oil some times when I walk into the room, but it is a faint odor.

 

[OilLecky]

Without a fuel pressure gauge and a Flue Gas Analyser you are at a disadvantage.

However you have checked that the Photo-cell is clean but you can also connect a multi-meter to it and then shine a light into the cell checking that the resistance varies with the amount of light. No light = extremely high resistance and with light = lower resistance. Give the wires a "wiggle" to make sure that you do not have an intermitant open circuit.

You have checked the fuel filters and they are all clean with no ice in? Now get a container. For a single pipe system. Turn the oil off and disconnect the fuel input hose from the fuel pump. Put the end of the hose into your container and turn on the oil. (You may need an assistant) You need a full free flow of oil.
For a twin pipe system. Turn the oil off and disconnect the fuel output hose from the fuel pump at the end away from the pump. Put the end of the hose into your container and turn on the oil and run the burner (You may need an assistant) You need a full free flow of oil.

When you switch the burner on does the flap over the air intake open properly? Now take off the fan housing cover and make sure that the fan impellor and all of the airways are clean. Also remove the blast tube (around the fuel nozzle) and make sure that the blast tube air slots are clean. If the ignition components near the fuel nozzle are dirty then clean them with methylated spirits. Check the ignition gap is correct in accordance with the Riello manual. ( You can downlaod this from the Riello web-site.)
Also, when the burner fires, is there an ysign of soot from the flue?

 

[Newfiestang50]

Without a fuel pressure gauge and a Flue Gas Analyser you are at a disadvantage.

However you have checked that the Photo-cell is clean but you can also connect a multi-meter to it and then shine a light into the cell checking that the resistance varies with the amount of light. No light = extremely high resistance and with light = lower resistance. Give the wires a "wiggle" to make sure that you do not have an intermitant open circuit.

You have checked the fuel filters and they are all clean with no ice in? Now get a container. For a single pipe system. Turn the oil off and disconnect the fuel input hose from the fuel pump. Put the end of the hose into your container and turn on the oil. (You may need an assistant) You need a full free flow of oil.
For a twin pipe system. Turn the oil off and disconnect the fuel output hose from the fuel pump at the end away from the pump. Put the end of the hose into your container and turn on the oil and run the burner (You may need an assistant) You need a full free flow of oil.

When you switch the burner on does the flap over the air intake open properly? Now take off the fan housing cover and make sure that the fan impellor and all of the airways are clean. Also remove the blast tube (around the fuel nozzle) and make sure that the blast tube air slots are clean. If the ignition components near the fuel nozzle are dirty then clean them with methylated spirits. Check the ignition gap is correct in accordance with the Riello manual. ( You can downlaod this from the Riello web-site.)
Also, when the burner fires, is there an ysign of soot from the flue?

Thanks, I will try some of your suggestions.

What flue gas components are you looking for when setting up the burner. Just wondering if I borrowed a personal gas monitor from work could I possible set up the burner with it. The gas monitor we use does measure CO2, O2, & LEL levels.

 

[OilLecky]

Only put a flue gas analyser sensor into the flue when you have got the thing burning well. As you will not have a "Smoke Pump" to make sure that you aren't going to ruin the analyser with soot. get the thing running and, after noting the air setting, open the air inlet up some more. Insert the analyser and you need to get the CO2 to something like 11.5%. The manual for your boiler should have the exact figure.
To increase CO2 decrease air-flow and vise-versa.

First you have to get the burner running smoothly though!!!
Get back to me on the other checks. (bearing in mind that it is oil pump pressure that opens the air flap then if it opens you have oil pressure, of sorts but you do not know what exact pressure.

 

[OilLecky]

By the way, do all the cleaning bits first and try the burner then before you go to the extent of disconnecting fuel pipes. I often find dirty blast tubes that cause similar problems. ( Is there a high level of dust where the burner is hosued?)

 

[Newfiestang50]

By the way, do all the cleaning bits first and try the burner then before you go to the extent of disconnecting fuel pipes. I often find dirty blast tubes that cause similar problems. ( Is there a high level of dust where the burner is hosued?)

OK, cleaning first, got it.

As for the dust levels, I would say its fairly dusty in there because I also have a wood boiler in there as well. Its connected both electrically and mechanically to the oil burner. Both are New Yorker units.

Sorry for all the questions but where are the blast tubes located, in the burner assembly? Also, can the burner be removed form the furnace with the oil line still connected?

 

[OilLecky]

I'm not familiar with New Yorker boilers but if you give me the model number I can look it up on their web-site. Also which Riello 40 is it?

Normally the burner has a flexible fuel hose going to it. If it has, you can remove the burner from the boiler, normally it is held on by only one nut at the top or maybe two screws. Make the boiler electrically safe. you don't want it turning on while the burner is out!!
Remove the burner from the boiler ( it may swing out on a bracket) and turn it around. The blast tube sticks out of the burner and is the part that goes into the boiler combustion chamber. Is it dirty? Normally the blast tube is held in place by 2 philips headed screws one at the 9 o'clock and one at the 3 o'clock positions. Loosen these and pull the blast tube off carefully. Clean out the air slits and the surfaces in this blast tube. Clean the ignition gap lead support and contacts if they are dirty. Check all theairways are clean. Put it all back together again and try it.

Have you noticed if the air damper opens the flap on the side when you try to start the burner? Are you running on 35 sec gas-oil and do you have a pre-heater or are you running on 28sec Kerosene?
Does the fuel pumpt have 1 or 2 oil lines? I will get back in an hour or so and check progress.

 

[Newfiestang50]

I'm not familiar with New Yorker boilers but if you give me the model number I can look it up on their web-site. Also which Riello 40 is it?

Normally the burner has a flexible fuel hose going to it. If it has, you can remove the burner from the boiler, normally it is held on by only one nut at the top or maybe two screws. Make the boiler electrically safe. you don't want it turning on while the burner is out!!
Remove the burner from the boiler ( it may swing out on a bracket) and turn it around. The blast tube sticks out of the burner and is the part that goes into the boiler combustion chamber. Is it dirty? Normally the blast tube is held in place by 2 philips headed screws one at the 9 o'clock and one at the 3 o'clock positions. Loosen these and pull the blast tube off carefully. Clean out the air slits and the surfaces in this blast tube. Clean the ignition gap lead support and contacts if they are dirty. Check all theairways are clean. Put it all back together again and try it.

Have you noticed if the air damper opens the flap on the side when you try to start the burner? Are you running on 35 sec gas-oil and do you have a pre-heater or are you running on 28sec Kerosene?
Does the fuel pumpt have 1 or 2 oil lines? I will get back in an hour or so and check progress.

First of all, thanks for the safety advice above, having the burner fire with it sitting out on the floor would not be a good thing. Fortunately I work in an industry where safety is job one and we use a "lock out" system to electrically isolate equipment before going to work on it and this safety culture should make its way into the homeowner as well. Safety can never be highlighted enough.


OilLeck, I am at work now thus cannot perform your recommended tasks and wont be back home until Feb 16 however I will answer all I can from my current location. The more info I can gather while I am away the better I will be prepared so once again thanks, this forum is awesome.
I will definitely perform all cleaning as you outlined above, I am very eager to lean all i can about these burners since service where I live is hard to get.

You mentioned some things above that I am not familiar with. 35 dec gas-oil, not sure what you are asking for here. I am running regular furnace oil through the burner, not sure if that answers your question. As far as I know there is no preheater on the furnace. There is only one fuel line running to the burner from the tank. It first passes through what looks like an in line fuel filter, it looks like its a type that can be separated. I assume that the filter element inside can be replaced.