riello burner issue

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Any pointers gratefully received.

Just replaced nozzle and pump strainer, reattached burner, bled through using nozzle on bottom, but getting the lockout code.

Happens like this" press reset, goes into pre-ignition, electrodes fire (from sound of it) but no ignition, then back to lockout.

So. Took burner back off. checked blast funnel and no oil from plume, when it should have been wet from failing to ignite. Inside of blast funnel dry as a bone.

So oil is coming out of bleed screw freely, with no more air in it as far as I can tell.

As far as I can think it it looks as if either the pump is jammed (it was fine before and it is new) or there is still some air trapped either in the pump assembly or in the high pressure pipe to the nozzle.

I have already replaced the new nozzle with another new nozzle to make sure it is not a faulty nozzle.

Maybe there is something I am not doing to effectively prime the pump?
 
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Solenoid checked?

No. That's never come up before for me so any tips on how would be very welcome.

So the electrodes would still fire even if the solenoid not opening? I have moved the burner on and off the bench a few times now so maybe I have knocked something.
 
Solenoid opens up to let oil through
Maybe time to stop messing and get a competent oil engineer.
All fossil fuel burning equipment can kill you!
 
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Solenoid opens up to let oil through
Maybe time to stop messing and get a competent oil engineer.
All fossil fuel burning equipment can kill you!

I would if I could. Last winter I spent over a grand on oil engineers who advertised themselves as competent, and none of them were able to identify the fault I subsequently did manage to identify. Which was contaminated oil. Hard to believe, but true. Unfortunately there is an unhealthy mix of competent and not competent out there, and no way to tell which is which in advance.
And don't talk to me about accredited engineers. The previous owner had supposedly had his boiler serviced by an accredited engineer for years, but when it was opened up to do my repairs the chamber and baffles had never been cleaned.

Also, cars can kill you but it doesn't stop people servicing their own cars quite happily.
I repaired a car for someone which had the main dealers scratching their heads before they gave in. Turned out to be a high pressure relay, which was a known fault, with a standard issue replacement part. So how come I was able to do that but the main dealer couldn't? Same answer as above.

Not only are you playing roulette, with no idea whether someone competent is going to pitch up, you struggle to find someone to even pick up the phone or turn up when he says he will. Three months I was without hot water or heating last winter until I was forced into tackling it myself - half frozen to death and over a grand poorer. Don't talk to me about competent people.
 
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Change the solenoid, and make sure you have the metal horseshoe fitted.


Thanks for that. I had the pump changed as part of the process of elimination last winter but the solenoid wasn't changed as far as I know, so I will do that. I still had the old pump so I took that to bits to see where an air lock might be lurking and solenoid failure looks to be more likely. I'll get the part in.
 
Change the solenoid, and make sure you have the metal horseshoe fitted.


Done, but no change. Now wondering if the pump itself is seized. I've taken it apart as far as revealing the cog mechanism and blown air in through the bleed valve to see if the channels are free. Seem ok from that end anyway. Oil comes out when I bleed the pump but although it runs out it does not spurt out with the bleed screw removed. Maybe that indicates a partial blockage,
I know no oil is being forced through to the nozzle because the blast tube is still dry after repeated attempts, so logically the fault must be with the pump or the motor.
I can hear the hum consistent with an electric motor running, or at least attempting to run.

I detached the pump from the motor and used a wrench to turn the drive shaft. The cogs rotate but do so roughly, not smoothly. But I have nothing to judge the feel of it against. Maybe there is supposed to be resistance to the turn.
Do you, or anyone else, know common causes of failure in these pumps?
 
One other thing: I am not hearing the fan. If memory serves the fan blows to purge the combustion chamber prior to ignition. Last winter it was purging before locking out due to the blocked nozzle I think, so perhaps I am looking in the wrong place for the fault.
 
It has probably seized with the contaminated fuel. It will need replacing.

Hadn't as it happens, although that what I was thinking. I took it apart for the third time, poked around a bit more, put it back together and now it's working.
I don't know whether it was a blockage or a misalignment in the gear section. Which is mildly irritating.

One thing worth noting for anyone bleeding their own system - after I had poked around for the third time the flow of oil from the bleed nozzle was much stronger than it was before. I suppose, since the motor wasn't running when I bled it - so no parts moving inside the pump - that points to a blockage, but I'm only guessing.

Any thoughts on the value of a tigerloop for a single pipe system? I've read they help prolong pump life by taking the air out of the oil, and help combustion by keeping the temperature of the oil up.
 

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