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As a few people who have already been very helpful will know, I have been at war with my boiler for some time. The pump has been locking repeatedly, and that despite the fact that I am on my third inside 12 months. I got a tip that it might be micro air bubbles expanding and locking out the...

Ok thanks. I will do some more research

Ok, cheers. It's a combi boiler, and would be off whenever the electric heater was on, so maybe the boiler's expansion vessel would be good enough. Must be a reason they don't mention it though. Unless I haven't looked enough.

As back up for when my oil boiler packs up I am thinking of putting in an electric under sink water heater in the kitchen. Obviously at the moment the hot tap is fed from the boiler. It would be simpler to connect that feed from the boiler to the heater rather than use the cold main. Any...

Thanks for that. I've got the old pump to take to bits (it displayed exactly the same symptoms) to see if I can work out what is going on. It would surprise me if contamination were the problem, since oil samples I have drawn off are clear. If I hadn't already done so fairly recently I would...

Just for interest, in case it is useful to anyone else, another inspection after a lockout leads me to believe it is not grit or any other contaminant causing the pump to lock. I think it probably has to something to do with the crescent shaped component in the gear housing. I think that is...

Took the pump apart and cleaned in between the cogs with a pin and flushed. Got faint traces of debris on head of pin. Reassembled, now working again. Oil from tank is clean as a whistle too. See how long it lasts this time. I'd put in a tiger loop with a filter but there isn't enough room in...

That sound you can't hear is the sound of a penny dropping. to be clear, you mean the screws that hold the pump itself in place after it has been coupled to the motor? There are three of them, and I do believe it is possible I have overtightened them. Thank you.

Update: freed it up, put it back on and all now working. I did have a quick look inside and there didn't appear to be any corrosion. The pump strainer wasn't clogged up, which I would have expected it to be if some contaminant had got in. So I'm at a loss why it would jam up, but no so badly it...

second new pump in 12 months on riello oil burner is binding. I can free it and then it turns easily by hand, but obviously it is going to bind again after I put it back on. Any idea what would lead to this? Some kind of misalignment perhaps? Riello have a good reputation so I am not disposed to...

Ah, ok, I misunderstood. I had it fixed in my mind that there would need to be a separate container for separated water to collect in, which obviously isn't there for the standard in line filter. It didn't occur to me until I read your last post that the paper filter itself would take out the...

I don't think there is an oil-water separator anywhere on the feed. There's the tank filter which is for large particles and then the standard 10 micron paper bowl filter near the boiler, then the pump strainer inside the actual pump. No filter specifically for removing water though. I've seen...

Well, that's interesting. Means there is air in fine suspension in the oil which doesn't come out when it is in the tank but does when it is agitated in the pump. I did not know that. I knew water could be in fine suspension, called emulsification I think. So in the pump there is likely to be...

That's interesting, thanks. I did not know that the pump would produce air in a single pipe system. Any idea how that happens (just to satisfy my curiosity)? At first glance it seems as if no air ought to be able to get into a single pipe system once it is properly bled.

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...

Ok, that's great thanks. it was definitely rough and needed a pair of pliers to turn. How that has happened I don't know, it was a new pump last winter.

Thanks for that. To be clear, you mean I should be able to grip the spindle/drive shaft and turn the pump easily by hand?

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.

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...

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...