grant vortex pro condensing boiler cutting out

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I have a grant vortex pro condensing boiler, 2 years old. From about October 2012 it occasionally cut out and the lock-out button light came on. The boiler started OK when this was pressed. The oil tank was full. The oil line filter is new. we have a remote thermostat for the upstairs radiators and a hot water tank heated by the boiler. The downstairs radiators have a thermostat. All the settings are as they were before this fault appeared. I had an engineer out to find the fault. He found none. He serviced the boiler, installing a new fuel jet. He commented that the inside of the boiler was very clean. This fault is intermittent and does not seem to have a pattern, cutting out randomly. Any ideas? Im not an expert, although I am a race car engine builder and understand mechanics. I think this is an electrical problem, is there some component that could have an intermittent fault, and if so, can it be tested with a multi-meter? I have one for resistance, voltage, amps. Thank you in advance and happy new year! :confused:
 
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s the oil pressure correct and at a steady pressure at that?

It could be water frozen in your oil line causing a blockage. Get the oil line pumpe through first.

It could be the photo cell or the oil solenoid coil, but these rarely go on a Riello burner.
 
s the oil pressure correct and at a steady pressure at that?

It could be water frozen in your oil line causing a blockage. Get the oil line pumpe through first.

It could be the photo cell or the oil solenoid coil, but these rarely go on a Riello burner.

Thanks for your helpful reply. I had a Riello burner on the previous boiler installed in 1979 and replaced in around 2000 and both ran without a fault.
Occasionally I cleaned the flame sensor(electric eye?) glass. The fuel line is mostly underground and I checked the tank for water and none found. I had an extra large filter fitted on the fuel line adjacent to the tank and that has no water in it. Can I check the photo cell and/or the solenoid coil with my meter? If so, how do I do it and what readings should I expect? I do not see a way of measuring the oil pressure. There is a gauge for the system pressure but I don't think you meant that. I can try blowing the fuel line out with compressed air from the boiler end and observe what comes out at the tank end if I remove the filter and turn off the supply tap. What would you suggest I do first? The problem with electrical faults is that they are never there when you want to find them. Thanks.
 
If the photo cell is faulty the burner fan will run and run and run but will not fire. The coil on the solinoid could do this as it heats up(breaking down) then drops out shutting the oil causing the flame to go out and then lockout.
 
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Two words - "MOTOR CAPACITOR"

there are very few problems that actually cause a lock out on a Riello, you engineer has replaced the nozzle and confirmed combustio as "good"

The two main causes of lockout are-
1) Fuel Starvation (Unlikely in your case)
2) No rotation of Fan/Motor possibly intermittantly.

The most likely cause of intermittant non rotation of fan motor will be the motor capacitor the reading on the cap should be 4.5 micro-farad +/- 10%
 
Solenoid for RDB's should be 100 ohms (plus or minus 5 per cent). Your resistance reading might be fine when boiler is cold but sometimes the solenoid goes open circuit when heated, ie. during a heating cycle. I have found solenoids failing as quickly as 2 minutes into a heating cycle.

Photocell can be tested for resistance. In the dark you should get high resistance and with a light shining at cell resistance will drop dramatically.

Also check capacitor. Measured in microfarads. Anything plus/minus 10 per cent of the capacitor value and I would change capacitor.

All of the above are arguably the cheaper component failures for an RDB!
 
All parts for oil boilers are cheap.

I would start by swapping out the coil if the fault occurs late
in the day when boiler is hot as this is the most likely cause.

If it fails in the mornings first firing. Possible motor start capacitor/motor
problem. Or fuel problem.

Unfortunately non of these faults are particularly easy to find with a multimeter. I replaced a coil which had virtually identical resistance to
a new one but was still the fault.
 
is it only 2 years old or more likely 3 years old?

if so it could be the pump has failed as we did have a large batch on reillos that failed which were manufactured 2009/2010. they have since been replaced with the newer bio pump.

but i would still go for the motor capacitor as being the top culprit
 
If the photo cell is faulty the burner fan will run and run and run but will not fire. The coil on the solinoid could do this as it heats up(breaking down) then drops out shutting the oil causing the flame to go out and then lockout.

thanks cozzmic for this info. With your advice and others I should be able to isolate the fault.

happy new year
 
Two words - "MOTOR CAPACITOR"

there are very few problems that actually cause a lock out on a Riello, you engineer has replaced the nozzle and confirmed combustio as "good"

The two main causes of lockout are-
1) Fuel Starvation (Unlikely in your case)
2) No rotation of Fan/Motor possibly intermittantly.

The most likely cause of intermittant non rotation of fan motor will be the motor capacitor the reading on the cap should be 4.5 micro-farad +/- 10%

thanks boilerman for your help. Ill check what I can and report back here whatever happens.

happy new year
 
Solenoid for RDB's should be 100 ohms (plus or minus 5 per cent). Your resistance reading might be fine when boiler is cold but sometimes the solenoid goes open circuit when heated, ie. during a heating cycle. I have found solenoids failing as quickly as 2 minutes into a heating cycle.

Photocell can be tested for resistance. In the dark you should get high resistance and with a light shining at cell resistance will drop dramatically.

Also check capacitor. Measured in microfarads. Anything plus/minus 10 per cent of the capacitor value and I would change capacitor.

All of the above are arguably the cheaper component failures for an RDB!
thanks for your helpful advice. I will check soon and report back with results.

happy new year
 
is it only 2 years old or more likely 3 years old?

if so it could be the pump has failed as we did have a large batch on reillos that failed which were manufactured 2009/2010. they have since been replaced with the newer bio pump.

but i would still go for the motor capacitor as being the top culprit

thanks for help. Ill check everything as advised by all on this forum.

happy new year
 
All parts for oil boilers are cheap.

I would start by swapping out the coil if the fault occurs late
in the day when boiler is hot as this is the most likely cause.

If it fails in the mornings first firing. Possible motor start capacitor/motor
problem. Or fuel problem.

Unfortunately non of these faults are particularly easy to find with a multimeter. I replaced a coil which had virtually identical resistance to
a new one but was still the fault.
thanks for help. Ill check through all components that I can as in the replies i got to my original query.

happy new year
 
is it only 2 years old or more likely 3 years old?

if so it could be the pump has failed as we did have a large batch on reillos that failed which were manufactured 2009/2010. they have since been replaced with the newer bio pump.

but i would still go for the motor capacitor as being the top culprit

just checked and the new boiler was installed december 2010.
is there a manufacturing date anywhere on the thing?
how can I tell the older from the newer pump? what does bio mean in relation to the pump? thanks
 
is it only 2 years old or more likely 3 years old?

if so it could be the pump has failed as we did have a large batch on reillos that failed which were manufactured 2009/2010. they have since been replaced with the newer bio pump.

but i would still go for the motor capacitor as being the top culprit

just checked and the new boiler was installed december 2010.
is there a manufacturing date anywhere on the thing?
how can I tell the older from the newer pump? what does bio mean in relation to the pump? thanks

More information on this problem: I have not yet got around to checking anything. Im in a wheelchair and cant get to the boiler so my wife will have to do everything. Shes competent as she now builds her own race engines so knows a spanner from a micrometer! She remembers now that sometimes the switch on the boiler was in the on position but the light inside the switch rocker was out. The way she got the boiler to start was to 1. twist the room thermostat back and forth to make sure it was calling for heat. 2. switch the on/of switch on the boiler on and off and on. 3. switch on and off at the supply socket that the boiler is plugged into. 4. Push the lock-out button in. I don't know if this is relevant. I will report back here when she has checked as previously advised on this forum.
Thanks for all your advice.
 

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