Riello burner struggling to ignite

[Ambriel]

Have an oil-fired boiler for central heating and hot water with a Riello burner that has recently been having trouble igniting. It tries half a dozen times or more before succeeding.

I'm going to fit a new nozzle as the first step and see if that cures it. I'll give the photocell a clean while I'm at it, too.

It had a new pump fitted about a year ago, which is also when it was last serviced.

Any other suggestions?

 

[Agile]

Clean the photocell window by all means.

But I really dont recommend changing nozzles or any other oil part replacement or adjustment yourself.

When any of these are touched it needs to have the combustion parameters checked by using flue gas analysis.

Tony

 

[Burnerman]

If its a Trianco boiler, it could well use a baffle clean....
John

 

[Ambriel]

Thanks for the replies, folks.

It's a Grant Combi 90 installed external to the house.

 

[oilhead]

Any oil boiler, particularly externals, need servicing every 12 months.

 

[Ambriel]

Finally got a bit of dry weather to go outside and check this.

Found the photocell liberally coated with soot. A quick clean and replace and the boiler lit-up first try.

Still worth giving it a proper service but for now it's up and running again.

 

[Agile]

Whilst we dont know when it was last cleaned, you say it was serviced about a year ago and it should have been cleaned then.

Since you clearly dont seem to like spending money on professional servicing/repairs then I am wondering if it was really serviced then.

Soot on the photocell which is so bad it stops working after only a year makes me think that it is probably wrongly adjusted and the sooner its sorted out properly the better!

Tony

 

[Ambriel]

It was serviced by a heating engineer just under a year ago when a new fuel pump was also fitted.

We live in a remote location and the nearest heating engineer is based more than sixty miles away. He charges 50p per mile (both ways) on top of whatever the job and parts cost.

If he has two or more jobs to do in the village he is known to charge each of us for the total mileage. (Nice little earner.)

I'm happy to pay for professional services, and do so as and when required, but I object to being ripped-off.

 

[Burnerman]

You can certainly make things easier by learning how to clean out the boiler internals....many boilers allow the baffles to be lifted out through a hatch in the top so an hour or so with a vacuum cleaner and a wire brush
would pay dividends.
Pump pressure gauges are cheap enough, but its the flue gas analysers that cost dearly - hence some of the service prices.
John

 

[oilman]

Ambriel, if you can change your profile to allow PMs from non friends, I can send you a PM.

Any oil boiler, particularly externals, need servicing every 12 months.

In the case of this boiler I would agree, but then it's a combi. However, oil boilers can go for several years without being serviced, it depends on usage.

 

[Ambriel]

Thanks burnerman. I appreciate some of this kit does cost a lot of money, and requires the skills to operate it that I'll acknowledge I don't have - I wouldn't try - but where it's something straightforward I don't mind getting my hands dirty.

Thanks oilman. Done.

 

[oilman]

PM sent.

 

[dcawkwell]

It was serviced by a heating engineer just under a year ago when a new fuel pump was also fitted.

We live in a remote location and the nearest heating engineer is based more than sixty miles away. He charges 50p per mile (both ways) on top of whatever the job and parts cost.

If he has two or more jobs to do in the village he is known to charge each of us for the total mileage. (Nice little earner.)

I'm happy to pay for professional services, and do so as and when required, but I object to being ripped-off.

Try putting your postcode into the www.oftec.org website. It will
show the nearest engineer. I bet there will be one closer.

 

[oilhead]

The last 'clever' customer I had who found out how to clean the photocell which was sooted up completely filled the boiler with soot,cleaned the photocell again, & then filled his house with fumes, and burnt out the blast tube and inner flange and set fire to the insulation on the boiler case. All on a 15 month old boiler.
Do not ignore the warning signs!!!!!

 

[Ambriel]

Try putting your postcode into the www.oftec.org website. It will show the nearest engineer. I bet there will be one closer.

Kerr-ching! You lose.

Try it for yourself. My postcode is IV27 4RR.

Now, what very large drink are you going to buy me?