Hi my boiler has been out of action for a few months due to home refurbishment.
Got it fired up. Lotsa smoke at first then it calmed down . its running like a dream until i place the cover back on.. then it goes to lockout! Airflow prob maybe? any help is much appreciated. cheers

muscrat, May 2009

Hi, Update!
I have removed burner and put drop of oil on pump `spindle`.Rechecked everything else and refitted burner.
All systems go !..have put cover on and its still running! .. been running for an hour now with no signs/sounds of probs. dont want to switch it off in case it fails again now tho lol. ( i may be in for a hot summer lol)
Anyway..thanx for help thus far.. fingers crossed its sorted lol. cheers

muscrat, May 2009

Hi John
Appreciate yer advise mate thanx.
I left boiler to run for a few hours last nite without the cover on to get the system going.
This mornin i removed and hoovered baffles and cleared all debris from bottom of boiler. All clean and replaced correctly..but now boiler goes to lockout with cover off!
Have just had a look at the oil pump.. should it spin freely or should there be a little resistance?.. not sure if its got tight spots. If so does it need a new pump ?or is it fixable? this pump was replaced 4yrsago. Cheers

muscrat, May 2009

Hi muscrat
I don't think you'll find much soot in the flue itself, because presumably it comes out of the top of the boiler and goes straight out of the wall? You will however, find loads of soot and sulphur deposits in the boiler itself, and to sort this you take off the top of the boiler, to reveal a steel plate held down with a couple of nuts. take this off and you'll see two pairs of 'baffles' that slow down the flue gases - these should be lifted out, stacked up in the same way as they came out, and cleaned thoroughly with a wire brush. The other flue passages should be well cleaned with a vacuum cleaner, and the whole thing put back together. (Its best to remove the burner for this, as the soot will drop down on it). Once the flue is clean, all could be fine - if its not, then the burner will need a service too.

John, May 2009

Hi john,
Does that mean the flu will have to be swept? and is it an easy task?
cheers

muscrat, May 2009

If your burner is encased in its own aluminium box, then you have a balanced flue system. If the burner is ok running when drawing air from the room, then the flue must be suspect. I also suspect the entire boiler is well choked if the unit was smoking from start up.

John, May 2009