Suntec home heating oil pump problems

[carbon]

The 'O' ring should be in the joint between the outer aluminum housing that has the filter in and the body of the pump were the gasket is. Both of the plugs will also have a seal on them but as they haven't been removed they should still be there.

 

[carbon]

Just been trying to find a parts break down for that pump but I am struggling. If there isn't a space for an 'O' ring then the gasket can not be damaged in that area as any fuel pressure will leak back into the fuel filter

 

[ronan]

Carbon i didn't dismantle the pump before running the burner a few times and there was no oil coming through. so i doubt its an air leak.

 

[awemawson]

Have a description

 

[awemawson]

My Karcher MPDS ex army Steam Cleaner uses the same pump. I had to replace the main shaft seal on it as it leaked

 

[waddycall]

If it was working then stopped with no intervention and the solenoid coil is split my money would be on the solenoid coil. I'd put it back on the burner and check the solenoid with a screwdriver. If it's doesn't get magnetised stick probes from a meter into the solenoid plug and check for mains voltage a few seconds after the burner fires up.

 

[ronan]

What does the solenoid do precisely ? It opens the piston to allow oil through the outlet ?

 

[ronan]

 

[waddycall]

The solenoid controls flow of oil from the pump to the nozzle - exactly what you have trouble with. When the burner first fires up it needs to purge the combustion chamber of flue gasses and any unburnt fuel. So there is a delay between the motor/fan firing up and the fuel solenoid opening. In the event of flame failure the solenoid will shut the fuel off until the combustion chamber is purged of atomised fuel. Also if there was no solenoid then pressure from the tank either positive or negative could allow oil to drip out of the nozzle or Air to get sucked in.
When the burner shuts down the fuel is shut off sharp by the solenoid. Otherwise it would fizzle out as the motor slows down. The solenoid is an electromagnetic valve that turns the supply of oil to the nozzle on and off. The solenoid is controlled by the control box.

 

[ronan]

I tested this bleedin' solenoid tonight with the multimeter. Its as dead as mutton. I used the continuity setting and across the live/neutral connections it showed no connection. So problem found. I'll see if i can get one somewhere in dublin in the morning.

 

[awemawson]

Your solenoid may well be imitating a dodo BUT:

The 'continuity setting' of your multimeter may be looking for close to zero ohms, whereas if it is a 240v coil it could be several 1000 ohms. Has your meter got a resistance range that gives actual figures in ohms?

 

[ronan]

Your solenoid may well be imitating a dodo BUT:

The 'continuity setting' of your multimeter may be looking for close to zero ohms, whereas if it is a 240v coil it could be several 1000 ohms. Has your meter got a resistance range that gives actual figures in ohms?

It does awemawson, i'll retest it now and see what the read is.

 

[ronan]

A big fat zero is the answer, it is dead, so thats the trouble.

 

[awemawson]

I assume you mean infinity rather than zero ohms If it WAS zero then the fuse would have blown and your 'continuity checker' would have said yes

Best to know - you'd have been a bit miffed if a new one performed the same

 

[ronan]

My meter when you go into either continuity or ohms displays 1, when i connected the contacts it sat at 1 and didn't move. The case of this solenoid is cracked badly, i don't know how that happened, but the whole heating system seems to have been badly fitted, no filter ot safety valve on the oil line, the boiler is just sat on the dirt floor. Its bodged, but i just want to fix it and get on with another job i have to do.

 

[wookie]

It must be the season for boiler failures, I've got a Warmflow boiler that stopped working last Friday, I've been through it checking the basics and it's either the solenoid or the control box perhaps both. I've repaired one broken link in the control box but it still won't fire up, but the solenoid has 3 wires... I'm thinking a pull coil and a hold coil ? anyway I only have continuity on one pair of wires, so I'm guessing that maybe the problem.

I'm working away this week so our local heating engineer is coming to take a look tomorrow, but I'm not spending a fortune on fixing it as I was planning to upgrade to a condensing boiler this summer.

 

[ronan]

It must be the season for boiler failures, I've got a Warmflow boiler that stopped working last Friday, I've been through it checking the basics and it's either the solenoid or the control box perhaps both. I've repaired one broken link in the control box but it still won't fire up, but the solenoid has 3 wires... I'm thinking a pull coil and a hold coil ? anyway I only have continuity on one pair of wires, so I'm guessing that maybe the problem.

I'm working away this week so our local heating engineer is coming to take a look tomorrow, but I'm not spending a fortune on fixing it as I was planning to upgrade to a condensing boiler this summer.

Have a butchers at the video i posted earlier in this thread Wookie, the connection is the same as the one on the pump i have, live, neutral and earth as far as i can see. The control box energises the coil, it opens the valve and holds it open until the box closes it again.

 

[wookie]

Have a butchers at the video i posted earlier in this thread Wookie, the connection is the same as the one on the pump i have, live, neutral and earth as far as i can see. The control box energises the coil, it opens the valve and holds it open until the box closes it again.

Cheers for that ronan different model pump but the same setup so my testing of the solenoid proved it was okay, it turns out it was the control box, our local heating engineer fitted a new one and the boiler fired right up. Like I said I've been working away this week (only got back last night at 11pm) so didn't have the chance to fix it myself and the missus has flu so I wasn't going to make her go all week with out any heating, the inside of the control box is proper crusty, It could be the original, so 18 years old.

 

[normspanners]

Mine stopped working but it was the drive grub screw had slacked off and the drive was spinning, mind there is a fair bit of torque on it as it starts as it is running quite thick oil -----Ahem.