Boler Furnace won't light

[Darwin Maring]

I'm old enough to remember when they sold a cardboard radio with wood grain printed on it and other crap of the same quality so the name just seamed to fit and I can't get it out of my head.

I was in a Crap Shack in Augusta, GA and it was being wired by a professional alarm company and I asked the manager, Hay, Why ain't you guys using your own product and he stated it was not good enough for a business and I said Oh You just sell it to home owners to protect their lives. He had a BLANK look on his face.

[khoa l]

Thanks for all the comments and replies thus far. I appreciate your incite.

Darwin Maring, I believe I have an electrical thermocouple. What I will do is take some pics and maybe you can tell me for certain. From my knowledge, the couple heats up by the pilot flame and creates a voltage that acts like a magnet which then acts like a switch opening or closing the gas valve?? correct??

I am almost certain that I have not damaged the couple. In fact, where it connects to the main furnace assembly(not the other end where the pilot flame is), it is just finger tight.

I'm thinking of using electrical contact cleaner to clean the end where it connect to the main body of furnace. standby for pictures.

[Darwin Maring]

I have the electrical one on a home water heater and went through the exact same problems U R having and did not solve it until I used the cleaner.

You can actually measure the voltage using a Digital Multimeter. The voltage is very very small.

I also used a butane torch to help heat the flame end of the thermocouple during troubleshooting.

[Darwin Maring]

I got the manuals out to my home water heater and here is what I found.

With the thermocouple off the unit and a mill voltmeter attached to the electrical end and fire applied to the pilot end, my thermocouple on my home water heater reads 9.9MV and 1.9MV

If you have “Safety Switches” on the furnace, they work in conjunction with the thermocouple and if there is a bad one, it will cause the pilot to go out.

[khoa l]

Here is picks of the furnace assembly taken out. Hope this makes sense to some who are looking at it.

furnace

[Jake Jacobson]

Here is picks of the furnace assembly taken out. Hope this makes sense to some who are looking at it.

furnace

Hard to tell much from photos - you need to troubleshoot it step by step. That being said, it appears as though the aluminum line (visible in the second photo) has severe gaps around the fitting - looks like it would leak gas like a sieve - is that the pilot line? May or may not be the source of your problem, but certainly should be carefully looked at - it looks very dangerous as it is......

[khoa l]

That being said, it appears as though the aluminum line (visible in the second photo) has severe gaps around the fitting - looks like it would leak gas like a sieve - is that the pilot line? May or may not be the source of your problem, but certainly should be carefully looked at - it looks very dangerous as it is......

Yes Jake, the aluminum line is leading to the pilot light.

[Darwin Maring]

It is important to use either a Teflon Tape that is especially made for gas lines and it is yellow or a thread sealer when you screw in any line that passes gas. The thread sealer must not be on the first 2 sets of thread so you do not get any debree inside the gas regulator.

Do Not use the tape or sealer on the Thermocouple connections.

Note: It appears that you have 2 thermocouples. 1 for the pilot and another for the thermostadt. So my question here is: Is the thermostadt one ok?

Did you do a voltage check of the pilot one?

Also: Be sure to mix a small amount of liquid dish wassing soap with some water and once you have everything sonnected and the gas turned on you drip this liquid over all gass fittings to make sure you DO NOT see any bubbles forming. Add the wash liquid to the water and stur very slow so you don't whip up so many bubbles in the first place as to make it almost impossible to use in the test.

[khoa l]

I have not done a voltage check on the pilot thermocouple. I read the instructions above but abit confused on how to do that.

So I should take off the thermocouple, heat the pilot end of the thermocouple and measure current. So with the voltmeter, I should have the + connector hooked to the pilot end of thermocouple and the - connector on the other end while heating the thermocouple..correct?

Am I just measuring any current. Assuming any current means it is working?

How could I check the thermocouple on the thermostat?

[khoa l]

Question: If there is air trapped in the lines when I turn on the propane tank, would I even get a flame from the pilot light?

The weird thing is that when i disconnect the main gas line running into the furnace and re-install it (which I have done several times now) the furnace will work more often than not.

[Darwin Maring]

If I were doing this, this is what I would do.

I would clean the contact end of the thermo couple and the part where it connects to the regulator.

Check for leaks.

Get a hand propane torch. Connect everything back together as described in previous posts.

Light the pilot and if it goes out when U let off the button I would lite it again and put the torch flame on it, wait a couple of minutes and let off the button. If the pilot goes out then, I would take the heater to a qualified repair facility.

[khoa l]

Yes, I am really at the end of my ropes on this...I think I have just about exhausted all that I can troubleshoot, at least on my own. Next stop may be a repair tech.

[Journey]

Originally Posted by kevin61

My Pilot control sometimes hisses gas. I just wiggle it a bit until it doesn't hiss anymore.

Check out my YouTube video on the operation of the furnace. I believe you have the same model as me.

Hello,

I am aware this post is old but wondering if someone could help. I own a 1973 Boler with the original heater. I have taken the whole unit apart and can now get the pilot light to come on and stay on. I also have a new thermocoupler.

My issue now is that when the pilot is on and then turn the dial from pilot to the ON position and then turn the dial for the heat strength nothing seems to happen the pilot light is at it's normal height but i don't see the main burner ignite.

Thoughts?

Thank you in advance.