Beckett Oil Burner Runs for a few, then screams an locks out

HI, Lost my heat and hot water last night. I went and checked and it was blinking. Checked the oil tank, and plenty of fuel. Went and pushed button and reset , it started right up, after about 5 minutes was making screaming, tapping and whining noises and shut down again. Not sure what to do next. Was going to clean the eye, but that wouldn't really cause the racket. Had the filter and nozzle replaced last year. Any suggestions would be appreciated. May be able to get a technician tomorrow or later this week, but financially strapped and kids want hot water...

Screaming, tapping whining doesn't sound good. Could be motor bearings, or oil pump. If you don't have the tools & know how to test for each, then a technician is about the only choice. Call for service & put a pot of water on the stove & teach the kids how a sponge bath works.

PS. We're glad to help if we can, but this is a Coal forum, not an oil forum.

Freddy

Your right and you are right. With all the knowledge on this site we can cure anyones plumbing/heatings problems.

Screaming, tapping, & whining? Sounds like you have .... liberals .... trapped in your burner.


Time to tear that burner down & see what the deal is. First, make sure nothing is jammed in the fan ( unlikely something could get in there, but you never know - mice are crafty little bastards). Next I would get the motor off & see how the shaft spins by hand .... and if it spins good, find a way to power it up & let it run for a bit ( off the unit, of course). If that's all good, the only other thing it could be is the fuel pump like Freddy said. Both are easy fixes, but not very cheap.

And before you do any of that, check the bearings for oil holes & try several drops of oil down there first if it has them.

Check the pump coupling, they have a nasty habit of spliting and no oil gets pumped, no flame = lockout

Thank you all, I am sorry , not sure how I got the coal forum, but I appreciate the help and yes the kids will be learning about sponge bath, just hoping weather here in Pa doesn't go crazy again. Thank you again !

Me thinks next oil fill up (which happens once or twice a year) I'm going to add a gallon of #10 hydraulic oil to my oil tank,Hoping to keep the pump happy on my oil burner. We'll see what happens.

Brian, a real diesel treatment like Howes, Power Service, etc will add more lubriciry than hydraulic oil...and help keep things clean. I treat my heating oil with a product called DZL-PEP and the filters still look new after 1000+ gallons.

sounds like crazy may be onto somthing w/ his comment about the clpg, if it will run for 5 mins each time, then keep hitting the reset button as long as it starts each time and runs for 4-5 mins each time ,,if it doesen't start don't hit the reset more than twice

crazy4coal wrote:Check the pump coupling, they have a nasty habit of spliting and no oil gets pumped, no flame = lockout

Mine did that a few years back. It would start and run a few minutes flicker after a while and quit. It was the coupling. It wasn't split but had been douched with fuel oil. That didn't help the ridiculous piece of rubber that they expect to drive a pump at those pressures.

A clogged oil line to the pump will cause the pump to whine. Blow out the line to the tank.

mark viii, this DZL-PEP what does it do, does it work on the water in the fuel, the sludge or something else. I usually add Hot Shot but I don't really know if it does any good, My fuel line still gets clogged due sludge. I once used an additive that was suppose to remove the sludge in the bottom of the fuel tank and it ended up clogging all the filters and nozzle and I had to call the fellow that services my boilers, I have two boilers in a duplex with two fuel tanks and am looking for a additive that will not shut down and clog my boilers.

Pete, DZL-PEP is a multi-functional diesel fuel treatment like the others I listed. We use it on the farm, so it goes in the heating oil tanks too. I sent you a PM with additional information. Most of the specialty oil companies make products specifically for heating oil.

I have no personal experience with Hot Shot, but I will warn you that plugging the filters is a risk anytime you introduce an additive into an old tank.

Hey PP, Are you oil lines form the bottom of the tank? If they are you need to change them to the top. Replace the line with new line. Your old line is full of sluge build up. If you have a 2 line setup change it to a 1 line and install a "Tigerloop". Run them down to the bottom and then pull them up 4". Most tanks have the real nasty junk in the first 2". If there is more than 3" and the tanks are more than 20 yrs old get rid on them and install new ones. Don't get sucked in by the guy that tells you that he can clean all that stuff out of a tank, it ain't gonna happen! You'll just throw you money away.

Thanks, ran it till it shut off twice this morning, lasted about 5 minutes with a flame each time, then noticed flame was getting blown around. Went over to damper and breeze coming out it after it had shut down..and soot all around it. Going to clean out pipe and check chimney after work tomorrow.... then go from there. Its due for a cleaning anyway, lol. It was too dark to see if there is black smoke coming out chimney. I can smell the fuel, but flame appears to be getting blown out. I think bleeding it may help and checking fan. Thank you again!