Is there a device to STOP oil burner short cycling?

 
User avatar
SMITTY
Member
Posts: 12520
Joined: Sun. Dec. 11, 2005 12:43 pm
Location: West-Central Mass
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520 Highboy
Coal Size/Type: Rice / Blaschak anthracite
Other Heating: Oil fired Burnham boiler

Post by SMITTY » Thu. May. 11, 2023 11:01 am

The short cycling is just happenstance. There's a long call for heat for hot water, then seconds before the heat call kicks off, the temp drops to kick the burner on. Burner runs for 4 seconds, shuts down. Then another zone calls - fires up again, and shuts down 10 seconds later after heat call is gone. Now the temp is near the low limit, and the burner finally stays on to bring it up.

Seems like rather than bolting an expensive, failure prone aquastat to the boiler, or 5 analog devices wired all over the place along with a 4006 I already have to keep coal out of the ash pan after an outage, there's got to be ONE SIMPLE device that can be wired in series with boiler power to just delay burner operation for 10 seconds, 30 seconds, or a minute. This can't be that complicated.

 
User avatar
Rob R.
Site Moderator
Posts: 17980
Joined: Fri. Dec. 28, 2007 4:26 pm
Location: Chazy, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr

Post by Rob R. » Thu. May. 11, 2023 11:58 am

You could use an off-delay relay, but you would still need to add a second high limit aquastat to protect you from the relay malfunctioning.

If you are adverse to wiring any additional controls it sounds like you should just live with the short cycling.


 
User avatar
davidmcbeth3
Member
Posts: 8505
Joined: Sun. Jun. 14, 2009 2:31 pm
Coal Size/Type: nut/pea/anthra

Post by davidmcbeth3 » Thu. May. 11, 2023 12:44 pm

SMITTY wrote:
Thu. May. 11, 2023 11:01 am
The short cycling is just happenstance. There's a long call for heat for hot water, then seconds before the heat call kicks off, the temp drops to kick the burner on. Burner runs for 4 seconds, shuts down. Then another zone calls - fires up again, and shuts down 10 seconds later after heat call is gone. Now the temp is near the low limit, and the burner finally stays on to bring it up.
on for 10 seconds, 30 seconds, or a minute.
SNIP

Perhaps an option to consider is to lower the number of zones. Ex: if everything was one zone, controlled by 1 thermostat then this short cycling may be eliminated. It would be a simple experiment to try. And with Sharkbite, the labor is much lowered.

Post Reply

Return to “Wood, Pellets, Gas, Oil, Geothermal & Other Heating Types”