Quietly out in that great night.

January 9, 2010 7:47 PM

Our furnace pilot light is out ( 1 2 3 4 5) how do we relight it?

These pictures are all I know of our furnace. It's oil, and did run out but was refilled--the tanker didn't relight, and we've left two messages on the emergency line of the landlord. It's below freezing outside. Lil help?

posted by gensubuser to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

Best answer: Oil furnaces don't tend to have pilot lights. They use spark ignition to light the oil. That grey box with the red button monitors this and shuts off the oil burner pump if it fails to light (so as not to fill up the furnace with unburned oil if it hasn't lit properly).

So first try just hitting the red button on that grey box to reset it. The oil pump should start and if there's oil getting through, the igniter should light it as normal. You may have to try a few times since the oil supply line may be full of air at this point, and it has to pump the air out first.

Many years ago, we ran out of oil and I distinctly remember a technician coming to fix it when resetting it repeatedly didn't help. He loosened the oil supply line at the furnace end, to let oil flow through the pipe from the tank and push the air out. I'm not sure you want to go that far though.
posted by FishBike at 7:56 PM on January 9, 2010

Try here. And stay warm!
posted by Doohickie at 7:58 PM on January 9, 2010

Response by poster: 7 resets, none stay. Do I need to prime a pump somewhere? The accompanying LED on the honeywell box is not lit.
posted by gensubuser at 8:27 PM on January 9, 2010

Best answer: I have one that looks kind of like that (but older and grosser) and if the tank has been totally emptied before refilling, I have to bleed the line. This means unscrewing a little nut a bit to let some bubbles out, then turn on the furnace (with that reset button) and using a yogurt container or something to catch the foamy oil that sputters out, filled with bubbles. Once the oil is running in a small stream (not sputtering anymore), I tighten the nut to turn off that stream. It is my understanding that this bleeds out some of the air in the line and bottom of the tank (or something). Only then will the reset/light button work and actually keep the furnace on. Sometimes this takes a few times and it's always a bit of a weird process the first time around.

So yes, I bet there is some kind of bleeding needed. Looking at this wikihow, take a look at #4, "Locate the Bleeder Valve." That's the little nut I'm talking about.

Of course, I'm just a renter who had to figure mine out last winter when it was freezing cold and pitch black down there, with a flashlight between my teeth and swearing coming out of my mouth, so I offer these words of advice in solidarity. I have no idea if this will work on your actual furnace.

Good luck!
posted by barnone at 9:04 PM on January 9, 2010

Best answer: Oh and you'll probably need a wrench to unscrew the nut initially. It feels weird to use some force on a nut attached to a giant vat of oil, but they don't just unscrew easily IME.
posted by barnone at 9:06 PM on January 9, 2010

Google 29788c, and you'll find a site with a manual for a free download of a manual for a
Beckett Oil burner. In it are instructions for priming the line for the first time.

If you can't figure out what part of the manual that you download pertains to your situation,
then perhaps you would be better of calling someone who will come out, immediately, to
light your burner for you. That would be at least a couple of hundred bucks, but it beats
the alternative.

You might talk to one of your neighbors. They might know how.
posted by the Real Dan at 9:22 PM on January 9, 2010

Best answer: On this photo, do you see that little protruding nut on the bottom left? Kind of above the second 'm' in "Add your comment." That looks like the bleeder valve to me. Again, I'm nowhere near a furnace mechanic, so you probably shouldn't listen to me.

Also, google the name of the furnace and model number. It looks like 29788c is only the burner.
posted by barnone at 9:45 PM on January 9, 2010

FWIW in your second picture, there is a cover missing. It belongs on the part where the two wires( blue and red) are attached. Keeps the dust out. Not sure how to light it, but I'd Google any model numbers and/or manufacturer. You might get lucky. Good luck.
posted by Taurid at 12:43 AM on January 10, 2010

Response by poster: Success! Bled it out for ~30 seconds. Didn't reignite on that reset. Bled it out 15 more seconds on new reset, tightened, and heard a rumble!

Currently have ~16oz of heating oil double-trashbagged in a trashcan. Looking up how to dispose of it... Have several oil motor oil canisters I could funnel it into, but realistically expect to leave it alone until landlords decide to show up tomorrow. All containers plastic, which is supposedly bad. I guess I could waste a glass cup.
posted by gensubuser at 8:49 AM on January 10, 2010

You can pour the heating oil right back into the tank. Just look for the pipe that leads from the tank to the wall, and on the other side of that wall is the tanks input (somewhere outside the house, of course). Just screw the top off and pour the oil in. If there's a lot of sludge you can put the oil in a bucket and let it sit overnight, the sludge will settle and your can pour the clean oil the next day.
posted by abc123xyzinfinity at 9:39 AM on January 10, 2010