Oil heating furnaces are great for heating your home, and modern models come with sophisticated mechanisms for accurate and reliable performance.
Now and then, even if you take care of the oil furnace regularly, some problems occur and require your attention. Many of the issues are minor, whereas others will require professional attention. Should the reset button on the oil burner trip all the time, you have a common problem on your hands. It’s probably one of the most ordinary and yet poorly understood matters of oil furnace maintenance. There are plenty of misconceptions related to this problem, so you should keep reading for complete understanding.
All home furnaces come with an easy to identify red reset button. The safety feature is made to trigger automatically, turning off the furnace once a problem is identified. The furnace reset button is attached to a sensor that controls the burner flame. Several factors will make the burner’s flame go out, and not all are easy to fix by homeowners.
Sometimes, it happens by accident, and you may always turn on the system by simply pressing the reset button.
However, resetting the furnace won’t always solve the problem, which means that more serious issues have developed and proper servicing is necessary.
Why does the reset button trips on an oil heating furnace?
Several aspects will make the reset button of the oil furnace trip, so keep reading for the details.
Not enough oil
It’s the most common reason why the reset button may trip, and your furnace doesn’t start. You have to keep the oil tank full for numerous reasons, and the no.1 reason is that burner cannot run without fuel. When the furnace reset button is tripped because of insufficient power, you have to place an order for heating oil right away.
Keep in mind that you cannot just fill the tank with the heating oil; a unique prime and restart of the furnace are necessary to don’t damage the burner in any way. Some suppliers provide an automatic delivery program to sign up; you will always have heating oil and won’t have to deal with any problems caused by lack of fuel.
Closed valves
If the tank isn’t empty, but the reset button doesn’t stop tripping, something else doesn’t allow fuel to get to the burner. Did you close any of the valves on the fuel line by accident? It’s an important step to take before going further with the investigation.
Which steps do you take for resetting the oil burner?
When the oil heating furnace runs and stops, you should identify the reset button on the unit. Here are the aspects to pay attention to:
The reset button should be placed inside the blower compartment, on the blower motor’s side.
You don’t just press the button. You have to find the circuit breaker and also turn off the power supply to your oil furnace. If the switch is up, push it so that you may reset it.
If the reset button doesn’t stop tripping, it’s best not to press it again. It will pump more oil into the furnace, flooding it and even aggravating the possible problems if you do.
When resetting the furnace doesn’t give results, the problem is rather severe, and you will have to call the professionals. It’s not a bad idea to check the following issues, as some come with an easy fix:
Blocked airflow
The reset button may trip because the oil furnace doesn’t have enough airflow. You need to clean the air filters and maintain the vents open to provide the proper air for operating. It would help if you also cleaned the blower wheel.
Low fuel
It’s the most common cause of burner failure. Adding more oil and resetting the burner should solve the problem.
The dirty flame sensor rod
Any now and then, the flame sensor rod becomes dirty, shutting the furnace off after some time. Wiping it carefully from time to time is an easy fix for most homeowners.
When you’ve taken all these steps, and the burner doesn’t stop tripping, the professionals are the only ones who can help.
When should you call the professionals?
If the oil burner reset button doesn’t stop tripping and you know for sure that the tank is full and the shunt valve isn’t causing it, you should call the professionals for service. A dirty cad cell, blocked oil nozzle, defective fuel pump or faulty burner, some loose electrical connections could cause the tripping, and none of these problems are easy jobs for regular joes.
Only the professionals have the knowledge, tools, and experience to find the cause and make the necessary repairs.
