Ditchmonkey
Junior Member
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2014
- Messages
- 55
- Reaction score
- 13
I wanted to post this problem I resolved as reference for someone who might need the info in the future.
This is our first winter in an oil-heated home so it's new to me. I came home last week during the coldest day of the year (around 10 degrees f) to find that the house was freezing, and the flame indicator blinking to signal overheat. Of course, I went into full panic mode which is always helpful. I restarted the heater and it fired up, but then the house was filled with a light burning smell, which alarmed me even more. Luckily, I was able to resolve the issue by cleaning and restarting the furnace.
I believe the problem is that the furnace had not been cleaned for some time, and it contained a fair amount of dust and animal hair near the chamber where the oil burns. During the cold snap, the furnace was burning full flame for an extended period, causing the dust and hair to burn, and resulting in the electronic sensor to detect overheating. I took the cover off the heater and vacuumed out the dust and hair, then restarted the furnace and it has worked flawlessly since.
I hope this helps someone later on.
This is our first winter in an oil-heated home so it's new to me. I came home last week during the coldest day of the year (around 10 degrees f) to find that the house was freezing, and the flame indicator blinking to signal overheat. Of course, I went into full panic mode which is always helpful. I restarted the heater and it fired up, but then the house was filled with a light burning smell, which alarmed me even more. Luckily, I was able to resolve the issue by cleaning and restarting the furnace.
I believe the problem is that the furnace had not been cleaned for some time, and it contained a fair amount of dust and animal hair near the chamber where the oil burns. During the cold snap, the furnace was burning full flame for an extended period, causing the dust and hair to burn, and resulting in the electronic sensor to detect overheating. I took the cover off the heater and vacuumed out the dust and hair, then restarted the furnace and it has worked flawlessly since.
I hope this helps someone later on.
