Heating Help

Tjerlund SS1 shutting off.

I've been having to reset my furnace several times a day lately. The furnace will function normally for anywhere from 20min to 12 hours, but will eventually need a reset to kick back on.

Last night I decided to sit in the basement and babysit the thing to try and figure out what is wrong.

Turns out that my Tjerlund ss1 exhaust fan is shutting down at random times, which of course shuts off and locks out the furnace a few seconds later.

The diagnostic LED's came back with:
"Fan Prover opened for more than 10 seconds during burner cycle but closed within 10 minutes."

So what's the next step? Clean the fan and prover tube?

My oil company wants to replace the circuit board, but it will be a while before they get the part in stock.

thanks,
Brendan

build yourself a pre-fab chimney

and you'll have a trouble free system. ...................................But it does sound like a board as the venter should never shut off if the pressure switch is open. The venter should just keep running if the pressure switch goes off. Its not much cheaper to replacde the whole venter instead of the board. The moneyz you invest into the venter would be better spend to build yourself a nice chimney. In the mean time (if it was my house) i'd wire the venter to run all the time (by-pass the timer and board) As long as your burner is still wire through the limit and pressure switch on the venter, its still safe.This isnt very energy smart as it will exhaust a lot of warm house air, but it will get you through till you build yourself a chimney.




Ohh yeah did i mention, you should build yourself a chimney!

better yet

I would ask them if they are capable of installing a timer relay in place of the board. I have done this for the same reason. The timer relay from past Sideshot power venters work the best, and I have no idea why they needed to complicate the vent system with a unreliable circuit board. This way in no way by passes any safetys.

Yes, clean

unit first and clean the sensing tube. The wheel should be cleaned when your boiler is serviced. You will likely find that is the trouble. Absolutely do this prior to replacing parts.

Clean it

Tjernlund Technical Support is available 7:30am to 4:30pmCST  M-F at (800)-255-4208.
The most common problem is lack of cleaning.  This is a necessary maintenance procedure for all SideShots(tm) when used on oil-fired heaters.  Carbon deposits on the wheel and can eventually lead to a decrease in the SideShot's performance.  When draft falls below the set-point pressure, the UC1 turns the burner off so that the house doesn't fill up with soot, or worse, with Carbon Monoxide.  Go to www.tjernlund.com to download the SS1 Owner's Manual and follow the directions for accessing the wheel for cleaning.

It will not be a blockage in the pressure line

As you said
"Turns out that my Tjerlund ss1 exhaust fan is shutting down at random times, which of course shuts off and locks out the furnace a few seconds later."

If the venter its self is randomly shutting off then its the board, as the venter should always continue to run; Even if the pressure swicth opens


dont invest i cent into this outfitt , build yourself a chimney

(i do like the ss1 its about the best power venter out there, fairly simple and does a nice job of keep'n a steady draft (and the motor is inside). But why try to make mechanical draft, just more junk to fail at midnite. Motors, limit swicthes, pressure switches, circuit boards, dont last 4 ever chimneys do!)

Is the motor dropping out

during operation? I personally have never had a problem with the fan prover tube on Sideshot 1 or 2, unlike the other brand where it is a common problem. I have had to replace a few motors, fan prover switches, adjust timer relays, but that is about it with those.  Pretty good units. You can clean the tube, but I bet the problem is elsewhere personally

Bill i had one 2 years ago

complete safety failure the only thing that saved the house was the limit inside the venter. The smoke just rolled out of the unit outside, yes this was the newer style with the circuit board..........real scary stuff

Yes that does sound scary

Did the vent motor not run? The thermal switch is another safety, like the spillage switch on the other brand. If they are not wire right, or the possibility of a faulty board, it can happen. I do prefer chimneys over vents, but we find more and more of them out there

Yep,, the board didnt want to sent the 120 to the venter motor

The motor was fine and the board had no problem letting the burner fire.And yes everything was wire right. I didnt take any chances replacing the board,,put a whole new ss1 one her. I took a look today out of 2500 fuel accounts we have 20 power venters,...............building one chimney at a time

SS-1's

Each and every SS-1 Side Shot I ever installed, there was no chimney and absolutely no possibility of installing one.
I personally prefer a SS-1 over a defective chimney in all cases.

a good old chimney

a strictly oil burner man like me,definetely agrees with you slow-115 we see a lot everyday. some only install and never get to go back,of course there is no problem with it.

Motor

Is the motor on the venter stopping? If it is you need to find what is causing it. If not then get cleaning. Just a little build up will keep the pressure switch from pulling in or holding your sensing the pull or the air crossing the tube. So it only takes a couple particles of dust to mess things up.