How To Start Boiler?

Bernie is the one who always turns on the boiler every year. Now he is in the hospital and can't do it. I tried turning on the switch at the side of the boiler and turning on the thermostat but I don't see a pilot light on. I called our regular plumber and he is off until Monday. To complicate things further, Bernie is being moved to rehab this afternoon so I won't be getting back from bring clothes for him to the hospital until 3:30 pm or so at the earliest. Does anyone have instructions as to what to look for/do myself (I am a complete novice) or the name/contact info of a good boiler plumber who could come late this afternoon or early tomorrow?

This is probably a 2 min job for a plumber. Weltman can send someone quickly (or later in the evening), but they charge for it. Try Phil Masucci, if they have anyone available, rates are more reasonable.

Thanks. I will place the calls as soon as I get from the hospital. I don't want to risk someone getting to the house while I am at the hospital.

With our boiler (a 35-year-old Bryant model), there's the switch on the wall, the thermostat to set and you have to manually light the pilot light inside the boiler while you press a red thingie on the boiler. Do you recall Bernie using a match when he would start it up? I'll ask my husband when he gets back and see if he can explain it better than I can (He's the one here who shuts the boiler down/turns it on and drains/add water - that thing scares me!)

Joan - Is there a pilot light involved that needs to be lit? If not, then it really shouldn't be hard at all and you shouldn't have to pay a plumber (unless it doesn't come on.) I just turned mine on for the first time this season and it came right up.

Feel free to call or email me when you get home and I'll come over and take a look.

SAC: Thank you!!!! I will definitely contact you as soon as I get back. Pilot light may simply need to be lit. I just don't know where or how. I do have long matches just in case.

Giving up on the annual no heat contest then?

FWIW There should be a remote shut-off switch. Make sure it is in the on position.

Ask Bernie what he usually does. If it includes lighting the pilot light, then I'm a bit hesitant about that but would give it a try if you have an owners manual with explicit directions. My furnace has electronic ignition, so I didn't have to do that.

mrincredible said:
Giving up on the annual no heat contest then? ">

Do we even have that any more?

It DID raise a lot of awareness with me, but the latest I ever went was October 20th. Mostly, I just try not to run the heat if I know it is going to warm up again in a few days. The last thing I want to do is heat up my house just in time for a warm spell. (We don't have central air. But, even if we did, I would hate to be paying to heat the house and then paying again to cool it back down.)

Does MOL have a kindhearted guy or gal who could light that pilot for Joan this afternoon or evening when she gets home? If we still lived in NJ I would volunteer Mr. PeggyC, but it isn't an option any more.

As kindhearted as I am, I never mess around with another man's pilot light. It's against the Guy Code.

I think in Bernie's absence, only a professional should handle things.

Joan, when you have time could you let us know the make of your boiler? I think they can differ a bit, one from another, but if someone has the same model, it shouldn't be a problem to come and do it.

Just a thought here, I may be completely off base, but if the pilot light is out, does that mean gas could be leaking into the basement, and when you take a match to the pilot it could be dangerous? Hope this gets fixed soon for you, my house is chilly, getting ready to turn the heat up a bit.

Did you try turning up the thermostat to see if the boiler will turn on automatically?

emmie, we light ours each autumn. The pilot light does not just "go out" - it shuts off when the boiler is turned off in the springtime (at least ours does). No gas is escaping during the time the boiler is shut down. When you turn the boiler back on in autumn, then gas starts to flow again, and then you can safely light the pilot light.

eta: added the missing word "not"! Kind of an important word to leave out - sorry about that!

Cody, thanks good to know

Joan posted in the other thread (I'm sure she meant to put it here) that Bernie thinks the boiler needs a part replaced. So, this seems to be a job for a plumber.

emmie said:
Just a thought here, I may be completely off base, but if the pilot light is out, does that mean gas could be leaking into the basement, and when you take a match to the pilot it could be dangerous?

No - the pilot light warms a part called a thermocouple. When the thermocouple cools because the pilot light is out, the gas is shut off as a safety measure.

edited to add: http://home.howstuffworks.com/pilot-light.htm

If it's gas, call PSE&G. They'll come.

My guy was just here this morning for a yearly inspection/tune-up. He's gruff but honest and reasonably-priced, and has always come quickly when I had a problem. Ronnie the Plumber: (973) 313-9093

Boiler is a Weil McLain and relatively new. I am sure they make more than one model. I called the plumber TomCat recommended. The earliest they can get to me is midday tomorrow. I told them to make the appointment with the understanding that I would call and cancel if I could get someone out sooner. I was hoping to see Bernie at the nursing home tomorrow but if I have to wait for a plumber that might not be possible. I will try other plumbers and see what happens. Much as I appreciate kind hearted neighbors and other friends, I don't want to mess with this since the pilot light should have come on. There was no odor of gas before I turned on the boiler and only a faint odor mostly gone now before I turned it off again. I would feel much better getting a professional to check this out.

joan_crystal said:
Boiler is a Weil McLain and relatively new. I am sure they make more than one model. I called the plumber TomCat recommended. The earliest they can get to me is midday tomorrow. I told them to make the appointment with the understanding that I would call and cancel if I could get someone out sooner. I was hoping to see Bernie at the nursing home tomorrow but if I have to wait for a plumber that might not be possible. I will try other plumbers and see what happens. Much as I appreciate kind hearted neighbors and other friends, I don't want to mess with this since the pilot light should have come on. There was no odor of gas before I turned on the boiler and only a faint odor mostly gone now before I turned it off again. I would feel much better getting a professional to check this out.

Call PSE&G and tell them you smell gas. They will come out right away.

She's right. And you shouldn't be charged if all they do is relight the pilot.

-s.

It is not the kind of gas emergency where I would feel comfortable calling PSE&G. SAC gave me the phone number for a plumber I know well who has been out to the house many times. He has agreed to come out later today. Problem resolved, I hope. Thank you to everyone for bearing with me in my panic and for all the great suggestions and support.

joan_crystal said:
It is not the kind of gas emergency where I would feel comfortable calling PSE&G. SAC gave me the phone number for a plumber I know well who has been out to the house many times. He has agreed to come out later today. Problem resolved, I hope. Thank you to everyone for bearing with me in my panic and for all the great suggestions and support.

Joan, thats what PSEG is there for. I didn't say you should have said it was an emergency, just that you smelled gas--you di. I spoke with one tech who said that EVERYONE says they smell gas just to get an appointment.

I had a gas line split open in my apartment a few years back. The FD had to turn off the gas to the whole house because the shut off for the stove was not working properly. The FD had to stand by for about an hour waiting for PSE&G to show up, tieing up a fire engine. Please don't tell people to pretend there is a gas emergency just to get faster service to relight a pilot light, it greatly impacts response times for real emergencies.

Do new boilers have pilot lights? New stoves don't, so maybe new boilers don't, either.

Calling a plumber was the right move. There is a part that needs to be replaced. Anthony's associate was just here, removed the broken part, and took off for the supply house to replace it.

Tom_Reingold said:
Do new boilers have pilot lights? New stoves don't, so maybe new boilers don't, either.

My 10-year-old boiler has electronic ignition. I think that's pretty standard these days.