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Heating & Air Conditioning

Oil burner transformer

15 years ago

Bad ignition transformer on Beckett burner. France transformer. France and others offer direct replacement, per my online search. Have discovered that Beckett now offers electronic ignitors for oil burners, perhaps at lower prices than for the transformer. Anyone have any experience with these ignitors for oil burners? Need to get the replacement tomorrow!

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Comments (7)

baymee
15 years ago
Beckett has had alot of problems with their ignitors. The OEM warranty is 5 years and they don't give any problems about honoring the warranty. Check out returning it under warranty first.
baymee
15 years ago
Let me rephrase that. Ignitors are the number one item returned for warranty of any other burner control in my experience. They are very good about honoring the warranty.
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mr_havac
15 years ago
They're 14,000 volts instead of the usual 10,000 which gives a much hotter spark. I've been using them for quite a while and haven't had any problems with them. Matter of fact I just picked up 2 for spares this past friday. Paid 39 bucks each.
bus_driver
Original Author
15 years ago
The reported problems with the electronic ignitors concerned me. In my experience, transformers have lasted quite a long time. I would guess that the majority of the old-type transformers lasted for the life of the furnace.
mr_havac
15 years ago
We recently had a pretty long stretch of some brutal below zero weather where some of our border line sized boilers pretty much ran non stop. Not a single one of those ignitors were giving off any heat like a conventional transformer would do. And you know what happens to an electrical item when it gets hot. Like I said BD, I haven't had any problems with them.
boltonranger
15 years ago
I have a counterflow fha furnace that goes through transformers much too soon due to the poor draft/design
Another of my properties has a Emerald boiler with a beckett burner that has the original 19 year old transformer.
I find that heat kills them. Including the newer 14k volt ones
-br
markjames
15 years ago
We replace fewer ignitors than outfits with a customer base a fraction the size of ours.

We have a lot of parts-replacers and parts-replacing-troubleshooters in my region that return, toss or inventory "working" ignitors, transformers, oil pumps and primary controls.

Years ago there was a big debate about whether or not to use ignitors on older oil burners with intermittent ignition (continuous duty). Some people believed that transformers would last longer on these units.

I like high voltage ignitors, interrupted ignition, oil solenoid valves, pre-purge/post-purge etc. Keeps the porcelains and electrodes looking brand spanking new.

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