It's all fun and games until your furnace starts smoking

[Airstream345]

You know, I haven't tried that yet because it would run on it's regular cycle. I may try it tomorrow.

[Russell Clifton]

According to what I see on You Tube, if there is white smoke it is caused by air in the line. On our furnace, we have a hose connected to the bleeder that goes to a fuel tank. The bleeder is left open about a 1/4 turn all the time and any air that might get into the system is bled off back to a fuel tank before it gets to the nozzle. You could test for this problem by connecting a hose to your bleeder and running it into a container, leaving it slightly open.

Does your flame sensor have a light on it indicating it is working? The newer version heater does. If not, does your manual tell you how to trouble shoot it?

[Russell Clifton]

If the heater will run in the bypass mode but not in the normal mode, it indicates that the mechanical components in the heater are operating correctly. The problem is most likely the main control board or the flame sensor.

Like I said before, the weak spots of this heater are the compressor and the flame sensor. You can hear if the compressor is working but the sensor needs to be checked electrically.

[Airstream345]

I think you're onto something. I can hear the compressor, the burner lights and runs then stops....but then we get a no flame, smoke situation. I turn off the system manually....this is what leads me to think it's something in the sensors.

Also, the fuel/air bleed valve is also a 1/4 turn on ours. No light on the sensor and no error code on the control board.

[Russell Clifton]

Call the guys in Vancouver Wa. and ask them how to check the flame sensor. There may be a way to do it at the control board.

[Airstream345]

Thanks, all I've been able to do with ITR is leave a message on a voicemail. I have scheduled a Hurricane Tech to come out toe the boat tomorrow morning.

[Xsbank]

Try Marcello at this number? *(604) 278-1272‬

[senangsekali]

I just had this issue with my hurricane hydronic diesel furnace. We use ours everyday. What cured our white smoke problem was to bleed the fuel system and changed the fuel filter. I think the PO never changed it. It was so clogged with black sludge. Worse i ever seen. Now it run great.

[Airstream345]

Spent an hour with the tech this morning, very knowledgable guy who was more than willing to share his knowledge with me. He ran through a series of diagnostics and it turns out the fuel pump is bad (perforated diaphragm) which is causing the flame out condition.

Replacing it with a more modern version of the original pump, should be installed next week. Cheap fix.

[Airstream345]

Just to close this thread out, took a little longer than expected to get the correct pump shipped up but now the new pump is installed and everything is running as expected.

The theory is the perforations in the pump were allowing air into the line and not delivering enough fuel pressure to the nozzle, creating the flame out condition. But the pump would still deliver enough fuel to a hot burner (with the igniter off) to create the [really scary] smoke plume from the exhaust.

This also explains the fuel in the front and back of the furnace casing (leaking from the pump and leaking unburned fuel from the burner)

Given the meter on the furnace reads approximately 30 hours, this is a good reminder that bringing low hour, old systems back online has it's challenges.