Boilers are a common and efficient way of heating a building, supplying hot water for many different things, or both. When your boiler is working correctly, it heats the water rapidly and circulates it through the heating system or pushes it to the hot water supply. When it stops working, there are a few common reasons, but here are some things you may want to consider if your boiler shuts down.

Fuel Supply Issues

Most boiler systems use heating oil for fuel. Heating oil is an excellent way to run the boiler, but it can be a little dirty and needs filtering before entering the firebox and fuel nozzle. The filters in the system can fill with dirt and start to restrict the flow of fuel through the system. If the boiler starts to sputter, or tries and stops then comes back on repeatedly, you may need to have the fuel filters changed. 

If the fuel level in the tank is extremely low, you may have pulled sludge off the bottom of the tank into the filter or lines as well. The fuel system can be a little temperamental when fuel is not flowing at the proper rate, but a quick call to your boiler tech will get them to come out and take a look at the situation for you. In rare instances, a failing fuel pump can also cause this behavior, but the technician will be able to tell you what is wrong with the system after a little testing. 

Electrical or Controller Issues

The boiler needs to have power for the system to fire up and run correctly. The controller on the boiler is there to shut the system down if there is too much fuel in the firebox, if the system can not spark to ignite the fuel, or if there is no fuel flowing into the system. 

If the power to the controller fails, the boiler will shut down, and you will not be able to restart it. The power interruption could be a tripped breaker in the electrical panel, but if it is, you need to find out why it is cutting out. If you reset the breaker and it goes off a second time, call your boiler service to come and look at the system. 

A boiler emergency does not always involve something major, but the boiler not running could cause other issues like a lack of heat. And that could be an emergency in the middle of winter.