I may have made an amateur mistake about a month ago. I shut the gas line off to the boiler when doing some other work, but didn't shut the switch to the off position on the boiler. I figured I'd just turn the gas back on when it got cold. Well, the cold is here. I tried to turn the boiler switch to the off position, and then relight the pilot. The switch won't budge from the on position. I've tried depressing the switch, no dice. I turned the gas back on from the line valve, left it for a couple of minutes, then tried again. Still no dice. I'm in big trouble if I don't get the boiler going again. Any tips would be helpful before I resort to spending the big bucks on a plumber.
Update- I was able to get the switch turned from on to pilot. So I depressed the switch for a minute per the instructions (after turning on gas main), and nothing. Still won't turn to the off position.
Is the knob returning to the out position.(not depressed) can you lift the knob? Pull and wiggle? I know you already tried all that...
Nothing as in no gas/no flame when you try to light it, or the pilot goes out when you let off the knob?
It can take more than 1 minute to get gas out to the pilot sometimes...I've seen heaters that sat all summer that took 3-4 minutes until whatever was coming out (air?) would burn when a match/torch was held to it...and once it does light it can take another minute or two to get the thermocouple hot enough to make power/hold the auto gas valve open...if its an older TC, sometimes they never work again once left to go cold. As far as shutting the main line off instead of the gas valve itself...meh, no big deal...I would have probably done the same.
Update- I called the plumber, he was in the neighborhood, and just finished another call. In the 20 minutes it took him to get here, I was able to get the switch to the off position. Lots of wiggling and I don't even know what, but it finally turned. I waited the 5 minutes per the instructions, and turned it back to pilot. No flame. The plumber came downstairs, looked it over, turned it to pilot, reached way under with a lighter (not where I was trying to light it) lit the pilot. You have to use a flame, unlike the water heater, and have to get on your belly to see it. He then turned it to on, I went upstairs to turn the thermostat up, and didn't hear the sound. Remembered the electric switch was still off. Turned it on, and whoosh. So, my inexperience was the cause. The plumber is a really good guy, gave me a couple tutorials on how to fix the thermocouple (apparently the most common cause of failure), replacing the sacrificial anode in the water heater (which I just replaced in warranty about a month ago), and gave me a couple of other good ideas. All in, a $69 set of lessons, well worth it. And the pipes won't freeze. Thanks all. I don't think hammers and wrenches would have been a good idea on that switch.
Funny...I almost asked if were using open flame on it. Hammer, only very lightly, and it the right places...wrench, yeah, BTDT...they get hard to turn when they get old...just gotta know when and where to stop. Good to hear that your guy got you fixed up quickly and for low money.
Cool that's all it was! Also, our pilot was waaaaaaaaaaay in the back too, we has a small metal stick with a slit on the end to hold matches (wood matches worked better for me).
FWIW, next time you turn off the pilot light (next spring I presume), turn that switch to the off position before you shut the gas line itself. A little extra peace of mind for me anyway. My set up looks the same except I'm fortunate that my 30 y/o boiler has the pilot light in front. sometimes that knob sticks a bit, but I don't remember if it has to be pressed down or not (probably). I was shocked when I found out my water heater doesn't have a pilot light - I had always assumed it did. Then I was left scratching my head because no electric lines ran to it, so it wasn't an electric start (like my oil burner from my previous house). Isn't that the truth, lots of to fill that tank (way more than the cost to use pellets around here).
Most (all?) old school gas/LP appliances are self contained when it comes to the pilot...no outside power sources needed. The thermocoupler is right in the pathway of the pilot flame, so as long as the flame is lit, the thermocoupler is making power (~30 millivolts) and that will keep the gas valve open...lose flame, TC quits making mV and the gas valve shuts (internally, not that knob you turn) this is called a standing pilot system. Now the newer stuff is auto light...no standing pilot, when there is a call for heat the ignitor heats up red hot, that lights the flame and its off to the races...more efficient because you are not feeding a small amount of gas to keep the standing pilot lit, but standing pilot system was more reliable IME though too...
I think there was a misunderstanding, my water heater does not have a pilot light, nor does it have an ignitor that gets red hot (as you describe). It has a piezo ignitor.
I like and appreciate your information, I am curious about how this stuff works. In my mom's much newer boiler, there is no pilot, it's either the element you describe or and automatic piezo. On my water heater, it is not hooked up to any electric lines, and it does not require any flame to light the pilot. I presume there must be a battery in the little box, or there must be a little piezo that gets a tiny jolt when the little black button is pushed. I suspect that I burn more gas keeping the pilot lit on the boiler than I use to heat the house every year. But when we need it to work, we really need it. This has been a good educational experience for me, in any event.
Water heaters like that will use the thermocouple to generate enough voltage ( from the heat) to make enough energy to power the unit. I don't believe there's batteries, but when those units fail, you need to replace the whole control. When I replaced our water heater a few years ago, I went with the tried and true old school style
