New York Low Pressure Boiler Certificate of Fitness (COF) Practice Test

If the pressuretrol fails to shut down the oil burner, what safety feature is activated?

1. Automatic reset

2. Manual reset pressuretrol

3. Steam release

4. Emergency shutdown

The correct answer is: Manual reset pressuretrol

When the pressuretrol fails to shut down the oil burner, the appropriate safety feature that activates is the manual reset pressuretrol. This device is designed to ensure a safe operating environment by requiring a manual intervention to reset the system after a fault condition, such as failure to shut down. The manual reset feature serves to prevent the boiler from inadvertently operating under unsafe conditions following an overload or fault. It necessitates that a technician or trained individual physically check the system, confirm it is safe, and manually reset the control allowing the burner to operate again. This contrasts with options that do not incorporate a manual intervention step. For instance, an automatic reset would allow the boiler to restart without confirmation of safety, potentially creating a hazardous situation. Likewise, options involving steam release or emergency shutdown could represent different safety strategies, but they do not directly replace the manual reset function of the pressuretrol in this scenario. Thus, the activation of the manual reset pressuretrol serves as a critical safety feature, ensuring that system checks are performed before normal operation can resume.