What happens if circulator pumps fails?

coalcracker

Without a working circulator, the boiler should shut down on low limit. When the boiler cools off a little, it will try to restart until it hits low limit again.

If the zone valves were manually open, you might have some gravity fed heat, which is how we used to heat.

ed_47

If a circulator pump fails. . .

In our small vacation home what happens if our Grundfos 15-42 circulator fails during the heating season? Does the boiler continue to function without circulation? We are running 50% glycol mix with a low water cutoff. Is there a way to have a backup circulator? What is average life of a pump? System is serviced annually and runs 6 months. Thanks to all for your advice.

Ken_40

What happens...

Is exactly the same as when you have a power failure.

As long as the system was well cleaned and rinsed prior to putting glycol in, the Grundfos should last many, many years (well over 10). More likely than not, an ignitor, control module, or rodent eating a wire will happen before the pump dies.

One can be cautious, and one can be overly cautious. Worrying about the pump - when so many other factors are equally at work - are the things vacation homes are made of. Relax.

Find someone to check on the place from time to time. Perhaps the Sid Harvey phone thermostat device would give you comfort. When the temperature inside the house drops below the setpoint, and you call the house, the phone will sound "busy." Assuming the house has a phone, they work. Another device makes a lamp usually off, come "on." Honeywell makes that one. Set the stat to say 45. Temps inside drop to 40 - a lamp comes on. If you have neighbors that can see the vacant house light up, they give you a call.

If your going away for longer than a month, I'd drain the pipes and traps just to be safe. Most insurance policies have fine print. Disclaimers are almost always included for vacation homes in freezing weather.

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Weezbo

if your heating system circ fails,

it is not going to make your day when you return.

Lake properties ,used for summer getaways from the Machinations of the work regime are often subjected to the fact that glycol does not protect the potable water system.

one would think that complete winterization would be a best case scenario in any event.

bruce_21

Checkout www.protectedhome.com they have a toy that will call up to three numbers to tell you that the temp has gone done in the house. And you can call it to turn up the temp as you drive up there. Its nice though the super duper model is a bit pricey ($500 depending).

Glenn Sossin_2

tekmar 132

You can use this control to go back and forth between 2 pumps. Notice the 2 pumps in the picture between the vent pipes of the two boilers. This is an example of how you could have 2 pumps and switch between them automatically.

Keep in mind, this was no vacation home. The entire heating system would have been unusable if one of these pumps failed. Thats why we used this control.

I have also included the spec and application sheets from Tekmar .

Keep in mind there are a lot of critical points in any system - the circulator is just one of them. Ken made some excellent points and gave you some good ideas. I would suggest you give some serious consideration to his response.

..... But if it helps you sleep better at night, and money is no object, you can install one of these controls :}

Glenn

Empire_2

Bruce has the safest answer....:-)

Although any part can fail like stated above, it's usually what you didn't think would happen. Therefore temp monitoring (alarm) is the way to at least give you a warning to take action on ANY failure whether you are there or not. Reasonable,.. and a great Idea if you would like reassurance. Other than that, No part has a Definite time that it's going to fail, or not fail. I, nor any other technician can predict operation failure!!! Picture this temp alarm as though you have "On Star", or blond star as i like to call it...lol, When there is a problem, this communication device will call you and let YOU know. Now all of your problems are covered at all times.

Sitting at the table after a round of golf, having a beer, your buddy asks you if you had your heating system checked before you came to Florida. You say "no", and he says "I always get ours checked before we leave so I know it will run until spring while we're away". He further adds, "why don't you have you system checked"?... You reply, "My heating is checked 24/7 and if it fails the house calls me and Say's that the temp is falling and I need to call someone in". What a concept.....:-)

Service your heat every year and let the Temp control call you if something happens while your away. It can save you a Bunch of money.

Mike T.

Ed Lentz_2

Another lifetime ago when I worked for an alarm company we would install alarm systems in "cottages". Quite often we would also install a simple t87 that was set at 40 degrees. That tstat was connected to the alarm and when it wanted heat it would trip a "channel" on the dialer and the alarm company could call the homeowner and alert them that the "low temp" is going off. A real simple setup, that worked for many of our customers here in Michigan. This works for whatever heating system is in use.

bob_50

Like Ken says

there are a LOT of variables. If your only concern is the pump you can pipe two pumps in parallel with check valves. Depending on how your system is controled you can rig up a flow switch and maybe a relay to disconnect pump 1 and start pump 2 if you loose flow. bob

radioconnection_2

Check out the Cottage Sitter by Sensaphone.
This will autodial emergency telephone numbers on a low temp.
condition. It also has aux. inputs, so you can tie a WaterCop
into it for water leak alarms, burglar alarms, sound alarm
(built in, like the temp. feature) etc. You can also call it
and interrogate it for power failure conditions, temperature
readings, etc.

Pete

Empire_2

All great answers....

I think that there is a lot of way's to address this concern, or his worry, but any system,...Especially if left alone for prolong periods of time needs special attention so no damage can occur. Temp monitoring will warn you, duel pumps will assure you, and darn it......Just leave the Maid Alice at the property and she can take care of everything.....=) All in fun......No Diss intended.

Mike T.