Tekmar Steam Control

FJL

I'm going to change the venting on the rads in each apt to try to improve the situation.

The Boiler Dr.

Tekmar Steam Control

Anyone have experience using a Tekmar 269 or now the 279 on one pipe steam?

JohnNY

Yes.

I do.
Both of them.
A lot.

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FJL

Can You Briefly Explain . . .

How it works? I live in a four story, four unit apt building, and would like to know if it can do a better job of preventing overheating, which is a problem that I have in my building because we have a remote sensor in the top floor apt, which seems to lose heat faster than all of the other aptments.

JohnNY

Frank

I know you've got that thermostat in the hallway with the remote sensor run to the top floor with a new boiler.

You'll need to balance the heat gain (radiator venting) in the building for a truly satisfactory result.

I know someone added riser vents at some points. Maybe there is a bit more to do.



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The Boiler Dr.

EH, John

I am quite familiar with many of Tekmar's other products but have had no real experience with this one.
I have one commercial customer with 2 installed - one seems to be working quite well while the other has been disabled for some reason. They are both only 2 heating seasons old.
I think the reason it was disabled is because the facility is now only a storage building being maintained @ 50 to 55*. New maintenance person = no steam experience....arrrgh!
I have an apartment complex - 4 buildings - 3 storeys on one pipe plus basement on two pipe - new modulating boilers operating @ 5 ounces. General comfort is what I would consider fair throughout but overheating is a bit of a problem. Not too many complaints right now as the last 3 weeks have consistently been between -15F & -30F. Coldest winter since 2000. I would like to have a plan in place to control the overheating as the weather starts to moderate.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

JohnNY

I don't know what info is useful, but:

First of all, my experience is that ALL Tekmar controls work WAY WAY better with an indoor sensor connected. Multiple sensors work even better.
There's your overheat protection.
The more info you give them, the faster they learn.

Look at your manuals or get them online and you'll see they're easy to set up and the default settings are in place for a reason. Often they work pretty well right out of the box except for the Design Temp and Steam Established settings.

Let me know if you need something specific. I'll be happy to try to help, but honestly, the factory Technical Service phone lines are without peer when you need help quickly.

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The Boiler Dr.

Thanks John for the quick reply

You are correct about the Tech line but you can't beat real life experience.
I have determined that using multiple indoor sensors will give me good space temperature control. Other than having to be hard wired in a heritage building I would like to use at least 4 in series/parallel.
One question I am wrestling with is where to install the condensate sensor. Should it be at the end of my longest one pipe main where it drops to the wet return or on the common condensate return from the basement rads by the receiver? Actually I just thought of something ... I have a common header where both long wet returns connect to the basement returns in the boiler room. What do you think of that location for the sensor?
Appreciate your thoughts.

JohnNY

That common piping sounds like a good option.

You want to keep the return sensor above the water line after the last steam-carrying tee on the vertical pipe as it drops into the return.

Fire up the system and when the last radiator gets hot, measure the surface temperature of that spot where you're about to strap your sensor.
That's the value to enter as your Steam Established setting.

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