Opinions please on outside reset controls

PCerra

Hi folks

I am considering an outside reset control for my boiler.  I'd like to ask for opinions on the different controllers.  I have DHW zone on my boiler.  I have been looking at the TACO PC700-2.

Thanks

Pat

SWEI

tells us a bit more

about your system. What kind of boiler?  more than one kind of radiation?  How many zones?

PCerra

More info

I have a Dunkik XEB 4 Boiler, 5 Zones including priority for DHW. The zone controller is and Argo AZV 246P and my zone valves are mixed between Erie and TACO.  The Radiators are finned baseboard.  I  am heating about a 3,000 Sqft 2 storey home.

Let me know if I missed something important.

Thanks

Pat

SWEI

more questions

Not familiar with that zone controller, and I don't see info on it here http://www.argoindustries.com/product_literature.asp



How long have you had the XEB?  How high are your fuel bills?  Translation: is there any probability of it being replaced in the near future?



Have you done a room by room heat loss calc and looked at your baseboard to see what temp(s) will be needed?

PCerra

More info

The boiler is 11 years old.  No plans to change it out at this time.  The house is very well insulated, I have not done any heat loss calculations.  The zone controller is now obsolete and no longer supported on the ECI/Argo  website.  It is a priority zone controller.  I am in upstate NY and usually run through about 1000 gals of propane during the heating season.  I am interested in the outside air reset primarily due to the expansion noises on the baseboard units.  The pipes in the walls and the farthest baseboard units are very noisy with expansion noise.

STEVEusaPA

Last thing first.......

Outdoor reset may not cure your expansion noises.  Depends on the cause of the noise.  If its rubbing against some bare wood, in through a tight hole, for example, you're still going to hear it.

You could easily go with a Taco zone control, with ODR, & priorty for DHW.  Or a Tekmar unit, with a Zone Manager.  Also Beckett makes the AquaSmart & Heat Manager products.

Any one of these, applied properly to your application, will save you some money.

SWEI

step by step

Given that adding ORC to the existing boiler will require reworking of your near-boiler piping, you should consider the possibility of installing a new mod/con.  These have onboard controls that include ORC.  The cost would be partially offset by the lack of need for a motorized mixing valve or injection pump.   Given your annual LPG bill, it could well pay for itself in just a few years.



A complete analysis of the system (including the boiler HX condition, pumping, and radiation) needs to be performed before you spend any of your hard-earned money.  A modern smart circ may be in your future as well.

kcopp

since you...

have a Argo ZV control you may have some compatibility issues w/ the Taco PC700. A Tekmar 260 maybe a better match. How do you get your hot water? If you only use the boiler for heat the Tekmar 256 is a budget option.

SWEI

better yet

Modernize the controls completely with something like a Tekmar 400 and some tN2 stats -- but first the system really does need a thorough assessment.

PCerra

Hot water

I have a priority zone for hot water