Buderus Boiler with radiators and 2 radiant floor zones

Mare

Help! I have a Buderus boiler. It is a G234. I have all radiators, but after a remodel in 2002 I added 2 radiant floor zones. Everything has been great until the company that put it did the annual check up. I noticed the floor in my kitchen was not warm in mid December. It wasn't too bad since the radiator zones are close by, but by mid December I just knew something was wrong. I called for service just before the holidays and they assured me that it was running and all was OK. The following week after living in 63 degrees all week I called again. They said air in line, fixed that and said I was good to go. Another week of 61-62. I live in Northern Illinois. The cold wave hit and now I'm 57 in the kitchen. The guy is telling me I just don't understand how it works. The fellas who installed it no longer work there. I finally downloaded the manual and noticed a few things. The boiler was still in the manual mode set at 140. The return temp was 115 and the floor was 115. No wonder I was cold. Here are my questions. The know that decides whether you are manual or automatic has 190 next to auto. I can't get it to go far into the auto zone, and I don't want to set the boiler at 190. Is it in auto if it's turned all the way to the left? Second, the mixing valve pops out when it is turned all the way to the left and in the "blue colored zone" Then I can push it in and turn to the right and get different combinations of blue, blue-red and red. Where do I want it set? My gut tells me popped out and to the left IF its definitely in automatic. Third, ther is a pressure gauge.It's currently at 35psi, and there is a red arrow at 25. Should I be concerned? I am obviously not well versed in this stuff, but I have been so freaking cold for the last few weeks that I am desperate. Thank you in advance.

Mare

ammendment

The "know that decides" should be knob that decides

Unknown

kinda hard

Kinda hard to 'see' the system without pictures.. I'm in northern Illinois hydronic heating guy..

Unknown

kinda hard

Kinda hard to 'see' the system without pictures.. I'm in northern Illinois hydronic heating guy..

JHB

couple of things

Turning the knob to 190/auto is same as putting it in auto. Place it up there and let it run. You should see actual boiler temp move around as boiler tries to determine best temp for demand. I assume this is a modulating or condensing boiler. Do you have the feed back sensor with constant circulation loop?



Leave the knob on the mixer popped out and leave it alone. It's motor driven and will adjust based on the program in the boiler.

Tinman

Cast iron

Your boiler is a cast iron boiler that should see return temps of 130* and above.



With the recent Arctic blast here in Northern Illinois, your rads more than likely are going to need to be supplied with temps in the 180* degree range unless you went heavy with the number of rads.



Do you know the manufacturer of the mixing valve?



3 way or 4 way?



It sounds as if the technician my have misunderstood the system more than you do. Raising the temperature probably solved your problem although some manually adjusted mixing valves can be finicky.

Mare

thank you

I manually turned up the boiler to 160 and it fired up immediately. In less than an hour I had a warm house and floor for the first time in weeks! Irratationg to know I froze over Christmas break for NOTHING. Thank you JHB, I woke up saw your post. Turned the dial to 190/auto and put the mixer in the right spot and all was well! Tinman are you Minnich? I noticed you aren't too far. I have been investigated adding radiant to my living room (It is missing a radiator and I don't want to add one) The previous HVAC company I used gave me such an astronomical quote (I think) that I have put it on hold.

Mare

by the way...

At the same time I posted on this wall I emailed Buderus. I was surprised because I asked 3 questions, all pretty specific and pertaining to my G234. The technician said he could not answer because of liability issues and to contact my HVAC service company. Is this surprising?

Mare

where in northern il?

rjb where are you in Northern IL?

Tinman

Yes...

I am the owner of Minnich Mechanical Design. I was given the knickname of Tinman in the mid 80's and it stuck.

Unknown

im located

I'm located west of Chicagoland... glad you were able to get it solved..

Tinman

I find it strange

I worked HVAC tech support for a Fortune 100 company and the only questions we weren't allowed to answer because of liability issues were the ones that concerned hazardous locations, such as sizing a fan for a paint booth. Everything else was fair game. I don't understand their reasoning?