Lochinvar's ConXus board

Boon

I've been using the ConXus board to observe & program my boiler and I've learned a few things that others might find helpful. The biggest benefit is that your wife thinks you are sitting with her on the couch while she reads a book. The next best thing is the ability to futz with more involved settings like ODR, setbacks, ... things that are not fun to program while turning and punching a dial. Despite the things I'm about to say, please do not consider this a bad review. I love the convenience, I would absolutely recommend this, and I'd buy another one in a heartbeat. It will only get better from here.

1. [@keyote] Older versions of the ConXus board have a black, plastic pin that holds the WiFi circuit board to the main ConXus board. Later versions of the board have a screw because the plastic pin was coming loose. If the board has power but you cannot get a WiFi signal, you may need to pull the WiFi board off the ConXus board and firmly reseat it. Do not use tape or dope. If your version has the screw, you may want to make sure the WiFi board is firmly seated; however, as with any circuit board tightening the screw can crack the board. I had to reseat mine a few times.
   
   
2. There are six LEDs for troubleshooting. The KHN's instructions weren't clear about which way to install the board and the first time I installed it I couldn't easily see the LEDs with the front cover off. If you have an option with your unit, install ConXus in such a way that you can peek inside the unit and easily see the LEDs.
   
3. There is minor lag time that can be frustrating in today's immediate world. The lag isn't so much a big deal considering what is happening here, but the frustration hits when you can't figure out if the display is real-time or delayed. or how much delayed. or is it working?. Once it refreshes and you're actively looking at screens, it is mostly consistent in refreshing the screen every 5+/- seconds. When your devices wakes from slumber you can expect a long wait to reconnect, seems like 20-30+ seconds but it's probably 10-15. To get a faster re-connection or a faster update, go to the account tab and reselect the desired boiler from the list.
   
4. When internet connectivity is interrupted (ie internet service outage, wi-fi outage, power outage, ...) the ConXus board may become DisConXus and need to be reset. I simply pulled the 24v power connector to the board, waited 20 seconds, plugged it back in... it worked, but probably a dumb thing to do because the boiler was running. The good news is that the boiler continued to run uninterrupted! A better option is probably to shutdown the boiler properly and cycle the power.
   
5. A boiler that is turned ON but shutdown cannot be accessed through ConXus.
   
6. The ConXus app has a handful of inconsistencies between both the service manual and the boiler's programmable display. It is still intuitive so you'll probably figure it out but here are examples:
   • The KHN service manual and programming at the boiler have a setting called "System Pump Type" that holds values of either "CFH" or "WWSD." The ConXus calls this same setting "System Pump Demand" with settings of "Call for Heat" and "Always On",
     
   • If you send an update to the boiler while it is running, it will stop running, load your new settings, and go into Standby mode. I mean, maybe it'll start running again, I don't know what your parameter changes were.
     
   • The boiler has a "Circulation Pumps" menu with 9 settings for pumps - 3 settings for each system, DHW, and boiler pumps. The ConXus has those 9 settings organized under, like, 3 other menus, mostly.
     
   • There is a HW System Pump Mode setting on ConXus that can be set to either "Force On," "Call for Heat," or "Force Off," and I can't find these options in the service manual. I know these settings are related to DHW as a zone, but the service manual calls these settings "DHW Forces Sys Pump" and "DHW Blocks Sys Pump" with values of "yes" or "no."
     
7. Some of the pump settings through ConXus don't agree with how the boiler is actually programmed.
   • My boiler is set to WWSD and ConXus continues to report my System Pump Type as "CFH"
     
   • My DHW is on priority but the DHW zone type settings are always showing on ConXus as though they are in effect, which can be confusing.
     
8. [edit: iPads have thorough text displayed. The problems I'm seeing are on the newer iPhone7, which just came out] The display [iPhone7] isn't as transparent/formatted as I'd like it to be.
   
9. I've been unable to get notifications working properly. I'm listed as the site manager and cannot get the notifications to select & save. If anyone has the secret, please share.
   

Hope this helps someone

Leon82

I'd love it but the wife would smack my when we got the bill for it lol

keyote

Thanks boon, seems I have the newer version with the bolted wifi.
I didnt get any power but im going to try again and look for the leds hard to believe I missed them if they were on.
Obviously they dont customize the software for the different models, really ought to be able to pick your model in the app and get the right interface. some of this other stuff sounds pretty damn irritating for such an expensive accessory.
do you know if it can be accessed from desktop couldn't find it online?
My board has ethernet jack in/out? I wonder if i can plug it into the router/access point I put in the cellar instead of using the wifi.
Are you sur 8. is your DHW?

JeffS453

To the OP or anyone else that may be able to help,
About a year ago I also installed a ConXus board in my WHN085. In my case, I used wired Ethernet since the router is in the same room as the boiler and only required a 20 foot cable to reach (besides, I trust wired Ethernet more, less connectivity issues). Installation was simple, and after everything was put back together and powered up, I went through the registration process. Once that was done, I fired up the app and was able to connect. At that time, I made a simple set point change (to something I don't remember) and when the change was submitted, the boiler reset. The new value was shown on the LCD display.

Since that time, I've pretty much only used the app to monitor from time to time. I use the direct connected USB "Burner Integrated Control" program (downloaded from Lochivar U) on an old laptop for more critical monitoring since the graphs are more real-time and can show pretty much instantly the cause and effect of any changes.

But back to ConXus, recently I wanted to make a change to the DHW temperature, and since my smart phone is in my pocket, I decided to use the ConXus app for that. After getting connected, I go to the setup screen, select HW, and change my temperature slider, and touch Send Update. the app gives the indication that the settings are being sent, but I found out later in the day that the new value was not in the boiler - it still had the old value.

I started trying other setpoints, and basically it's the same thing. I can not change any values through the app. It's as if the app is in some sort of monitor only mode. On the Service Notification screen, I am shown as the Site manager, so it's not like I have to grant myself access.

As I mentioned, I was able to change a setpoint, once, in the past after the board was installed. However, no more. I'm not sure what do check for, or do. Perhaps somebody has some suggestions.

Thanks

Boon

Hey Jeff. I can imagine that when you make a change, somewhere out there is a guy wondering why his set points are changing!

I haven't experienced your specific problem of settings not being committed but it has been my experience that changing set points and hot water settings via ConXus can be troublesome. I've changed the ODR and ramp settings lots of times without incident. Other than that, I haven't trusted it.

The only thing that might help - that I can think of - is cutting power to the boiler for a few minutes. That might reset the card. I've had to do this a few times over the last few months to restore wireless communications.

David

JeffS453

Dave,

Power has been cycled numerous times, either by myself attempting just what you suggested, or by occasional power outages. The board resets and communicates, but refuses to commit any changes via the app. It's as if I'm somehow registered as a user but with monitor only privilege. This is something you can assign "users" (look but no touch), but the way it seems described in the O&I manual, the site manager already has this privilege [to make changes]. I'm also not sure how to go about unregistering myself so I can try to re-register.

Unfortunately as it turns out, it was an expensive board that won't let me me do anything other than look. Other than the "remote from anywhere" ability, the free USB connected program is way more useful and shows real-time graphs, not graphs that have some unknown sample time from the last 30 days.

By the way, the reason I used the wired Ethernet is to avoid the wireless problems you occasionally experience. WiFi is great, but it's not mission critical as far as reliability goes.

Still hoping for an answer!

Jeff

Boon

It's probably time to call tech support. I've been wanting to call them for a while now to report the setpoints that unexpectedly change but I haven't had time. For the life of me I don't know why they aren't lurking here.

Another thing I've noticed is that not notifications are not timely and also seem incorrect. There are times when I'm not making any changes and I will get a parameter change notification. I assume some kind of internal-goings-on is driving this.

After months of not living in my house due to construction I've finally moved back and will prioritize calling tech support.

JeffS453

Just a quick note, I spoke with Lochinvar tech support. It still doesn't work, but during the call they pushed a new version of firmware to the conXus board (no change). They want me to check some voltages when I get home and report back tomorrow, and I'll also recycle the power to see if that has any effect on the new firmware.

To be continued.

JeffS453

Lochinvar is going to send me a replacement ConXus board to try since what is going on make no sense to anyone in support or engineering.

So, when I get that new board and install it, I'll follow up.

JeffS453

I just wanted to follow up here and say that the ConXus problem is now solved. There were multiple issues with my case which made it more confusing to track down the problem.

1) Lochinvar sent me a new ConXus board for my boiler, and when installed it operated exactly like the previous one. I could read values, but not set them. At this point the issue was raised to the next level.

2) Lochinvar support staff put me in touch with one of the software engineers, which was great for me since I am also a software engineer and do work very similar to what ConXus is doing (remote communications, industrial protocols, firmware).

3) Long story short, there were two issues. The first issue is that if you have the USB port of the boiler connected to PC, even if it isn't running a program to communicate with the boiler (the WinPro application), the USB connection blocks the ConXus board from sending data to the boiler. This was established when the developer was also unable to send data to the boiler and I was asked to remove the USB connection. Once that was done, he was able to send parameters, but I was still unable to. The second issue was the current Android app had a bug that prevented data from being sent to certain boiler models. Once the developer emailed me a revised version, everything started working fine on my end (as long as the USB is disconnected). Since I have USB connected all the time to an old laptop running WinPro (which I use remote desktop to monitor) I automatically prevented ConXus from working 100% even when I had an older version of the app that worked (bit didn't know it).

So I must commend Lochinvar for their help and expertise. I think both of us learned something and it was useful to the developer to help him find an issue on his end as well.