Welcome! Here are the website rules, as well as some tips for using this forum.
Need to contact us? Visit https://heatinghelp.com/contact-us/.
Click here to Find a Contractor in your area.

Lochinvar 085 with conxus update

keyote
keyote Member Posts: 659
Today i got the third conxus board to fully function, quite an odyssey.I still cant say definitively what the problems were, part of the problem is Lochinvar can either.One thing for sure they dont have instructions for the conxus specific to the KHN.And that causes confusion of course but it gets worse because when you call them its like talking to cows, in fact Ive found this with simpler tech questions their tech support really doesnt have a handle more than reading the manuals back to you.Its a great boiler so someone over there knows whats time it is and there are levels of tech support but even at the top not great. This is partly because they dont have the documentation or training. In the case of the conxus they couldnt simply pull up a schematic of the install and say definitivly which cables go where and in what configuration, without going into the southern saga the ribbon cables have a red line on one side and their end connectors have several variations of keys, It turns out no variation will work but even the instructions regarding the other models doesnt mention either the markings or keys, and when i got into it with a series of tech guys even including their top conxus guy he gave me half a dozen contradictory rules all of which turned out incorrect and frankly hes not interested in hearing what works and why cause he thinks he's figured it out. It partly my fault, when the instructions gave four different models instructions but not the KHN, I noticed four studs that perfectly aligned the four mounting holes in the board, these were located between the boilers other three other circuit boards. Turns out [three tech supports later] thats for a modbus of the same size. but when i try to follow the directions i realized the long cable that its the boiler stock and your to reuse and the short cable they send with the kit would have to be swapped to reach this location, they look identical [almost]. So I call and ask them if they realize their instruction dont mention the KHN and to make it work do they realize you have to swap the long and short cable positions> " I think i heard guys do that" was about the answer. Well dont do that even if they tell you its ok which they might because as of right now they are still insisting the cables are interchangeable, despite my imploring them to check very carefully again. all this would have come to light for me earlier except along the way they advanced several wrong theories , I kid you not they had me try three different variations of the red line theory. and then decided ignore the red lines follow the keys but the cables can be interchanged.
Anyone looking for the actual instructions here it's actually simple
mount it under the boiler screen as shown in the KB instruction, do not try to mount it in the electric circuit board panel follow the instruction for the ribbon cables but make very sure you dont mix up which ends of the cables to put in which connector, you can be sure of this if you use the proper cable and follow the keys and slots, yes the red line will swap places going into the boiler screen dont worry.
Now be aware they say there was a bad batch of ribbon cables with the connectors put on wrong and this gets them confused and then you all confused because surprisingly they dont know how to definitivly identify the bad ones and so they start having you switch red lines on perfectly good cables according to all these contradictory rules they have , it doesnt help they also have changed part numbering system so i had cables with different part numbers but same cable, and it doesnt help the keys are really easily defeated if your eyesights poor they offer no real resistance and will plug in any way you put them, the red line is not that noticeable if youre not looking for it either.

My first board was simply a dud no power at all, which gave them a secomd opportunity to say woah what do you mean you had to swap the ribbon cables on the KHN, but instead they simply sent me a new 24 volt harnes then a second board which was their third opportunity to clue in, as i said i literally after three emails cant convince them the ribbon cables are not interchangeable. my second board may have been damaged due to the wiring mix up that smoked the boiler screen which i had to replace on their dime,but actually i think only the screen got smoked because [its compicated] but they didnt want to risk it and neither did I.

As to the boiler I love it, its quieter than than my computer, i can lift it with one arm way lighter than the traingle tube i swapped out, i wall mounted it easilly, its only got a 14 x 10 footprint and while it looks tall the bottom foot or so is reall a storage cabinet with only the condensate line through it.Its so damn precise when it modulating im running 110 water today in the radiant top floor and the cellar finntubes, i have the dt pump on speed 2 instead of dt and its putting that water out at DT 7 at 19% modulation, and Im piped non primary secondary. And they tell me they are making them in america now even that heat exchanger that was made in poland is made here. not sure how accurate that all is but theyre certainly making an effort MAGA. I think theyre having growing pains and need to streamline things that tech support guy should have been able to pull up 3d color cads on that model and email them to me and we could both have been on same page he also should have had a history page on that issue i can be the only guy stupid enough to try and mount it there. and they need to train their techs better im an amature and i can tell theyre out of their depth a lot

Comments

  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 22,024
    and they need to train their techs better im an amature and i can tell theyre out of their depth a lot

    This is a tough position to fill, especially with a brand with so many products and yearly changes.
    Personally I think you really need to have some time in the field to be able to answers many of the questions you have,

    And doing on the phone without knowing the skill set of the person on the other end complicates the process also.

    Not trying to make excuses, but I help support our tech lines and it's not so easy. Electronics are the toughest to support, it is not second nature to plumbers and boiler guys.

    Leaks you can put your finger on, electronic gremlins can be very hard to pin down.
    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
    Gordy
  • keyote
    keyote Member Posts: 659
    edited December 2016
    @ Hotrod
    No its not easy which is why in my comment above and in my last email with Lochinvar tech support i made clear its not the techs fault they can be expected to memorize the wiring schematics of every model even with extensive training. But since I'd bet they designed their machines with CAD they should make it available to their entire organization. And sure i get if they are going to try and make a go of it stateside labor costs are limited but better-trained workers at whatever rate are more productive. in retrospect they should have had me straightened out on the first call in five minutes really easily, instead it dragged on for a month and half a dozen parts and too many calls and emails to count, and if I hadnt ignored their last piece of advice to go ahead and mount it in the mod bus location, id have toasted another board and screen, and still be working on it. and if i didn't love their boiler id be really pissed. Im not i actually for some reason wish them the best and want them to succeed.MAGA
    The other even better way to have prevented all this was with the instruction manual, even for the boilers included it really should be more specific. I think that mod bus location is the same on several models you have the fron off the boiler when you go to put one of these conxus in and that spot screams use me im so much easier to get to than that other spot and look i have perfect studs mounts, someone who doesnt have the excuse of no KHN instructions will simply decide they have a better mouse trap unless the instructions warn them the cables may look identical but are not.and warn them that the keys are easilly defeated accidentally and to be certain youre using the right end color coding them wouldnt hurt. That was actually why i kept at it with them hoping they would reinvestigate and then get this settled