Help! Tekmar Wiring

rpezz50

Hello I have ordered the Tekmar 260 Control and I have a few questions on what would be best way to install this with my existing setup. I have an Weil McLain WGO-4 with Weil McLain 60 DHW. My house has a total of 3 circulators for each zone upstairs in the attic is an air handler down downstairs in the basement is another air handler and last is the DHW. Controlling the zones is an Taco SR504 Beckett Aqua smart. I just need some clarification on the wiring for the Tekmar terminals 1&2 I believe I would remove the TT wire from the Aqua smart and they would go into terminals 1&2 on the Tekmar. Now for the DHW wiring Would I just remove the DHW aqua stat wires from the Taco to terminals 3&4? And terminals 5&6 I would land 120v. From here I get a little confused for terminals7&8. And for terminals 9&10 do I remove the DHW circulator wires from the Taco and connect them directly to terminal 9&10? And for 11&12 would I run thermostat wire from terminals 11&12 to the AquaSmart TT connections?

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STEVEusaPA

I wouldnt use it.
For starters you are not going to get much advantage with ODR on that boiler. The boiler return temp needs to be above 140 to prevent condensation.
Take advantage of the AquaSmarts pump delay and Heat Manager.

rpezz50

Thank you for your input. Ive been using the Aquasmart for a while now and to me it seems that the i burn threw oil. I had my oil tank filled on 12/12/16 its a 225 gal tank and i just had more oil delivered on 1/31/2017 i was at 1/4 tank it took 201 gal to fill the tank.

STEVEusaPA

Yes but that usage alone doesn't mean anything if you are not comparing the degree days and k factor to your usage history.
Also, any dripping hot faucets will eat up alot of oil, as well as any lifestyle changes.

The thing with outdoor reset on that boiler, to elaborate, is that on my system, the boiler is seeking 140°-160° most of the winter. It actually wants to go lower in the shoulder seasons, and only hits 180° once or twice. In your case, with the multiple zones, it's just going to short cycle your boiler, and you may end up burning more fuel.
What settings are on the Aquasmart?
I would also double check the aquastat for the indirect. I noticed it's turned all the way down. Is it turned all the way down and you are still getting very hot domestic water? Could be limed up and your indirect is calling to frequently.

~~Had a customer wondering why they started burning a lot more oil-boiler with coil. When I made a delivery I saw 2 more cars in the driveway than usual. I asked what's up with the cars, she said her son, girlfriend & 2 teenage daughters moved in with her a few months ago~~

JohnNY

Terminals 1 & 2 and 3 & 4 need power, so you can't just go from TT or DHW aquastat to those terminals on the Tekmar without a power source in between. I'm a big tekmar fan but I do concur that you're adding a level of complexity to this very unsophisticated equipment which will likely produce little payback. If you're determined, then go for it, but you have to hope you never have to replace any of these controls or a transformer because that will negate any savings you may have incurred for using this control strategy.

rpezz50

STEVEusaPA said:

Yes but that usage alone doesn't mean anything if you are not comparing the degree days and k factor to your usage history.
Also, any dripping hot faucets will eat up alot of oil, as well as any lifestyle changes.

The thing with outdoor reset on that boiler, to elaborate, is that on my system, the boiler is seeking 140°-160° most of the winter. It actually wants to go lower in the shoulder seasons, and only hits 180° once or twice. In your case, with the multiple zones, it's just going to short cycle your boiler, and you may end up burning more fuel.
What settings are on the Aquasmart?
I would also double check the aquastat for the indirect. I noticed it's turned all the way down. Is it turned all the way down and you are still getting very hot domestic water? Could be limed up and your indirect is calling to frequently.

~~Had a customer wondering why they started burning a lot more oil-boiler with coil. When I made a delivery I saw 2 more cars in the driveway than usual. I asked what's up with the cars, she said her son, girlfriend & 2 teenage daughters moved in with her a few months ago~~

Thank you Steve funny that you bring that up about my DHW setting. when we bought the house it was set at the factory level but found that to be way to hot. Don't get me wrong i do love hot water but not that hot. the odd thing is that i think the label on the DHW is off because it wont let me turn it pass the MED setting. so now i have it turned where its starts to turn blue and i still think its way to hot. is this something i should look further into?? Also i under stand about the lower water temps and short cycling the boiler. so if i had only 1 zone would the tekmar be a better fit?

kcopp

I have had issues w/ the weil mclain aquastats on that unit. They seem to not be very accurate.
Many times I have opted to use a thermistor type sensor that come w/ the boiler(typically gas mod/con) and that is much better in getting the temp right.
A mixing valve would be better at getting the right outlet temp to the DHW.
That does not help w/ the energy saving part but better w/ the safety.
I would also shy away from the 260. You wont get much better savings vs. the aquasmart.