Controls

Tom_133

Hey all,

So I am working on 3 buildings that all have Patterson Kelly boilers each building was engineered, so they have redundant boilers and multiple pumps (Wilo stratos 230V). Instead of a call from one of the many zone valves in the building ( about 100) it just keeps a set point based on outdoor temp and when its cooler than 65 the heat loop in all the mains just flows. This is a pretty common approach, the maintenance personnel hate it because they have no control over anything due to the patterson kelly's lack of intuitive control and the overall difficulty in the control setup.

I am suggesting a Tekmar 275 control with another Tekmar 132 pump sequencer that will make the pumps alternate. I know these pumps are capable of doing this but lately the controls have been a little wonky and these pumps need a much better display.

I am in no way suggesting my way is the best and I am open to others thoughts.

Ultimately what they would like from most important to least, is a simplified control, a way to literally walk in and hit a couple switches and have everything come on full blast (when the poo hits the fan), DHW control, a way to control pumps, and if possible a way to know what the temps are using the internet from their remote office.

Maybe all that isn't possible,

Thanks in advance

Tom

ratio

What does the current control fail to do? Are there (often?) complaints from the consumers, I'm assuming tenants?

Can you post a simplified piping schematic including control sensor locations?

Tinman

I had a similar situation where I used a more simple method to alternate pumps. I used a SPDT timer and one RIB relay to alternate two Series 60 pumps. I also added a couple of indicator lights so the maintenance staff can not only hear which pump is running but also with a quick glance at the lights. Simple. Inexpensive. Clean. Maintenance guys loved the lights.

Tom_133

Stephen,

That is smart, they have many maintenance guys all at different levels. Many should not be touching things, especially the controls on a Patterson Kelly boiler, that being said if its January and there is no heat in the building and its -20 and the less skilled guy gets the call then having a few switches that shuts off outdoor sensor and allows the boiler to ramp up and one system pump to fully run would be good. Then they will call me in the morning.

EBEBRATT-Ed

It's the way thing are put together now. The control systems have all the control.

I would love some manual switches to put everything in bypass in an emergency but can be scary with untrained people

RPK

IMHO, if “the poo hits the fan,” they should call you immediately, not the following morning. It scares me to have a bunch of maintenance guys with various skill levels potentially going in to solve emergency problems on a system that is perfectly functional under normal circumstances by ramping up the boilers and pumps. If their “adjustment” doesn’t help, things go from bad to worse overnight. I think their money would be more wisely invested in having you do some basic training for their staff (what to look at when you walk in the boiler room to know if there is/isn’t a problem, what gauges and thermometers to look at, what breakers and disconnects to check, how to read fault codes off the boiler, and, if they can be trusted to do so, how to reset faults on the boilers and pumps ONLY one time once they’ve placed a service call). If everything is set up and working properly, very little attention from the maintenance crew should be required, and maintenance crews usually love that. When you say “the maintenance crew hates it,” it suggests they’ve been getting some calls and spending some time there.

If they absolutely must have some buttons to mash, we need more info about how the system to make useful suggestions. (Boiler model #s, piping schematic, pictures).