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Wirsbo DuoMix 201 Control Settings
Bayview
Member Posts: 15
We just purchased a two story 2000 year built home in North Idaho. This is my first time with a boiler and warm water heating the floors and eventually the rooms. We have four distinct seasons and now the nights are 34F and the days near 45F. The cold and snow is coming though.
Possibly important info; the main floor has 8 zones ( a thermostat in each room) and is all hardwood flooring except for tile in each bath. There is no other heat source on the mail floor. The basement has 6 zones (a thermostat in each room) with hardwoods down the hall and carpet every where else. There is a crawl under the basement so the carpeted floors are not on slab but rather sheeting over joists with hot water in the middle. The basement has an additional electric forced air furnace/heat pump.
A city of 45,000 people is about 30 miles away and a city of 200,000 people is 60 miles away. At great expense a home inspector and two different 'boiler experts' from reputable companies from the 'big city' have been to the house to teach me about the system. The home inspector deferred and referred me to the first company who cleaned the 2010 natural gas fired Crown boiler (output 105,000 BTU/hr) and told me an expansion tank was bad but he could not replace it because they "didn't do plumbing". That tank is not on the potable water side but for the boiler. The pressure in the boiler is 15 pounds according to the gauge. He reduced it from 20. He was not familiar with a Wirsbo DuoMix 201 controller for the two mixing devices so had no advice on the settings. If it ain't broken don't fix it I was told. The second company was said to be the experts in the big city on hydronic systems so once again with trip charges of hundreds of dollars just to get them to take an hour drive (one way), I had a person stand in the mechanical room and tell me that the expansion tank was fine but my boiler was too hot (at 180F) and that they were not sure of the correct settings/temperatures on the Wirsbo controller and that I should just use the defaults for both floors. He left the pressure at 15 pounds and reduced the boiler temperature to 170F. The Wirsbo defaults have the house at 70F and max supply temperatures at 180F which from what I have read that is too hot for the hardwoods. The current settings that the system has right now are not the factory defaults according to a Wirsbo installation guide I found out of Canada.
To recap: Crown natural gas Boiler Dec. 2010. Wirsbo DuoMix 201 installed 2000 when the house was built.
So, at last, my question(s):
When toggling through the set up options the outdoor temp number is very accurate. I don't know where that sensor is but it is right on.
We start with target 1 which is the basement and repeat the setting options for target 2 which is the main floor.
To start WWSD 1. It is set at 68F. That seems a bit warm as I am not sure that we would want the system on above 65F but I guess 68F is OK.
Next is InDoor Temp 1. That is set 74F. From what I have read, I think that is the indoor temp that the home dweller would not plan to exceed. I don't know what happens if a thermostat gets turned up to 80F.
Next is the Design Room Temp 1. It is set at 74F. I am OK with the house being at 72F in the winter. Should I decrease this for the controller to make proper calculations as the out door temperature changes?
Next is the Design Water Supply Temp 1. It is set at 120F. I have NO IDEA what this number should be to supply the right hot water to the mixer without having the water be too hot or too cool to be effective under the hardwoods (or carpets). It was originally set at 180F when the boiler was set at 180F.
Next is the Max Supply Temp 1. It is set at 125F. I have NO IDEA what this maximum temperature number should be to supply the right hot water to the mixer without having the water be too hot or too cool to be effective under the hardwoods (or carpets). It was originally set at 180F when the boiler was set at 180F.
The next options are for target 2, the main floor. These are currently set exactly like target 1 (basement):
WWSD 2 = 68F, Indoor = 74F, Design = 74F, Design supply = 120F, Max supply = 125F
Finally the return water temp to the boiler is set at 150F. I have NO IDEA if that is a good number or not for the boiler's efficiency and function.
I need guidance as to what all of these settings should be so that the home stays warm and accommodates to the outside temperature but also hopefully has the natural gas boiler running efficiently both in natural gas usage but in how it cycles on and off.
Temperature setting help would be most appreciated!
Possibly important info; the main floor has 8 zones ( a thermostat in each room) and is all hardwood flooring except for tile in each bath. There is no other heat source on the mail floor. The basement has 6 zones (a thermostat in each room) with hardwoods down the hall and carpet every where else. There is a crawl under the basement so the carpeted floors are not on slab but rather sheeting over joists with hot water in the middle. The basement has an additional electric forced air furnace/heat pump.
A city of 45,000 people is about 30 miles away and a city of 200,000 people is 60 miles away. At great expense a home inspector and two different 'boiler experts' from reputable companies from the 'big city' have been to the house to teach me about the system. The home inspector deferred and referred me to the first company who cleaned the 2010 natural gas fired Crown boiler (output 105,000 BTU/hr) and told me an expansion tank was bad but he could not replace it because they "didn't do plumbing". That tank is not on the potable water side but for the boiler. The pressure in the boiler is 15 pounds according to the gauge. He reduced it from 20. He was not familiar with a Wirsbo DuoMix 201 controller for the two mixing devices so had no advice on the settings. If it ain't broken don't fix it I was told. The second company was said to be the experts in the big city on hydronic systems so once again with trip charges of hundreds of dollars just to get them to take an hour drive (one way), I had a person stand in the mechanical room and tell me that the expansion tank was fine but my boiler was too hot (at 180F) and that they were not sure of the correct settings/temperatures on the Wirsbo controller and that I should just use the defaults for both floors. He left the pressure at 15 pounds and reduced the boiler temperature to 170F. The Wirsbo defaults have the house at 70F and max supply temperatures at 180F which from what I have read that is too hot for the hardwoods. The current settings that the system has right now are not the factory defaults according to a Wirsbo installation guide I found out of Canada.
To recap: Crown natural gas Boiler Dec. 2010. Wirsbo DuoMix 201 installed 2000 when the house was built.
So, at last, my question(s):
When toggling through the set up options the outdoor temp number is very accurate. I don't know where that sensor is but it is right on.
We start with target 1 which is the basement and repeat the setting options for target 2 which is the main floor.
To start WWSD 1. It is set at 68F. That seems a bit warm as I am not sure that we would want the system on above 65F but I guess 68F is OK.
Next is InDoor Temp 1. That is set 74F. From what I have read, I think that is the indoor temp that the home dweller would not plan to exceed. I don't know what happens if a thermostat gets turned up to 80F.
Next is the Design Room Temp 1. It is set at 74F. I am OK with the house being at 72F in the winter. Should I decrease this for the controller to make proper calculations as the out door temperature changes?
Next is the Design Water Supply Temp 1. It is set at 120F. I have NO IDEA what this number should be to supply the right hot water to the mixer without having the water be too hot or too cool to be effective under the hardwoods (or carpets). It was originally set at 180F when the boiler was set at 180F.
Next is the Max Supply Temp 1. It is set at 125F. I have NO IDEA what this maximum temperature number should be to supply the right hot water to the mixer without having the water be too hot or too cool to be effective under the hardwoods (or carpets). It was originally set at 180F when the boiler was set at 180F.
The next options are for target 2, the main floor. These are currently set exactly like target 1 (basement):
WWSD 2 = 68F, Indoor = 74F, Design = 74F, Design supply = 120F, Max supply = 125F
Finally the return water temp to the boiler is set at 150F. I have NO IDEA if that is a good number or not for the boiler's efficiency and function.
I need guidance as to what all of these settings should be so that the home stays warm and accommodates to the outside temperature but also hopefully has the natural gas boiler running efficiently both in natural gas usage but in how it cycles on and off.
Temperature setting help would be most appreciated!
0
Comments
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Could you post a picture of your setup?
The duomix is not very common. It is almost certainly a rebranded tekmar which are widely used. If you post a picture of the controller with the cover off will help determine which tekmar."If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"
Albert Einstein0 -
I think I cut off the whole question when posting last night. I just reposted more info. I will get a picture shortly.0
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Wirsbo DuoMix 201 (From Canada
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Whole mechanical room wall of plumbing pic
just in case this gives some insight to the questions.0 -
That is a rebranded tekmar. You have a nice setup.
The idea is that the controller varies the speed to the 2 circs on the left. They inject water into the radiant loops attached to the circs on the right. The injection circs will ramp up and down to maintain the correct temp to the floor.
Your boiler should be running at high temp 160-180 degrees. It is a non condensing boiler, so should not run at lower temps.
The temp on the gauge(s) on the wall, on the right should be less than 120.
Your settings sound reasonable. I would not change them unless you are having issues"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"
Albert Einstein-1 -
Thank you so much for your expertise!0
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Would you indulge me with one more set of questions? Does it matter for boiler efficiency or boiler on/off cycling or natural gas usage what the return water temp to the boiler is set at? With the boiler at 170F is 150F back to the boiler correct? To be extreme, what if it is set at 130F temp return to boiler or what if it is set at 165F back to boiler? Does any of this make a difference to the home heating or to the boiler function? Thank you again.0
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It would help to have a picture of the wires and terminals with the cover off. I am just going off of similar tekmar models I have worked with.
I believe that the controller is just enabling the boiler when there is a call for heat. So the boiler temp would be set on the boiler aquastat. The minimum boiler setting is to prevent condensation. It will back off the mixing to keep the boiler return above that temp. You could lower that to 140 safely.
You would gain a little efficiency if you lowered the boiler temp (on the boiler) to say 160. Your domestic water production might suffer a bit.
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"
Albert Einstein0
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