DIY Radiant Heating question.

MykeWhyte

I have multi zone heating in my home. Between the end of last winter and the beginning of this winter, something went wrong with zone 5. The thermostat gets power, but for some reason, it wont turn on the heat. Luckily the thermostats are interchangeable. But when I switch on the heat with a working thermostat, the actuator light on the control module does not turn on and the button on the actuator never full pops out. Needless to say, I get no heat in zone 5. Maybe some how the wires in that zone got burned out. So what I'm going to do first is replace the thermostat. Then I want to replace the control module. Is this something I can do myself? It looks simple enough. And lastly, I was also thinking about replacing the actuator. Is this something that can be done without an HVAC professional?

Thanks for any help provided. Here's a pic:

Ironman

Well, the last thing that you're planning on doing should be the first thing. Unscrew the actuator from that zone and the one next to it. Then screw the functioning actuator from the other zone on and turn ITS thermostat up and see if it works (no wiring undone). It it does, you have a bad actuator.

MykeWhyte

OK I did what you said. I put the Zone 5 actuator on Zone 3 and put the Zone 6 actuator on Zone 5. Both actuators pushed out, but I think the Zone 5 actuator doesn't push out all the way. Also, the pipe for Zone 5 heated up with the Zone 3's actuator on it. But when I put everything back in place and tested it again, the pipe for Zone 5 stayed cool. Does this look like an issue with the actuator?

Ironman

Looks like a Bad actuator.

hot_rod

Check with the manufacturer, not sure those actuators can be mounted upside down?

The old actuators were the powertrack type, are the thermal a direct replacement, stroke length may not be the same.

Ironman

Rehau actuators can replace those old Honeywells, but they told me not to mount them upside down unless they were on a Rehau manifold. IDK why and IDK what brand those are on that manifold.

Having that ZVC board underneath the manifold where water can drip on it is not a good idea.

MykeWhyte

Thanks to you both. I had a feeling I was going to have to replace everything. My only worry is I replace everything and the room still does not heat up adequately. Is there anything I can do before changing the manifold? Just to be sure the pipes are clear and there are no other issues.

MykeWhyte

Also... on the second floor we have a mounted runtal hydronic wall panel. The thermostat is not being powered. The radiator does not produce any heat. I dont even know if it's hook up to anything.



How difficult would it be to track where the radiator connects and also to add a radiator to an already established system?

I dont mind reading so if there is any literature on the internet, I would be more than happy with that.

rick in Alaska

Does the light on the control panel light up when the thermostat calls for heat in zone 5? If it doesn't, I would move your zone 5 thermostat wire to one of the known working zones on the panel, and see if the zone panel light comes on there. If it doesn't come on there either, then look for a bad connection or broken wire going to the thermostat. If it does come on, then most likely you have a bad control.
Rick

MykeWhyte

Hey rick... thanks. The thermostat light for Zone 5 does turn on, but the actuator light for Zone 5 does not turn on. This is why I want to replace the panel. Plus when I test the wire voltage for each Zone, the last wire on Zone 5 is the only one with a low reading. Something like 0.9. All the others read around 24 - 25. How difficult is it to replace the panel. Can I just shut off the power and replace it? If so, I can probably get it done myself in a couple weeks.

rick in Alaska

It is just a matter of taking one wire off one panel and putting it on the same location on the other panel. Do this one at a time and you won't lose track of what goes where. I would turn off the power first to make sure you don't short out a transformer.
The trick will be to see if you can actually find that control board. I believe it has been discontinued a long time ago. Check Ebay.
Rick

MykeWhyte

I own a wirsbo manifold with a wirsbo control module and wirsbo acutators. The Uponor control module looks very similar and every time I look up wirsbo, Uponor comes up. I hope they are interchangeable.

rick in Alaska

Same thing, different name. Wirsbo changed to Uponor a few years ago.
Rick

MykeWhyte

Hey rick... thanks again. I'm going to begin this diy.

MykeWhyte

Update: I changed the control module and the Zone 5 thermostat. All Zones connected to the manifold are noticeably warmer. Could just be in my head, but even my wife said whatever I did last night worked. My next hope is to remove the valves on each Zone to see if I can clean them and make them less resistant to the actuators..