Hydronic radiant heat

mkstretch

I have hydronic heat in my bathrooms that don’t always come on. It’s weird I turn it on and wait like 30 plus minutes and nothing. But then sometimes it gets warm. Am I missing something?

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

Is your bathroom heating electric or hot water?

rick in Alaska

Alan. Hydronic
We would need to know what controls it as far as thermostats and zone valves, and how it might all be wired up. There is a possibility the zone valve for your bathroom is stuck open , but is not sending a signal to the boiler. So what could be happening is when something else calls for heat, it also allows heat into the bathroom zone. So, check the bathroom zone valve.
Rick

mkstretch

I have hot water with a nest thermostat. I’m not sure how to find out about valves

Zman

Post some pictures of the boiler room. My guess is Honeywell zone valves with a failed end switch. When the bath zone calls it opens but does not fire the boiler, when another zone calls it fires the boiler and heats the bath zone.

mkstretch

Here it is

rick in Alaska

I opened up the picture and sucked air. What a conglomeration of a mess. I would hate to be the guy who has to work on any of that.
Anyway, turn up the thermostat for the bathroom and see if you have a corresponding light show up on the green Taco control box on the wall to the right. If the thermostat is working ok, and the Taco control box is working ok, you should have a light come on on the Taco panel, and the boiler and pump should come on.
Rick

mkstretch

Thanks Rick! Yeah I just moved in and thought it looked a little crazy in the boiler room

Zman

After you verify that the zone controller is working, you want to determine in the circulator is functioning. Sometimes you can hear it or feel the vibration. A change in the temp of the pipe is the best indicator.
This app is pretty trick but not completely fool proof. https://www.danfoss.com/en-us/about-danfoss/news/dcs/introducing-the-most-attractive-app-in-the-cooling-field/

hot_rod

Zman said:

After you verify that the zone controller is working, you want to determine in the circulator is functioning. Sometimes you can hear it or feel the vibration. A change in the temp of the pipe is the best indicator.
This app is pretty trick but not completely fool proof. https://www.danfoss.com/en-us/about-danfoss/news/dcs/introducing-the-most-attractive-app-in-the-cooling-field/

Do those magnetic indicators work on Tacos? Also they just indicate that the device is powered, they don't detect or indicate a spinning rotor. So limited use really.

mkstretch

Ok so the zone light turns on when I turn on the heat. The circulator sounds like a fan when I put my ear to it.. What app do I download? The magnetic one? Also I didn’t hear the boiler light.

mkstretch

Also this is happening to my 3 rooms with radiant heat

Jolly Bodger

Are all the pumps wired to the Taco Zone contoler or just the radiant pumps? Might be the end switch relay in the Taco board or it is not wired into the Aquastat right.

mkstretch

I’m not sure about all pumps. but I have a 3 zone Switching relay and a 1 zone.

Zman

hot_rod said:

Zman said:

After you verify that the zone controller is working, you want to determine in the circulator is functioning. Sometimes you can hear it or feel the vibration. A change in the temp of the pipe is the best indicator.
This app is pretty trick but not completely fool proof. https://www.danfoss.com/en-us/about-danfoss/news/dcs/introducing-the-most-attractive-app-in-the-cooling-field/

Do those magnetic indicators work on Tacos? Also they just indicate that the device is powered, they don't detect or indicate a spinning rotor. So limited use really.

I stuck it on a grundfos the other day and it spun.

mkstretch

Still not working. I guess I need to get a heat guy in here

DZoro

Did it work before the nest came into play?

mkstretch

Before the nest it still wasn’t working correctly. My other bathroom has the original thermostat and works when it wants.