Hydrostat 3250’s low water cutoff “active” LED off
Well, after more than a month of my Hydrostat 3250 seemingly working fine (it came mounted on a new Weil-MClain WGO-3, oil, hydronic baseboard with indirect hw tank) the amber “active” LED, which is supposed to be always on to show the LWCO is working, is out.
Even though the amber light was off, as per the instructions I pressed the red “test” button for five seconds (and again for more). The red low water light is supposed to come on, and since the burner is also supposed to shut off I pressed the button both while the burner was running and when it wasn’t. Neither red nor amber light came on, and the burner didn’t shut off (until it did when it hit hi temp). Otherwise system seems to be working fine.
Instructions’ troubleshooting flow chart has nothing for the amber light not being on, just for the red low water one being on.
I figure I’ll call the company tomorrow. In the meantime:
- Anything I can check before then?
Related question: I have a small seeping leak on an old fitting on the supply side. It never drips, but also probably there’s some evaporation since the pipe is hot. I have been planning to fix that in the spring. Also, I would rather not replace the Hydrostat in the middle of a cold snap, or even in winter, so:
2. Can I be fairly sure that the water isn’t low if the pressure stays at 15 psi and above? If not, is there any way I could tell without a functioning LWCO?
3. Related to #2: I have a Caleffi new combo 553 auto fill unit with a 573 backflow preventer. I have not yet installed a strainer before the backflow preventer, but there is a whole house filter upstream. Anyway if the perfect storm situation happened of clogged Caleffi plus real leak somewhere I can’t see, could I assume that then the pressure would drop as water leaked out and wasn’t replaced?
In other words, does low water imply lowered pressure, or is there no way to know without a working LWCO?
Comments
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The LWCO feature is a nice thing to have built into that control however as long as you keep an eye on the water pressure and the heat is circulating thru the radiators, there is water above the sensor. The control will operate just fine as an Aquastat Relay without a LWCO just fine. I used to do it all the time when I needed to replace a L8148A L8124A or an L7224 control. When the old control without the integral LWCO went bad I just used the same Well Adaptor that did not have the LWCO sensor probe. It fits just fine and the High limit and circulator functions work perfectly.
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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I did a quick read of the HydroStat 3250 Plus (not sure which one comes with the Weil McLain GO series boilers) and found this section. on page 9
About using the LWCO feature. I remember having the same problem many years ago when the control first came out. I just disabled the LWCO feature and installed a standard LWCO because I didn't want to deal with it.
You can do some trouble shooting yourself. You can remove the sensor from the ElectroWell™ and reinstall it back into the well to see if there was a bad connection. That is easy and doesn't leave you without heat for more than about 1 minute. Just turn off the power to the boiler, open the front door of the control and pull the sensor wire all the way out, then push it all the way back in. That is it. Turn the power back on and see if the LWCO works again.
The next thing to check is the ElectroWell™ itself. You need to remove it and check that there is no corrosion or build up that is causing the insulation portion of the Well to be compromised. (that is a summer time job). That will involve draining the pressure off of the boiler to remove the well adaptor.
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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Hi @EdTheHeaterMan!
Perfect, what I suspected, and I’m frequently looking at the pressure, so all good.
Great, didn’t realize I could pull out the sensor from the tube without draining. Looks like from the picture I have to be careful with the water sensor part. I wonder how it senses water level when it’s separated from the water by the well tube.
I don’t think I have the Plus (see 1st photo) and my instructions don’t have the picture and text you included, but I’m sure I can still pull the sensor out. Does that mean if I end up replacing the whole unit (like if they’ll replace it under warranty) I don’t have to drain the boiler but just leave the well in and pull out the old sensor and slip in the new one, or do I have to replace the well too?
I seem to remember seeing a lot of negative comments about the Hydrostats, but maybe they’ve gotten better. I’ll research them some more, but if I decide I’d rather not replace it only to have another one crash, I guess I could keep this one or put in my old L8148A and in either case install a more reliable LWCO. I didn’t have an LWCO on the other boiler and I always wondered where a separate unit would go, I thought its sensor would have to share the well somehow; but looking at the Taco LWCO in the photo I realize it can go into a pipe! (In that diagram I don’t know what’s up with the depicted option of putting it in the side of the boiler is, maybe some boilers have an extra well/hole?)
A decision I’ll have to make, I guess, if I can’t fix it.
BTW, see last photo for my Christmas present to myself.
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I thought that your HydroStat was original equipment with the boiler. If it is a replacement for a previous L8148 or other aquastat that is not equipped with the LWCO feature, then your Well adapter is not an ElectroWell™ and the LWCO portion of the control never worked, unless someone replaced the well with an ElectroWell™ when the replacement control was installed.
If the Hydrostat is original equipment from Weil McLain, then you have the ElectroWell™.
The way the ElectroWell™ works is that the well is insulated from the threaded portion of the well adapter. (see previous post) Just like the electronic LWCO like the Taco you referred to, the metal probe is insulated from the threaded portion of the probe. The metal portion that is touching the water will send the microamp signal from the control to the wire shown in the illustration to the copper portion of the ElectroWell™ then into the water then back to the chassis ground by way of the boiler tapping that is grounded to the HydroStat.
Since the control circuit is using MicroAmps to prove the water is there, you can not have a bad connection in any part of the water sensing circuit. That is why I recommended that you cause that sensor wire to scratch the inside of the ElectroWell™ by pulling it out and pushing it back in, in order to make a better contact
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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Yup, it is original equipment, and did work for 1-1/2 months or so until now. I was just pondering whether I could switch it out for my old L8148 if I wanted to, without draining and removing the well, but now I see I’d probably have to take out the Electrowell and switch wells to one compatible with the L8148? Anyway there’d be no reason to swap if the Hydrostat’s basic control function keeps working.
Interesting how the sensor works, I’ll definitely slip it out and back in. Thanks!0 -
@seized123 , That ElectroWell is reverse compatible with the L8148 and many other aquastat controls. Standard well will fit the HydroStat and the ElectroWell will fit the Honeywell
There is only one Well Adapter that I know of that is not compatible, the White Rogers Well Adaptor provided for the obsolete White Rogers Triple Aquastat Relay. The inside diameter is too small for any other temperature probe that I am aware of.
Example of older WR aquastat with smaller sensor probe. I remember swapping out the Well Adapter "on the fly" when I came across this on more that one occasion.
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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I had two defective hydrostats on my boiler and I replaced those chinese parts with A honeywell L8124L and a Bell and Gossett McDonnell & Miller RB-122-E low water cut off which is a self cleaning direct immersion Low Water Cut Off and I have had no issues since 2016.
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I can tell you're just a little nostalgic for those older well adapters. I'm very happy about that standardization, though.
@leonz I might just do what you did (in the spring), or, if the Hydrostat keeps firing the burner normally and if my pulling the sensor out and back like @EdTheHeaterMan suggested doesn't get the LWCO working, keep the Hydrostat on but put in that separate LWCO. (Or, to be really crazy, if they gave me a replacement Hydrostat I could still install the separate LWCO and have LWCO redundancy, something with I'm sure most people would say is a little nuts …)
It was your thread I read concerning the unreliable Hydrostats. I'll research it some, as that was like eight years ago and maybe they've improved. If anyone has ideas about their general reliability now, please weigh in.
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