System 2000 sudden issue

jhickey

We have a System 2000 Frontier ek1 system (oil) in our house that is about 6 years old. This problem just started yesterday (which was also one of the coldest days in the northeast)

All appears normal (at least to me) when looking at the unit, however it seems to be not heating the water sufficiently? Typically we can only turn the hot water in our shower to about 75% because otherwise it is , usually, too hot. We like that. Yesterday (and today) even with the hot water at 100%, it is just warm. Same with the sinks in the house. We have three heat zones… they have heat, but, again, not at full capacity. If I set the thermostat to 70… it will only get to 66 and stay there.

jringel

There could be a couple of reasons for this. In regard to the heating zones keeping up. Is the boiler continuously running? If it is then we may have to increase the firing rate to get you the BTU' needed to heat the home to 70. With you having issues with your heat and hot water this most likely the case. If the boiler is cycling on and off and the rooms still are not heating then the heating issue would be related to the distribution system. If this is the case our managers have a setting that can increase the water temperature by 20 degrees. If you could let us know what the boiler is doing as well as the temperatures showing on the boiler gauge and the manager we can help you reolve this issue.

jhickey

I appreciate your response. The 70 was just an example, we typically dont go higher then 65-68…before yesterday though whatever the thermostat was set at 65, 66, 67, 68, etc…. the actual room temp would match it ..now the room temp on the thermostat seems to just get to 66 no matter how high I set it. The boiler is not continuously running, no. It's on and off… when it is on, it doesnt seem like it stays on all too long though. I am not sure what is normal… The temp gauge fluctuates from like 210 down to maybe 150? at different times. I

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jringel

It looks like you are not getting good flow through the bypass plate exchanger. This could be caused by a partially blocked plate exchanger on the boiler side or an issue with the circulator not moving enough water. If you have a digital thermometer you can use the diagnostic testing from the attached sheet to test the plate exchanger or you can have your service provider, call our tech support when they are at the house and we can walk them through it

delta tee.pdf

Robertw

What type of heat emitters do you have? Are the returns hot when you say the room isn't reaching temperature?

jhickey

How are you able to tell that. Can I please have the number for Tech Support?

jhickey

baseboard radiators…typical 80's house style ones…. I am not home at the moment but yesterday the returns did not feel hot.

pecmsg

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1832876#Comment_1832876

System 2000: Combined Heat and Hot Water Boiler [High-Efficiency Boiler]

jringel

That would be a good indication of an issue with the circulator. with the high supply temperature you have on the gauge the returns should be about 20 degrees cooler than the supply which would be between 160 and 180 degrees. I would recommend having a service company take a look at the system to verify it though

jhickey

Thanks for your help.

jhickey

You were exactly right. I had a tech come and said the Taco 007e Circulator did not have the power light on when he first arrived… as he was taking the cover off to look at the connections, it came on and started pumping. Not sure why, does that mean it is probably bad? Everything seems to be running normally since, but he didnt really do anything (except put the cover back on) so naturally I am concerned if I am really out of the woods! I mean, it seems like it is…the tap water seems to be as hot as it was before this all started. Tomorrow mornings showers will be the real test. Three of us shower in the morning within 90 min..first shower was mostly normal… 2nd shower was starting to get lukewarm… 3rd person showering had less than lukewarm.. I need to keep an eye on the circulator pump light for a few days. Please confirm that the orange light on the 007e should be on when the green 'circulator' light is lit on the system manager? Am I right to assume that the green 'circulator' light (on the sys mgr) should be on whenever a zone output light (on the sys mgr) is also on? I guess I dont still understand how we had some heat and some hot water, just not full capacity, if that pump wasnt running?…(how would any hot water get from the basement to the upstairs without the pump?)… and he really couldnt explain it. He was just convinced that the circulator was the problem and it would be a good idea to replace it.…. He didnt have one as he is not really a sys 2000 tech, he has just worked on them from time to time…. He is going to get back to me with a price but in the meantime I just would like to understand if that is likely the issue based on the orig problem/symptoms I posted?

jringel

whenever there is a thermostat or a hot water call to the manager the green circulator light should be on and the circulator should be running. the Taco 007e circulator that you have has an indicator light on it orange means its running, white means its air bound and red means that it is bound up. if you had a call on the manager and the circulator was not running or only running intermittently that could cause the problem you are having. you can replace the circulator with a new taco 007e or just a standard Taco 007 circulator. They are available at any local heating supply house.