Burnham Alpine 105B operating parameters

Slowhand63

I'm getting ready to swap out my Sage 2 controller to eliminate recurring error 25 codes. Prior to the swap, I'm documenting the operating parameters of my Alpine 105, and came across a few that I wanted to get some expert opinion of. The purpose of confirming the parameters is improve the boiler operation by preventing short cycling or any other unnecessary stress.

The Alpine is used for both DHW and several radiant zones. The parameters in question are:

Central Heat: Setpt 150

TStat Sleep or Away 170

DIff Above: 5

DIff Below: 5

DHW: Setpt 170

Sleep Away 170

Diff Above 2

Diff Below 7

Is this how you would normally s/u an alpine? The sleep/away settings seem high, as does the DHW setpt which I'm considering lowering (from 170 to 160). Why would the central heat setpt (150) be lower than the sleep/away setpt (170)? Makes no sense to me.

I'm also not sure what constitutes "sleep" or "away" since my thermostat doesn't have those settings. I do toggle the radiant thermostats to "off " when its not heating season. Not sure if this is interpreted by the controller as "sleep or away".

Thoughts on the operating parameters are appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

hot_rod

You have an indirect tank connected to the boiler?

most of the controls have two settings for DHW. One setting is the temperature the boiler runs up to when DHW calls170- 180 is typical.

The secod temperature is the tank temperature 120- 140 typically. The tak would need a sensor from the boiler control to use that setting.

Or the indirect could have a separate temperature control mounted on it? Then that controls the tank temperature, not the Sage control.

The manual should indicate and explain the DHW options.

Slowhand63

Ah, you are correct. Important part of the system which I left out. It is an indirect system, and there's a thermostat on the indirect tank (completely forgot about that!). It's an Alliance Hydrastone tank with a TPI controller. So what you're telling me is that the Indirect tank tstat controls both the DHW and radiant temperatures, and the Sage setpts are irrelevant? What about the differential settings? Are they irrelevant also?

hot_rod

The indirect control aquastat only controls the tank itself.

In the Sage menu should be operating temperatures, differentials, etc for when the boiler is in heating mode. Some controls refer to "SH" as space heating

There should be a control section of the manual, read through that to get an understanding of options.

There are a lot of useful settings or paramaters to really maximize the boilers operation for heating and DHW. Too many perhaps :)

Piping matters also, if you hav e a hydrosep, or a multi temperature system, then settings and wiring needs to match the piping. Boiler remote sensor placement depends on piping also.

A pic or drawing of the piping would help see where to mount sensors.

Outdoor reset can be a nice feature to enable and adjust.

Be sure the manual matches the control version you have

https://www.burnhamcommercial.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/sbc_io-manual.pdf

Slowhand63

Thanks a ton for the link to the manual. I have the installation manual but not the control manual. You've highlighted a couple of issues (like Outdoor reset) that I have zero understanding of. I'll give it a read and revert with any additional questions. Thanks again.

hot_rod

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1877121#Comment_1877121

That attachment was a quick grab, make sure it is the version that applies to your exact boiler.

The concepts will be the same, but your control may have different parameters and adjustment procedures.

U.S. Boiler website has all the I&O manuals available, find the one for the model boiler you have and the correct control version..