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boiler set up to \"continuous\" - bad?

jeff_51
jeff_51 Member Posts: 545
in THE MAIN WALL
your boiler is set to run contiuosly with the t=stats controlling the pumps only. As the prvious post asked, do you have a tankless heater and the other question is do you have an outside sensor to modulate the temp the boiler is running at? These are questions that need to be answered

Comments

  • STEVE_17
    STEVE_17 Member Posts: 42


    while cleaning up the basement and vacuming around the boiler (burnham series 2) i discovered 2 wires taped off.. well traced them back to the taco 3 zone controller and these are the x1 and x2 wires which acording the the taco instruction are supposed to turn the boiler on... looked at the boiler instructions and turns out its set up for continuous mode with out the honey well 8285 controller and with out terminals to accept an x1/x2 or termostat inputs. i turned off the t-stats to see what will happen and the boiler kicks on at around 130 deg and off at 180 deg.

    is this a normal set up? shouldnt the boiler be 'aware' of what the tstats are doing? am i wasting a lot of energy keeping the boiler on all the time?

    thanks

    Sam
  • EBEBRATT-Ed_3
    EBEBRATT-Ed_3 Member Posts: 2


    If you use the boiler for heat only than you are not wired correctly. I am not famalier with that particular boiler but if you have a tankless hot water heater this may be wired correctly. If you do not have a tankless hwh and have a seperate gas or electric hwh or an indirect hot water tank heated by the boiler you are not wired correctly.

    sounds confusing hope this helps
  • STEVE_17
    STEVE_17 Member Posts: 42


    i have a seperate gas hot water heater. the boiler is for heating only. the tstats do control the circulators directly (via taco 503). its a hydro-air system. no outdoor reset

    is this set up simply wastefull or harmfull to the system? if only wastefull - how much so?

    thanks
  • STEVE_17
    STEVE_17 Member Posts: 42


    just watch it's behavior when a tstat calls for heat - the boiler showed 150 or so degrees the circulator came on and within 30 seconds the boiler cam on too.... strange - how did i 'know' to come on?
  • jbplumber
    jbplumber Member Posts: 89
    hot boiler

    Sam--Sounds like your boiler is set to run hot all the time at one time this was a very common way to set up a heating system. In todays world it can be very costly for you to run the boiler hot all the time. You can install outdoor reset to balance the heating needs of the home to the water temp required. Along with reworking the electric controls you will want to make sure you have the proper bypass piping. Best Wishes J.Lockard
  • jbplumber
    jbplumber Member Posts: 89
    the

    T-Stat told the pump to come on. The high and low limits control the temp.
  • STEVE_17
    STEVE_17 Member Posts: 42


    Thanks for your reply.

    What is bypass piping?

    Given that I have hydro-air, would I still benefit from an outdoor reset? The air coming from the vents when the water is anywhere below 140-145 feels cold so Im guessing the lowest the boiler could warm the water too is around 160-170 which isn’t much lower the the 180 its set too now... I watched the boiler operate and it really takes very little time for it to go from 170 to 180 (a minute or so)... sounds like there wouldn’t be much savings there.

    I do think that if it gets warmer out and the tstat don’t call for heat there is no reason to keep water at 180... that’s should save me some momey come spring or during the fall...

    thanks again
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 17,550
    Sam, if the air dosan't warm properly

    until the boiler temp is at least 160, there may not be enough heat-transfer surface in your duct coils. The boiler has to work very hard to keep them hot enough to supply adequate heat to the house. As you suspect, this is quite uneconomical to operate.

    I'd suggest getting a real heating pro in there who can do a heat-loss calculation on your house and compare it to how much heat the coils can give off. I'll bet you find their capacity is marginal at best. Upgrading these coils probably would involve some money, but you'd likely get that money back over time especially with todays rising fuel costs.

    Go to the Find a Professional page of this site to locate someone near you who can solve your problem.

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  • jbplumber
    jbplumber Member Posts: 89
    Bypass piping

    will protect your boiler and help avoid flue gas condensation. Sam as for the water coils you may just need a good cleaning, as Steamhead suggested find a local pro to check out your system. Best wishes J.Lockard
  • Jay_12
    Jay_12 Member Posts: 46
    tekmar 260

    Hello Sam,

    Consider installing a tekmar 260 to provide outdoor reset. The wiring changes should be quite minimal to install. Independent studies have shown that outdoor reset reduces fuel consumption approx 12% on average. Check the tekmar website for more information.

    Jay www.tekmarcontrols.com 250-545-7749
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