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Lochinvar Knight with multiple heating zones

myqhenryt
myqhenryt Member Posts: 28
I'm currently in process with the install of a Lochinvar Knight WHN-110 with three heating zones (with circulators) and a DHW zone. One of the heating zones is a hydronic coil in our air handler (first floor), one is Warmboard radiant (part of first floor), and the other is baseboard (basement). We had initially purchased a Taco SR504-4 to control the different zones thinking that we'd utilize a single temp for the heating zones. We'd have a thermostatic valve for Warmboard to reduce the temp for that zone.

But now we're thinking that it would be best to utilize multiple temps here as Lochinvar supports it, but there's a bit of confusion around the setup for multiple temperatures via the boiler. Given what we currently have, is it possible to configure multiple temps? Or do we need to without Lochinvar's Multi Temp Loop Control or some other controller?

Thanks!

Comments

  • Paul S_3
    Paul S_3 Member Posts: 1,261
    You need to mix down for the radiant zone
    ASM Mechanical Company
    Located in Staten Island NY
    Servicing all 5 boroughs of NYC.
    347-692-4777
    ASMMECHANICALCORP@GMAIL.COM
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    https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/asm-mechanical-company
  • Paul S_3
    Paul S_3 Member Posts: 1,261
    Just saw that your using a mixing valve
    ASM Mechanical Company
    Located in Staten Island NY
    Servicing all 5 boroughs of NYC.
    347-692-4777
    ASMMECHANICALCORP@GMAIL.COM
    ASMHVACNYC.COM
    https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/asm-mechanical-company
  • myqhenryt
    myqhenryt Member Posts: 28
    Yup, we have a thermostatic mixing valve for that. Note that the radiant is more for comfort in that area of the home which is over an unheated crawl space.

    I guess the question comes down to handling the multiple temps for the coil and baseboard. Best that I can tell, we cannot do this out of the box with the Lochinvar boiler without purchasing additional equipment -- does that sound right?
  • Brewbeer
    Brewbeer Member Posts: 616
    The WHN allows you to program different temperatures (minimum and maximum) for three different zones. Take a look at page 20 of the manual: lochinvar.com/_linefiles/WH-SER_Rev%20L_100161828_2000019118.pdf

    That having been said, if your different zones require vastly different temperatures to function acceptably, and they call at the same time, only one of the zones will work as intended, and the other zones won't work well until the first (controlling) zone stops calling.
    Hydronics inspired homeowner with self-designed high efficiency low temperature baseboard system and professionally installed mod-con boiler with indirect DHW. My system design thread: http://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/154385
    System Photo: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021738/uploads/FileUpload/79/451e1f19a1e5b345e0951fbe1ff6ca.jpg
  • myqhenryt
    myqhenryt Member Posts: 28
    edited December 2016
    Ok, this is where I'm confused. You can program three separate temps as you've noted, but how do those correspond to the actual circulators? For example, how does the boiler know that the SH1 temperature is for the zone 1 circulator? I might be missing it in the wiring diagram, but is there a wire that runs from the boiler to the zone relay to trigger the appropriate circulator based on demand from the thermostat?
  • Brewbeer
    Brewbeer Member Posts: 616
    myqhenryt said:

    is there a wire that runs from the boiler to the zone relay to trigger the appropriate circulator based on demand from the thermostat?

    Yes, see the wiring diagram on page 55 of the installation manual:
    lochinvar.com/_linefiles/WH-I-O-Rev%20W_100161819_2000019113.pdf
    Hydronics inspired homeowner with self-designed high efficiency low temperature baseboard system and professionally installed mod-con boiler with indirect DHW. My system design thread: http://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/154385
    System Photo: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021738/uploads/FileUpload/79/451e1f19a1e5b345e0951fbe1ff6ca.jpg
  • Boon
    Boon Member Posts: 260
    edited December 2016
    oops. nevermind
    DIY'er ... ripped out a perfectly good forced-air furnace and replaced it with hot water & radiators.
  • myqhenryt
    myqhenryt Member Posts: 28
    Brewbeer, I've seen the diagram. But where I'm confused is around wiring those three heating zones from the boiler. It appears that there is not a way to utilize a Taco SR504-4 in this setup. If I'm understanding things correctly, the only way to make this work (with multiple temps) is having independent relays for each circulator. Each relay would be connected to the corresponding 'HEAT / LOOP DEMAND' connection on the boiler. We'd also want to make sure that the radiant loop has a mixing valve as the loop with the highest temp will take priority with this setup.