Welcome! Here are the website rules, as well as some tips for using this forum.
Need to contact us? Visit https://heatinghelp.com/contact-us/.
Click here to Find a Contractor in your area.

Heat won't shut off

Steve Garson_2
Steve Garson_2 Member Posts: 712
I have a WM GV boiler with five zones. Today is a 60 degree day and I noticed that two rooms are blazing hot, even though the T-stat is set at 65. I removed the T-stat to see if that was the problem, but this one zone is still circulating, with the burner firing intermittently. All the other zones are fine.

How do I stop this until a service person can come. There are four wires to the zone valve. Is the issue the zone valve?

Any help would be appreciated.

Steve in Denver
Steve from Denver, CO

Comments

  • nicholas bonham-carter
    nicholas bonham-carter Member Posts: 8,576
    Can you shut off the gas?—NBC
  • Steve Garson_2
    Steve Garson_2 Member Posts: 712
    I just cut one red wire on the valve and it solved the problem.
    Steve from Denver, CO
  • JohnNY
    JohnNY Member Posts: 3,226
    I'll assume your "4-wires" are from a Honeywell zone valve. The red wires are from the end switch which are the ones that complete the boiler's low voltage power circuit to the gas valve. If the thermostat is satisfied, I'm going to assume you've got a bad end switch or the gearing in the zone valve has gone bad. In either case, replacing the zone valve's electronic head is the way to put this to bed.
    But then again, we all know what happens when we assume.
    Contact John "JohnNY" Cataneo, NYC Master Plumber, Lic 1784
    Consulting & Troubleshooting
    Heating in NYC or NJ.
    Classes
    Zman
  • Steve Garson_2
    Steve Garson_2 Member Posts: 712
    Thanks John. The actuator is 30 years old. It served us well. Just ordered a new one. I should probably replace the others to prevent a failure when it’s cold out versus springlike.
    Steve from Denver, CO
    JohnNY
  • SuperTech
    SuperTech Member Posts: 2,139
    Just make sure when you remove the zone valve motor that the innards of the valve move freely and easily. If it requires any force to move it I would replace the guts of the valve. This can be done by removing the 5/16" screws on the four corners of the valve body. Of course you will have to drain, refill and purge the zone to do this, unless you had a good installer who put isolation valves in all the right places.
    Steve Garson_2
  • Zman
    Zman Member Posts: 7,561
    Installing a zone controller like Taco or Calleffi make life much easier with those zone valves. It will tell you the status of the call for heat and end switch. I agree, change all of them. They are not that expensive and it takes little time to do the others once you are set up.
    "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"
    Albert Einstein
    Steve Garson_2SuperTech
  • SuperTech
    SuperTech Member Posts: 2,139
    Zone control panels should be required by code. 90 percent of the zone valve jobs I see are a bird's nest of wires and splices and just a complete mess. Zone valve panels eliminate that and the end switches on the zone valves that tend to fail.
    With a zone panel the wiring looks neat, reliability is increased and troubleshooting simplified.
  • Solid_Fuel_Man
    Solid_Fuel_Man Member Posts: 2,646
    Most jobs I do now, we use Delta P pumps which eliminates those pesky end switches. Or with a zone valve control board you can just short the end switch pins and run them as 2 wire valves. It's nice to have a built in delay and the pump won't dead head while the valve travels open.
    Serving Northern Maine HVAC & Controls. I burn wood, it smells good!
  • SuperTech
    SuperTech Member Posts: 2,139
    > @Solid_Fuel_Man said:
    > Most jobs I do now, we use Delta P pumps which eliminates those pesky end switches. Or with a zone valve control board you can just short the end switch pins and run them as 2 wire valves. It's nice to have a built in delay and the pump won't dead head while the valve travels open.

    It's nice. I combined an Alpha 2 and Tekmar zone board on my boiler at home. The Tekmar controls four two wire zone valves, the Alpha 2 to pump my zones, a VT2218 Injection pump and DHW priority control for my boilermate. No birds nest of wires. 😄