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Favorite Primary Control

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Robert_H
Robert_H Member Posts: 275

What primary control to you carry on the van? and why?

I used the becket series and have the contractor tool, like the data it provides but often the display reads "data not recorded" or something like that. Also It doesn't have a display on the module which is a pain and it cost more than the completion. the Residio R7284 and the Carlin Pro-X 70200 both work well.

Comments

  • HVACNUT
    HVACNUT Member Posts: 7,340

    The 7565 replaced the 7505, and it makes the Contractor tool obsolete. You need to open the app for diagnostics with the 7565. Whipping out my phone is the last thing I want to do when servicing an oil burner.

    I like the 70200 mostly because I can jump FF and ohm out the cad cell without removing the control.

    Robert_HHydronicMikeSuperTechMaxMercy
  • HydronicMike
    HydronicMike Member Posts: 306

    I like the new Beckett and the Carlin. I don't mind having to use my phone as it is usually what I'll need to do first before I touch anything oily. It's great for setting up.
    Carlin just introduced a new 'dongle' so you can also use your phone for advanced diagnostics, and just reading it better than scrolling on the little on-board display.
    I also like that F-F on the front like @HVACNUT mentioned, .

    The things I dislike:

    -I can't hold down the reset button to stop the burner while I'm checking cut-off, or burning oil out of a chamber because a few seconds later it goes into pump prime mode. I can put a jumper on T-T, and program it that way, disconnect as needed, but that's annoying.
    -Any idiot can put it into pump prime mode accidentally and pump 3 minutes of unburnt oil into the chamber thinking their burner 'is running'.
    I've talked to Carlin about both of those and they don't seem to want to change it. Maybe the will when someone does damage.
    So for replacements, I'm probably going with Beckett.
    But I've had less problems/failures with Carlin's Kool Kit, over Beckett's AC Ready Kit (that cheap-**** relay).

    Robert_H
  • SuperTech
    SuperTech Member Posts: 2,649

    I like the 70200 best, then the R7284U. I've always disliked the Beckett controls and the need for the contractor tool or app. But I understand why they designed it that way

    Robert_H
  • HVACNUT
    HVACNUT Member Posts: 7,340

    @HydronicMike , I don't see a tech making that mistake with the pump prime. If a DIY guy does it, or even a tech for that matter, then there's only one person to blame. Carlin doesn't need to change anything. The lawyers took care of it.

    Screenshot_20260204_174221_Samsung Notes.jpg
    mattmia2
  • Robert_H
    Robert_H Member Posts: 275

    I agree with the bit about not being able to hold down the reset button for more than three seconds. It's pretty much an industry standard and a way out of disaster if you need to stop the burner immediately.

    We all service burners in the poorer parts of town, and I been on service calls where there is NO service switch nearby and have been saved by being able to hold the reset button down while I figure out a way to kill power to the burner. I've also had a service switch that had failed and been bypassed by some ****

    HydronicMike
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 16,152

    it is also not unheard of for a toggle switch to break such that it is stuck on

    Robert_H
  • HydronicMike
    HydronicMike Member Posts: 306
    edited February 5

    I disagree. What did the lawyers 'take care of'? If there’s one thing lawyers almost always do, it’s to put in disclaimers for every possible scenario. No mention in what you posted about pump priming. Not only that, but those instructions aren’t sitting next to the control. A homeowner could easily go online and read how to get a control out of hard lockout, hold that button down and when the burner fires up, I think they reset it, when they actually put it in prime mode. And as I said in my first post, they hear the burner motor running think it’s “running” it’s just pumping oil into the chamber if it didn’t light.
    Also on practically every primary control, holding down the reset button for an extended period of time is how you get out of a hard lockout. So it’s not a real stretch that someone can accidentally & inadvertently put it in pump prime mode. On Beckett's putting it in pump prime mode takes an extra deliberate step.

  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 18,334

    I like the 7505 GeniSys precisely because you need the contractor tool to reprogram it. The others make it too easy for a homeowner who fancies himself a tech to make a mess. OK, contractor tools are not difficult to get if you know where to look, but having to buy one discourages those who don't want to spend the money.

    I also like the big red reset button on top that lights up if the burner locks out. This gets rid of the confusion when a customer calls with no heat.

    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • HVACNUT
    HVACNUT Member Posts: 7,340

    Carlin shouldn't be responsible for the homeowner being a ****. It takes 10 seconds to enter pump prime holding the button in. And if I'm there with a 70200, and I need to stop pump prime, I press the button once. I wonder how I know this. Could that also be in the manual? A smart 6 year old could replace a 70200 primary. Its Plug-n-Play. That doesn't mean they should.

  • HVACNUT
    HVACNUT Member Posts: 7,340

    @HeatingHelp.com , I see I got censored on the word "****". It was in my head because of an "Everybody Loves Raymond" episode I saw recently. As far as I remember, that was a prime time PG rated sitcom. Are we all supposed to act "Disney" rated G?

    MaxMercy
  • Robert_H
    Robert_H Member Posts: 275
    edited February 6

    YourYour quotes I don't know why but I'm finding that hilarious. I got censored in this same post. I thought my use of the word I used was appropriate but I had a career on submarines it's a good place to develop colorful language

    HVACNUT
  • EdTheHeaterMan
    EdTheHeaterMan Member Posts: 11,821
    edited February 5

    What is wrong with the old stand by RA117A? The only one better than that is the Mercoid Pyratherm model JMI. There was an adjustable safety timing . You just don't get any better than this!

    Screenshot 2026-02-05 at 9.27.19 AM.png

    Why did they ever stop making them!

    Edward Young Retired

    After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?

    MaxMercy
  • HydronicMike
    HydronicMike Member Posts: 306

    You're missing my point. But that's ok. I'm simply saying:
    -A simple change could prevent a disaster.
    -Homeowners touch their own equipment all the time. And with the help of forums like this, or youtube, they'll think they are fixing their own equipment. I'm sure its already happened.

    I talked to an engineer at the Carlin Booth at the last trade show in AC. In a carefully worded response they actually never considered that scenario, & like my idea. Whether they change it or not…who knows.
    I like their control very much. It was the best on the market. Beckett's is a little better, little safer.

    Please make a video of a 'smart 6 year old' replacing a primary.

  • MaxMercy
    MaxMercy Member Posts: 577

    The Carlin 70200.

    I bought the Beckett GeniSys 7505 when it came out along with the contractor tool and installed it on my own boiler at my workshop. The plan was that I liked it, I would transition the controls on my home boiler and any properties we owned with oil burners were going to keep. I finally got around to installing the Beckett during the summer shutdown at my shop and found out that when trying to use the contractor tool, the control would reset several times and lockout as soon as any function on the contractor tool was accessed. Useless.

    I contacted Beckett and they said it was a software conflict between the control and tool and they had a bulletin on it. By then, I no longer had the receipt so I was SOL for warranty, even though they admitted it was a factory defect. I replaced the 7505 with a 70200 and tossed the 7505 in a box (it still works as a control, it just can't be connected to the contractor tool).

    I still use AFGs when I need to replace an oil burner, but when updating any existing burner, I use the Carlin 70200. I've used about a dozen of them in the last few years and no trouble so far.

    EdTheHeaterManRobert_H
  • EdTheHeaterMan
    EdTheHeaterMan Member Posts: 11,821

    I guess I like the Carlin 70200 a little better than the adjustable safety timing of the Mercoid JMI Pyratherm. There have been more that one occasion where the diagnostics have helped me find something wrong with a burner that was intermittent, just by scrolling thru the past fault messages stored in that control. I like it better than the Beckett and Honeywell/Resideo

    But somehow I still am amazed by those tilting mercury switch relay contacts in the Mercoid. It kind of reminds you of a pinball machine flipper, and the little spark inside the glass tube making the connections. Todays technicians will never experience that joy of watching the mechanical pieces flip and flop to make the world a safer place for us all.

    Edward Young Retired

    After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?

    SuperTechMaxMercyRobert_H
  • Big Ed_4
    Big Ed_4 Member Posts: 3,442
    edited February 5

    It was a rule on the job site anyone that trips the Mercoid on the way out buys the first round :) All I can remember it took a long time to reset ..

    There was an error rendering this rich post.

    Robert_H
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 16,152

    did dwyer keep that model when they acquired mercoid :)

  • Big Ed_4
    Big Ed_4 Member Posts: 3,442

    The R117 took over out in the field, and there were a few versions ..

    There was an error rendering this rich post.

  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 18,334
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • Big Ed_4
    Big Ed_4 Member Posts: 3,442

    I still have a R117 in my truck .. Just incase :)

    There was an error rendering this rich post.