woodsmaster said:
NYEDGE said:
Chris S said:
NY Edge, Those are 240 v , how did you control them? Did you use the external off control?
I used a RIB relay 2401D.
The Vigas controls the pump by sending 110v to the relay, the relay has a 220v line coming in that is then switched to the pump.
I have the second pump at the oil boiler side that is controlled by the same type of relay and it gets it signal from a Ranco ETC-211000-000
The pumps work great and the electrical savings will make up for their cost in no time.
When you say they will pay for themselves in no time, how long do you suspect no time is ?
Here's a real life example from a job we did this summer. These circs are far larger than what you would see in a residential setting but the ratio of energy savings has been proved to pretty much the same across the board.
We replaced a 3HP Taco running a zone in a school with a Wilo 1.5x3-40 (1.5"flange, head 3-40') This zone was constant circ running basically 24-7 from mid September through May. The Taco pulled 17.5 amps @230V. The Wilo draws 2.1 amps at the same voltage. Almost an 8X decrease in electricity.
Now here's the other thing that it allowed us to do and this is just as significant to the system as the electrical savings. The Taco ran that zone with a nearly imperceptible temp drop from supply to return. On really cold days I could measure 5-7 degrees max difference. Not what you would design for and especially if you were running the system with modulating/condensing boilers, which is what we changed it to. We dialed the Wilo down, then down again, and again until I was seeing a 20* drop across that zone. Far better for boiler efficiency not only in a mod/con boiler but even in a wood boiler. The building super told me last week during our arctic blast that the zone heated better than it ever has. Temps were very even room to room and they all heated together for the first time in 22 years since that addition to the school was constructed.
What does that mean for us wood burners? Lot's of things. Creating the right Delta T supply to return will make your wood boiler more efficient too When it has a nice 20 degree drop to chew on your stack temps will go down and overall efficiency will go up because of the greater temp diff between the fire and water side of the boiler.
20* doesn't seem like much but when you multiply it by the surface area of your heat exchanger it adds up.
Also let's suppose you have a heat exchanger in the system. You can do the same there too. Just dial the Wilo up or down to acheive your desired temp split. That can be that 5* or 30*, whatever your system works best at.
Or lets say you have a system with 6 zones operated with zone valves. The pump will always "look" for the pressure differential you have dialed in to it. that means whether 1 zone is open or all 6 are calling, you will always have the same flow going through you loops or baseboard. There is where you can pick up that nice 20 or even 30* delta T and let your boiler work the way it should. You'll find that once you start approaching your system from a Delta T standpoint, the required pumping power goes way way down. Nearly every system I look at has way to much HP on it, with the exception of the dreaded 300' runs of 1" pex tubing. Nothing can help those except a backhoe.
Using the interface modules available, you can set up a Wilo Stratos to run based on pressure differential, outdoor temp, supply/return temp, time, or even with a 0-10vdc or a LON building management system. They are extremely versatile and have about 3 times the starting torque of a standard wet rotor circ also.