Thermguard in boiler room?

[jumpink]

I bought Thermguard to prevent my my pipes from freezing again. Can I install the unit in my boiler room instead of on the thermostat? I would think that it would work on the other end just the same, is there something special that needs to be done?

 

[imacman]

As far as I know, as long as you connect to the same 2 wires that go to the stat, it will work the same.

 

[Don2222]

Hello

Yes, It just depends on your setup.

If you have separate circulators for each zone then just connected to the pony relay where the thermostat is connected for the zone you desire.

If you have zone valves then connected it right to the zone valve for the zone you desire.

That's all!

 

[bridgerman]

I bought Thermguard to prevent my my pipes from freezing again. Can I install the unit in my boiler room instead of on the thermostat? I would think that it would work on the other end just the same, is there something special that needs to be done?

Hi Kevin,

Just find where the thermostat wires come into the boiler room, should be white and red. Connect ThermGuard across those wires. Connecting across the zone valve is not the correct thing to do. ThermGuard needs the thermostat wires. You can email me or call Bear Mountain Design (four zero six) 587-2478. I'd be glad to help.

Cheers,
John

 

[jumpink]

John,

I did exactly that and it works! Thank you for the great product and equally great service.

Kevin

 

[bridgerman]

John,

I did exactly that and it works! Thank you for the great product and equally great service.

Kevin

You made it work, Kevin...I'm just a lurker

Good job!

 

[Don2222]

I bought Thermguard to prevent my my pipes from freezing again. Can I install the unit in my boiler room instead of on the thermostat? I would think that it would work on the other end just the same, is there something special that needs to be done?

Hi Kevin,

Just find where the thermostat wires come into the boiler room, should be white and red. Connect ThermGuard across those wires. Connecting across the zone valve is not the correct thing to do. ThermGuard needs the thermostat wires. You can email me or call Bear Mountain Design (four zero six) 587-2478. I'd be glad to help.

Cheers,
John

Hi John
Honeywell V4044 and other Zone Valves connect direct to a Thermostat like the diagram below.

If you know something different please tell us?

 

[jumpink]

John,

The ThermGuard is set for 30 min intervals and 5 minute duration. Is this in your opinion the optimal time frame? I would prefer to have it come on every hour for 5 minutes. Would this setting still prevent the pipes from freezing?

Thanks,
Kevin

 

[bridgerman]

I bought Thermguard to prevent my my pipes from freezing again. Can I install the unit in my boiler room instead of on the thermostat? I would think that it would work on the other end just the same, is there something special that needs to be done?

Hi Kevin,

Just find where the thermostat wires come into the boiler room, should be white and red. Connect ThermGuard across those wires. Connecting across the zone valve is not the correct thing to do. ThermGuard needs the thermostat wires. You can email me or call Bear Mountain Design (four zero six) 587-2478. I'd be glad to help.

Cheers,
John

Hi John
Honeywell V4044 and other Zone Valves connect direct to a Thermostat like the diagram below.

If you know something different please tell us?

Hi Don,

I have attached a picture of the connections. Basically, ThermGuard needs the red wire from the 24VAC transformer and the white wire going to the zone valve, I think in your drawing it is shown as a red wire. Since ThermGuard uses no batteries and requires no plug in power, it cannot connect across the zone valve directly. ThermGuard acts as the switch in the thermostat and needs to be connected across the thermostat wires, typically red and white. It is usually no big deal to find these wires in the boiler room.

I hope that helps. Thanks for your question and the drawing.

Cheers,
John

 

[bridgerman]

John,

The ThermGuard is set for 30 min intervals and 5 minute duration. Is this in your opinion the optimal time frame? I would prefer to have it come on every hour for 5 minutes. Would this setting still prevent the pipes from freezing?

Thanks,
Kevin

Hi Kevin,

That 5 minute every half hour is for folks that connect the ThermGuard to their HVAC systems to use their blower fans to move the warm air around their homes using their duct system. In my boiler heated home, I have my ThermGuards set to 5 minutes every two hours. I have had no problems in Montana with temps down to -30 with the wind blowing. That being said, every house is different. It depends on how exposed your pipes are to the cold air. Conservatively, 5 minutes every hour sounds good. I definitely would not leave ThermGuard on the blower default setting for boiler systems.

Cheers,
John

 

[mikeasmel]

Just a testimonial to Thermguard....

Very happy that I have it. At first it didn't have the correct current for my Argo thermostat, but I sent it back to Bear Mountain Design, they adjusted it, resent it back and walked me through the simple installation and set up for my system by phone and now it works. Fingers crossed that it does what it's supposed to and prevents my pipes from freezing like they did last winter.

Thanks Thermguard!

Michael
Westchester, NY

 

[imacman]

John,

The ThermGuard is set for 30 min intervals and 5 minute duration. Is this in your opinion the optimal time frame? I would prefer to have it come on every hour for 5 minutes. Would this setting still prevent the pipes from freezing?

Thanks,
Kevin

Kevin,

I bought my ThermGuard 2 years ago due to a hot water heat pipe that was sent through the un-heated attic of my home, for the second floor heat....those rooms don't get used much, and i have the stat set at 45.

I have my ThermGuard set to go on every 2 1/2 hrs., for 3 minutes, and have had NO problems keeping the pipe from freezing....even when it was 6 degrees out a few weeks ago.

 

[jumpink]

Imac,

That's good to know. I set it for 2 hrs for 5 min The less oil I burn, the happier I am.

 

[Glosta]

How many heat zones are you guys running on your forced hot water heating systems. I'm running 5 zones (4 heating zones + 1 prioirty zone for hot water tank) off an Argo 5 zone valve controller.

John from Bearmountain Design sent me the schmetic to run all 4 heating zones off one Thermogaurd. Basically, when the Thermgaurd is triggered all four heating zones are cycled at the same time. Just need to add a 24v transformer and a 24v four pole double throw relay.

 

[imacman]

Imac,

That's good to know. I set it for 2 hrs for 5 min The less oil I burn, the happier I am.

Your timing set-up will have the burner running for 60 minutes a day (12 cycles/day x 5 min. ea = 60 minutes run time/day)

My set-up uses less: 9.6 cycles/day x 3 minutes = 28.8 minutes run time/day (round off to 30 min/day)

But whatever makes you feel more at ease is the one to use.

 

[FordMastertech]

I got my ThermGuard rigged up over the past weekend. I mounted it to a small electronics box that has a 4PDT relay in it to turn on all 3 of my heating zones at the same time. I was able to grab 24 volts AC off the Taco zone controller to power the system. The last pole on the relay, Normally Closed, is used for the cold start boiler and it will run normally when the ThermGuard is not not cycling the circulators and there is a call for heat or indirect hot water. When the ThermGuard cycles the circulators the boiler will not fire unless the switch on the box is turned on and then the boiler will fire normally just like a call for heat or hot water. I have it off and just use the ThermGuard to circulate the water in the system every 2 hours for 5 minutes when the outside temps drop. There is a wall mounted thermostat to turn the system on when the concrete wall temps drop below 50 °F, it's got to get into the low to middle teens for the wall to get to 50 °F. The water flowing will keep the pipes from freezing and it wastes no heating oil by keeping the boiler off. The down side to my setup, when the switch is off and there is a heating/hot water call the boiler will not fire until the ThermGuard gets done with it's circulator cycle. I don't use the boiler much for heat so it will not be a problem for me and it's only for 5 minutes anyways. I will probably keep the switch in the off position until the outside temps get below the -10 °F.
The battery under the thermostat is my MT Vernon AE's 12 volt back up battery.

 

[bridgerman]

Here's to you FordMasterTech.

 

[FordMastertech]

Kool another certificate to hang on the wall.
Thanks John

 

[jumpink]

I got my ThermGuard rigged up over the past weekend. I mounted it to a small electronics box that has a 4PDT relay in it to turn on all 3 of my heating zones at the same time. I was able to grab 24 volts AC off the Taco zone controller to power the system. The last pole on the relay, Normally Closed, is used for the cold start boiler and it will run normally when the ThermGuard is not not cycling the circulators and there is a call for heat or indirect hot water. When the ThermGuard cycles the circulators the boiler will not fire unless the switch on the box is turned on and then the boiler will fire normally just like a call for heat or hot water. I have it off and just use the ThermGuard to circulate the water in the system every 2 hours for 5 minutes when the outside temps drop. There is a wall mounted thermostat to turn the system on when the concrete wall temps drop below 50 °F, it's got to get into the low to middle teens for the wall to get to 50 °F. The water flowing will keep the pipes from freezing and it wastes no heating oil by keeping the boiler off. The down side to my setup, when the switch is off and there is a heating/hot water call the boiler will not fire until the ThermGuard gets done with it's circulator cycle. I don't use the boiler much for heat so it will not be a problem for me and it's only for 5 minutes anyways. I will probably keep the switch in the off position until the outside temps get below the -10 °F.
The battery under the thermostat is my MT Vernon AE's 12 volt back up battery.

John,
That is an awesome setup! I have two zones and I would like to setup something like you have displayed in the picture. Can you give a material list and a brief description of the setup of the relay?

 

[bridgerman]

I got my ThermGuard rigged up over the past weekend. I mounted it to a small electronics box that has a 4PDT relay in it to turn on all 3 of my heating zones at the same time. I was able to grab 24 volts AC off the Taco zone controller to power the system. The last pole on the relay, Normally Closed, is used for the cold start boiler and it will run normally when the ThermGuard is not not cycling the circulators and there is a call for heat or indirect hot water. When the ThermGuard cycles the circulators the boiler will not fire unless the switch on the box is turned on and then the boiler will fire normally just like a call for heat or hot water. I have it off and just use the ThermGuard to circulate the water in the system every 2 hours for 5 minutes when the outside temps drop. There is a wall mounted thermostat to turn the system on when the concrete wall temps drop below 50 °F, it's got to get into the low to middle teens for the wall to get to 50 °F. The water flowing will keep the pipes from freezing and it wastes no heating oil by keeping the boiler off. The down side to my setup, when the switch is off and there is a heating/hot water call the boiler will not fire until the ThermGuard gets done with it's circulator cycle. I don't use the boiler much for heat so it will not be a problem for me and it's only for 5 minutes anyways. I will probably keep the switch in the off position until the outside temps get below the -10 °F.
The battery under the thermostat is my MT Vernon AE's 12 volt back up battery.

John,
That is an awesome setup! I have two zones and I would like to setup something like you have displayed in the picture. Can you give a material list and a brief description of the setup of the relay?

The photos above are from FordMasterTech, not Bear Mountain Design. He deserves the credit there! Here is a schematic with suggestions for the components. There may be a less expensive relay for two poles. I have listed a 4 pole.

 

[jumpink]

I got my ThermGuard rigged up over the past weekend. I mounted it to a small electronics box that has a 4PDT relay in it to turn on all 3 of my heating zones at the same time. I was able to grab 24 volts AC off the Taco zone controller to power the system. The last pole on the relay, Normally Closed, is used for the cold start boiler and it will run normally when the ThermGuard is not not cycling the circulators and there is a call for heat or indirect hot water. When the ThermGuard cycles the circulators the boiler will not fire unless the switch on the box is turned on and then the boiler will fire normally just like a call for heat or hot water. I have it off and just use the ThermGuard to circulate the water in the system every 2 hours for 5 minutes when the outside temps drop. There is a wall mounted thermostat to turn the system on when the concrete wall temps drop below 50 °F, it's got to get into the low to middle teens for the wall to get to 50 °F. The water flowing will keep the pipes from freezing and it wastes no heating oil by keeping the boiler off. The down side to my setup, when the switch is off and there is a heating/hot water call the boiler will not fire until the ThermGuard gets done with it's circulator cycle. I don't use the boiler much for heat so it will not be a problem for me and it's only for 5 minutes anyways. I will probably keep the switch in the off position until the outside temps get below the -10 °F.
The battery under the thermostat is my MT Vernon AE's 12 volt back up battery.

John,
That is an awesome setup! I have two zones and I would like to setup something like you have displayed in the picture. Can you give a material list and a brief description of the setup of the relay?

The photos above are from FordMasterTech, not Bear Mountain Design. He deserves the credit there! Here is a schematic with suggestions for the components. There may be a less expensive relay for two poles. I have listed a 4 pole.

Thanks John for the schematic and thanks Ford for the pics of your setup. How is the cold start achieved? I would rather burn no oil and just circulate the pumps every two hours.

 

[bridgerman]

[quote Thanks John for the schematic and thanks Ford for the pics of your setup. How is the cold start achieved? I would rather burn no oil and just circulate the pumps every two hours.[/quote]

FordMastertech will need to chime in there. I believe he used a "normally closed" contact on the relay to allow the signal to fire the boiler. When ThermGuard kicks in, the "normally closed" contact opens up and disrupts the signal to the igniter. That is what I would do. I am showing a schematic to do this. Don't forget, this doesn't warm the water so you are just counting on the moving water to not freeze. In this case, I would recommend cycling more often.

 

[jumpink]

To be on the cautious side I will have ThermGuard turn the boiler on as well.

I guess my questions is, can't I just run a set of wires from Thermguard to both thermostat wires to have it control both zones or do I need the relay and transformer as described in your diagram?

 

[bridgerman]

To be on the cautious side I will have ThermGuard turn the boiler on as well.

I guess my questions is, can't I just run a set of wires from Thermguard to both thermostat wires to have it control both zones or do I need the relay and transformer as described in your diagram?

Not really. That would tie both zones together and when one thermostat called for heat, both zones would come on. It would kinda defeat your multiple zone concept.

 

[jumpink]

I could not find a 2 pole relay at Digikey.com but the 4 pole that you have listed is $71.46
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/D...n&site=us&keywords=g7j-2a2b-b-ac24-nd&x=0&y=0