Check yer pumps...

[maple1]

Almost added this to the Y strainer thread. But add this to the pre-season check list, if you shut down for the summer.

I decided to light the first fire last night & start getting my storage up to temp, since we're in a few wet cool & windy days here. Chill was starting to set into the house. Last year I burned all summer, but didn't this summer. So this summer was the first time my system went cold for a couple years or so. I also had my system open a month or so ago to swap my 110 gallon LP expansion tank out for a B&G bladder tank, so wanted to make sure there were no bugs before winter actually gets here

Anyway, did some bleeding & checking of pressures & fired up & all seemed well. But then after a bit I noticed the indicator light I had wired in to show when the boiler was calling for the loading unit (LK810) to run was on, but I couldn't hear the pump running. Boiler inlet temp was way below 140 (storage was 65). It's a 15-58 pump body and always on low speed. I tried switching to high speed but no go. So long story short, I had to get the endcap off the pump & manually free it with a screwdriver. It was stuck. Took me a while to do that too, in a tight place to get at and the slot thing you had to turn isn't exactly a nice screwdriver slot. Also had some uncertainty over the internal 810 isolation valve thingies - water squirted out the nibs while I was turning them. They didn't seem to leak any more after I got things running & the valves back open, but I don't think I'll use those again - not sure if that's typical of them or not.

Sounds like a sticking pump isn't uncommon in a 15-58, by reading the manual for it, but it's a first experience for me. The Alpha system pump worked fine - except for the air that locked a couple of my zones up from the tank swapping. Something to watch for at start of burn now, and maybe kind of lucky I was right there watching things.

 

[Fred61]

This is my biggest concern this time of the year. Is everything going to work? Starting late when I actually need the heat is not a good time to find malfunctions in the system. I still haven't fired up. Due to the temperature stability of my little shack, If the house temp is about 70F when I hit the sack at night it usually is no colder than 68F when I rise in the morning as long as the outside temp stays above 30F. It was cloudy and cool yesterday so last night I brought the indoor temp up to 70F from 68Fwith my mini split and then shut it down. Only took a few minutes. It was still 68 this morning. First heat this year. We usually get enough solar gain to keep the indoor temp at 70 or above.
Of course we had a extra body in the house which produced another 75 watts of heat. Emma the Chocolate Lab was here for a sleep over.

 

[Bob Rohr]

Almost added this to the Y strainer thread. But add this to the pre-season check list, if you shut down for the summer.

I decided to light the first fire last night & start getting my storage up to temp, since we're in a few wet cool & windy days here. Chill was starting to set into the house. Last year I burned all summer, but didn't this summer. So this summer was the first time my system went cold for a couple years or so. I also had my system open a month or so ago to swap my 110 gallon LP expansion tank out for a B&G bladder tank, so wanted to make sure there were no bugs before winter actually gets here

Anyway, did some bleeding & checking of pressures & fired up & all seemed well. But then after a bit I noticed the indicator light I had wired in to show when the boiler was calling for the loading unit (LK810) to run was on, but I couldn't hear the pump running. Boiler inlet temp was way below 140 (storage was 65). It's a 15-58 pump body and always on low speed. I tried switching to high speed but no go. So long story short, I had to get the endcap off the pump & manually free it with a screwdriver. It was stuck. Took me a while to do that too, in a tight place to get at and the slot thing you had to turn isn't exactly a nice screwdriver slot. Also had some uncertainty over the internal 810 isolation valve thingies - water squirted out the nibs while I was turning them. They didn't seem to leak any more after I got things running & the valves back open, but I don't think I'll use those again - not sure if that's typical of them or not.

Sounds like a sticking pump isn't uncommon in a 15-58, by reading the manual for it, but it's a first experience for me. The Alpha system pump worked fine - except for the air that locked a couple of my zones up from the tank swapping. Something to watch for at start of burn now, and maybe kind of lucky I was right there watching things.

Most of the relay boards or boxes have pump exercises functions. They run the pump for 1 minute if there has not been a heat call within 72 hours, for example. A good way to keep circ pumps healthy and ready to go after a summer off.

 

[maple1]

Most of the relay boards or boxes have pump exercises functions. They run the pump for 1 minute if there has not been a heat call within 72 hours, for example. A good way to keep circ pumps healthy and ready to go after a summer off.

What boards & boxes would those be?

 

[warno]

What boards & boxes would those be?

I'm also curious about this.

 

[rkusek]

I think he was talking about something like your loading valve. Did you have power to it over the summer?

 

[rkusek]

loading unit not loading valve. Probably true on commercial setups too. I wonder if No fossil has some logic for that in his control system.

 

[maple1]

Loading unit doesn't have power to it unless the boiler stat or exhaust temp stat gets hot enough to call for it. So no power to it when cold all summer.

 

[Bob Rohr]

Most of the relay boards or boxes have pump exercises functions. They run the pump for 1 minute if there has not been a heat call within 72 hours, for example. A good way to keep circ pumps healthy and ready to go after a summer off.

The Caleffi switching relays have a bunch of handy features like exercise and post purge. If you wire any pump through this box, it allows you to apply this logic. Right now 3 pump is as small as we go.

You could wire the loading pump and any other system pumps through this.

 

[BoilerMan]

Most if not all Tekmar controls also have a pump exercise feature built in also. Some Taco controls as well (Taco reset controllers are rebranded Takmar). In my personal system I have a manual switch which overrides controls and relays which power circulators. This is twofold, a test/exercise switch and if controls crap out I can give any and all pumps power for emergency system operation.
TS

 

[woodsmaster]

I burn all year but my shop calculator never gets used in the summer. I try to remember to turn it on a few times during the summer so it don't freeze up.

 

[BoilerBob]

Almost added this to the Y strainer thread. But add this to the pre-season check list, if you shut down for the summer.

I decided to light the first fire last night & start getting my storage up to temp, since we're in a few wet cool & windy days here. Chill was starting to set into the house. Last year I burned all summer, but didn't this summer. So this summer was the first time my system went cold for a couple years or so. I also had my system open a month or so ago to swap my 110 gallon LP expansion tank out for a B&G bladder tank, so wanted to make sure there were no bugs before winter actually gets here

Anyway, did some bleeding & checking of pressures & fired up & all seemed well. But then after a bit I noticed the indicator light I had wired in to show when the boiler was calling for the loading unit (LK810) to run was on, but I couldn't hear the pump running. Boiler inlet temp was way below 140 (storage was 65). It's a 15-58 pump body and always on low speed. I tried switching to high speed but no go. So long story short, I had to get the endcap off the pump & manually free it with a screwdriver. It was stuck. Took me a while to do that too, in a tight place to get at and the slot thing you had to turn isn't exactly a nice screwdriver slot. Also had some uncertainty over the internal 810 isolation valve thingies - water squirted out the nibs while I was turning them. They didn't seem to leak any more after I got things running & the valves back open, but I don't think I'll use those again - not sure if that's typical of them or not.

Sounds like a sticking pump isn't uncommon in a 15-58, by reading the manual for it, but it's a first experience for me. The Alpha system pump worked fine - except for the air that locked a couple of my zones up from the tank swapping. Something to watch for at start of burn now, and maybe kind of lucky I was right there watching things.

Saturday I decided to light the first fire of the season. I like to do it when I can keep an eye on things to make sure everything works.
Well I had read this thread before Saturday, so it was in the back of my mind. (will the circs work or not ???).
Cleaned the chimmney and pipe, checked everything in boiler, put switch on for thermostats, got wood and lit her up. When the temp got up to 150ish, yelled up at the missus to turn up the thermostat till it clicked on. I thought that's funny, I usually hear it click on, as I was next to it in the basement. Oh well I'm getting deaf like they tell me.
Then I noticed pipes were only hot about 10 ft past the circulator, Darn I must have air in the system. got the screwdriver, rag and container to catch water and started bleeding rads. NO LUCK. Frig this go back down and take the plug out from under the flow check to get lots of water through the system. NO LUCK. Started to look at the circulator and wonder, are you really turning? It was hot to the touch and small vibration. Better check to see if power was going to it. Went to garage to get my voltage meter, dead battery. No problem got spare batteries, took cover off unhooked 9v battery, DARN, connector came off wire, was stuck to terminal. Rigged up pig tail with light bulb and started checking for power. Had no power from circulator or transformer right up to a switch that I forgot to TURN ON. I had turned on the switch to upstairs instead of the main floor. Good news, circulator was not stuck.
The vibration was from primary circulator.

 

[BoilerMan]

Its funny how we all (myself included) forget the little things when we get a few months off. I thought one of my radiant loops was frozen in the garage when in fact the thermostat was satisfied at 45. I had been gone on a trip for two weeks in january. Was heating the house with electricity and not using the radiant as I had not piped in my oil boiler at that point.

TS

 

[Woodfarmer1]

Yep, cleaned boiler, checked water, ran pumps inside the house, plugged in boiler pump and......nothing. glad I didn't light a fire today, I'll have to unstuck the pump tomorrow.

 

[JP11]

I too lit up after my first whole summer off. Boy, it was nice letting that HPHW run this summer on solar power. A few soft bangs and gurgles, and it seems to be fine. About all I had to do was let off a bit of excess boiler water.

JP