EKO 40 circulator - hook to controller or always powered?

[markpee]

I'm substantially through the installation process of my 40. Unfortunatley, the (new) manual is only slightly more detailed than the old one. Originally, I tought I would have the circulator (Taco .0010) always powered thus keeping flow through the system constantly (EKO in outside shed plumbed to oil unit in basement - about 100' away). I keep referring to the manual which talks about hooking the circulator to the RK2001UA controler. Should I do this? What have others done?

ALso, why does the manual show an aquastat (L4006B) hooked to the "out" flow of the boiler? What is that controling? So far I've plumbed without this stat as I see no need for it.

I have a bunch of pictures, which include the construction of my wood boiler shed with 10 cords or storage which I will post soon.

Thanks in advance for all the advice!

 

[deerefanatic]

Well, if you're worried about your underground lines freezing, then that might be a good idea to let that pump run 24/7... Unfortunately, a 0010 draws considerable juice, so that's not the best route long-term.

As for that output aquastat, I don't know what it's for on an EKO, but I know I'm putting one on my prototype for a hard limit control for the draft fans as I had a little problem with my electronic fan controller and it sent boiler temps to about 230F!! (Slight boiling problem..... Thank goodness for pressure relief valves...) This way, if the electronics go haywire again, the aquastat will kill the power to my fan itself........

The only thing is, if you leave the 0010 running all the time so that the EKO can't shut it off, then you need to figure out a way to keep your loads from drawing off the stove until it's warmed up as normally the controller keeps the pump off until it's warmed up I believe.... But I'm no expert on that.....

 

[Donl]

I connected the pump to the EKO controller. That way The pump will turn on when the boiler is up to temperature (65C) and turn off when the boiler starts to cool (60C). I also connected a couple of aquastats to the boiler loop. One controls power to the system. I set it to shut off all power at about 200 F. (fail safe) The power will also be removed from a normally open valve that will allow gravity feed from a 50 gallon reservoir that should help things cool down. The other aquastat is set to about 195 F. When it activates it will create a demand for heat in one of the zones thus bringing the temperature from the boiler down.

Don

 

[stee6043]

I will be hooking my main circ to the EKO controller. I've also purhcased a $20 digital timer from Amazon.com. This way I can let the EKO decide when to start the pump but I can also have the timer shut everything off after the wood is done burning and storage is up to temp. This is until I have the money to pick up a differential controller from Tekmar....

 

[hkobus]

Hi Don,

I did hooked mine up to the controller, but not sure if I will continue this practice when I have the storage. My main concern is that the probe on the ECO is very slow and does not stop the pump on time to reduce the cool-down. It lays on the top of the boiler under the insulation. I have tried some different locations but it does not seem to make a lot of difference. With the return coming in at the bottom, it takes to long for it to sense the change and then drops to far after the pump is turned off, making the off time longer than needed.
I think when I redo the system I will control it with aquastats or the PLC I am thinking about. ( or the Nofossil control system...)

Henk.

 

[Donl]

Hi Don,

I did hooked mine up to the controller, but not sure if I will continue this practice when I have the storage. My main concern is that the probe on the ECO is very slow and does not stop the pump on time to reduce the cool-down. It lays on the top of the boiler under the insulation. I have tried some different locations but it does not seem to make a lot of difference. With the return coming in at the bottom, it takes to long for it to sense the change and then drops to far after the pump is turned off, making the off time longer than needed.
I think when I redo the system I will control it with aquastats or the PLC I am thinking about. ( or the Nofossil control system...)

Henk.

Henk, I understand and agree with what you are saying. I will eventually control all aspects of the system via some form of control setup. That will be my project for this winter and probably many winters to come.

Don

 

[sdrobertson]

The more I'm burning my eko with a separate Siemens's controller and Siemens's actuator connected to a 2-way valve the more I'm relying on this to control my circulator using the eko controller for the boiler. I moved the eko sensor into the insulation so it reads a lower temp and I let the 2 way valve control outgoing temps. Its a tricky balance as you have to let the eko sensor read over 60 Celsius or else it shuts off the circulator but I want the water to be around 180 degrees out of the stove and I have a old style controller that limits it to 80 Celsius. I leave the 2-way valve open just a little bit so that I have a little bit of flow over my sensor for the Siemens's controller so it knows when to open and close the 2-way valve so the only problem I see is how long the pump will last with very little water flow until the boiler gets everything warm enough to open up. When I'm running out of fuel the 2-way valve closes because my outgoing boiler temp falls under 180 degrees and when the boiler cools down the eko circulator shuts off.

 

[markpee]

Okay -so forgive me for asking a dumb question - how do you get to the back of the controller and what do you hook the circulator to? Again, the manual is not very clear.

 

[Donl]

Okay -so forgive me for asking a dumb question - how do you get to the back of the controller and what do you hook the circulator to? Again, the manual is not very clear.

Controller is only friction fit. Just pull it out. With power off remove screw that holds plastic cover. You will see three empty connectors for the pump.

Don

 

[Tony H]

I am planning to connect mine to the controller (old one) but I think I will add a switch of some sort so I can set the pump to run all the time say if it's cold and I will be out of town just to reduce the chance of freezing.
The thinking is the gas furnace the coil is in will be running to keep the house at 55 or higher and if the pump runs the water will be warmed some by flowing thru the furnace.
As Don said the controller slides right of and if you pop off the main cover you can drop the wire right down the side of the boiler.

 

[markpee]

Okay - so allow me to profess my ignorance once again. Obviously the controller gets connected to the "controller" symbol on the back of the RK2001. I assume the ground goes to the ground on the circulator. What does "N" and "L" stand for? There is a yellow and red wire coming from the circulator - which goes where? Also, screws labeled 1 through 4 have nothing on them. ONe says "option" the other has a picture of a house and thermostat - what can I do with these?

Thanks again for everyones advice!

 

[Donl]

Okay - so allow me to profess my ignorance once again. Obviously the controller gets connected to the "controller" symbol on the back of the RK2001. I assume the ground goes to the ground on the circulator. What does "N" and "L" stand for? There is a yellow and red wire coming from the circulator - which goes where? Also, screws labeled 1 through 4 have nothing on them. ONe says "option" the other has a picture of a house and thermostat - what can I do with these?

Thanks again for everyones advice!

N is for Neutral and L is for the Hot lead. You will need to find out which (Yellow or Red) is neutral and Hot your pump,

2 and 3 should be shorted unless you use that to connect a thermostat. 4 and 5 is where the temperature sensor is connected.

 

[markpee]

Okay - so allow me to profess my ignorance once again. Obviously the controller gets connected to the "controller" symbol on the back of the RK2001. I assume the ground goes to the ground on the circulator. What does "N" and "L" stand for? There is a yellow and red wire coming from the circulator - which goes where? Also, screws labeled 1 through 4 have nothing on them. ONe says "option" the other has a picture of a house and thermostat - what can I do with these?

Thanks again for everyones advice!

N is for Neutral and L is for the Hot lead. You will need to find out which (Yellow or Red) is neutral and Hot your pump,

2 and 3 should be shorted unless you use that to connect a thermostat. 4 and 5 is where the temperature sensor is connected.

Don - are you sure 3 and 4 shouldn't be shorted - as they seem to go together. What happens if they're not shorted, does the unit not work? I find it interesting that there is no mention of this anywhere in the manual, though it does not surprise me.

 

[markpee]

Okay - so allow me to profess my ignorance once again. Obviously the controller gets connected to the "controller" symbol on the back of the RK2001. I assume the ground goes to the ground on the circulator. What does "N" and "L" stand for? There is a yellow and red wire coming from the circulator - which goes where? Also, screws labeled 1 through 4 have nothing on them. ONe says "option" the other has a picture of a house and thermostat - what can I do with these?

Thanks again for everyones advice!

N is for Neutral and L is for the Hot lead. You will need to find out which (Yellow or Red) is neutral and Hot your pump,

2 and 3 should be shorted unless you use that to connect a thermostat. 4 and 5 is where the temperature sensor is connected.

Don - are you sure 3 and 4 shouldn't be shorted - as they seem to go together. What happens if they're not shorted, does the unit not work? I find it interesting that there is no mention of this anywhere in the manual, though it does not surprise me.

To clarify - on my controler, 5 and 6 have wires on them already.

 

[Donl]

Okay - so allow me to profess my ignorance once again. Obviously the controller gets connected to the "controller" symbol on the back of the RK2001. I assume the ground goes to the ground on the circulator. What does "N" and "L" stand for? There is a yellow and red wire coming from the circulator - which goes where? Also, screws labeled 1 through 4 have nothing on them. ONe says "option" the other has a picture of a house and thermostat - what can I do with these?

Thanks again for everyones advice!

N is for Neutral and L is for the Hot lead. You will need to find out which (Yellow or Red) is neutral and Hot your pump,

2 and 3 should be shorted unless you use that to connect a thermostat. 4 and 5 is where the temperature sensor is connected.

Don - are you sure 3 and 4 shouldn't be shorted - as they seem to go together. What happens if they're not shorted, does the unit not work? I find it interesting that there is no mention of this anywhere in the manual, though it does not surprise me.

To clarify - on my controler, 5 and 6 have wires on them already.

I Thought you were referring to the RK2001 controller. You must be referring to the RK2001UA. Maybe someone with that controller can chime in here.

Don

 

[markpee]

You are correct - RK2001UA

 

[Tony H]

The connections are the same for both. The terminal strip 1-6 is usedx for external relay / thermo / water temp and 5/6 goes to a temp bulb on top of the firebox.
After you take the cover off the other strip you will see the center terminal is open for the pump , using north american color code black is load white is neutral and green ground and should be marked the same on the pump. Pege 10 in the new controller manual shows the connections.