HVAC people, BOILER question . Baseboards are not keeping up with the cold outside.

[IHateMyJob2004]

UPDATE 1:I adjsuted the boiler settings. Sleta is at about 12. Increased the LOW setting. It works exaclty as NascarFool described. I think it was a Honeywell control.

EIDT: Boiler was furnace.

In short. i have a newly installed furnace. Installed 2003. I have baseboard heat. it's 8 degrees out. My home is at 63 even though I want it at 68. What can I do to the BOILER to improve my situation?

Oh, the baseboards themselves arn't hot like they were at one time. More of a very warm type feal. It's almost as though the heat isn't getting to the baseboards. The piping is almost entirely insulated in non-heated areas of the basement (has the styrofoam stuff around it).

I don't have a manual, but it doesnt look like rocket science.

3 settings.
HI
LOW
DELTA

I am assuming Hi is wherh the furnace turns off. Currently at 190-200.
I'm assuming LOW is where the furnace turns on. Currently at 160.

Delta is my question. It looks like it's a range of minutes (5-15 I think). I have it set at around 10 right now. Is this the minimum amount of time that must pass before the furnace turns on?

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

anyone

 

[Spencer278]

Delta is either the amount of time it stays off or the amount of time it stays on. Try changing it and see.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

actually, dealt could also be the variance in temperature. For instance, if delta is 5, and the stat is set to 68, it will not kick on until the stat reads 63. This keeps the furnace from cycling on an off constantly to maintain a temp. I had a stat like this once.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
actually, dealt could also be the variance in temperature. For instance, if delta is 5, and the stat is set to 68, it will not kick on until the stat reads 63. This keeps the furnace from cycling on an off constantly to maintain a temp. I had a stat like this once.

That's an interesting thought. Hrmm.... I am referring to the controls on the actual furnace though.

 

[GasX]

As an aside, are your windows drafty?

 

[flamingelephant]

what kind of baseboards, what kind of furnace, what kind of themostat....

 

[richardycc]

you might want to lower the delta and up the stat to 70, so the lowest it will drop is 65degree. just a suggestion, I am not a hvac guy. you might wanna check out www.hvac-talk.com

 

[Pliablemoose]

Do you have a boiler type furnace that uses hot water to heat your home & the water is pumped to the baseboard type radiators?

The most common type of baseboards are the electric plug in resistance heaters.

 

[NascarFool]

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004


3 settings.
HI
LOW
DELTA

I am assuming Hi is wherh the furnace turns off. Currently at 190-200.
I'm assuming LOW is where the furnace turns on. Currently at 160.

Delta is my question. It looks like it's a range of minutes (5-15 I think). I have it set at around 10 right now. Is this the minimum amount of time that must pass before the furnace turns on?

You don't have a furnace, you have a boiler. HI = High limit cutoff - the burners will shut down between 190 and 200. Low= water temp maintained at 160. In Denver we maintain the water at 180. Delta= 5 to 15 difference of the low. At a 5º delta, the burners would come on at 155º (160-5). Turn the low setting to 180º and the Delta at 10. How many room thermostats do you have ? If more than one, it is a zoned system. Does the control with HI, LOW and DELTA have a name brand on it ?

 

[flamingelephant]

a boiler and a furnace are completely different things...... please learn ot differentiate and repost with what you have

 

[Kelemvor]

WHy not call whoever installed it for you and ask them why it isn't working? Should have mre than a 1 year warranty....

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
Do you have a boiler type furnace that uses hot water to heat your home & the water is pumped to the baseboard type radiators?

The most common type of baseboards are the electric plug in resistance heaters.

I have a furnace/boiler and I have hot water baseboard heaters. All the thermostats do is turn the flow of water to the baseboards on and off. The furnace's job is to be hot. It just seems as though it's not hot enough.

 

[flamingelephant]

it if was installed in 2003 and its not hot enough, then call the people who installed it and have them come take a look at it. There is probably some kind of warranty, no?

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: NascarFool

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004


3 settings.
HI
LOW
DELTA

I am assuming Hi is wherh the furnace turns off. Currently at 190-200.
I'm assuming LOW is where the furnace turns on. Currently at 160.

Delta is my question. It looks like it's a range of minutes (5-15 I think). I have it set at around 10 right now. Is this the minimum amount of time that must pass before the furnace turns on?

You don't have a furnace, you have a boiler. HI = High limit cutoff - the burners will shut down between 190 and 200. Low= water temp maintained at 160. In Denver we maintain the water at 180. Delta= 5 to 15 difference of the low. At a 5º delta, the burners would come on at 155º (160-5). Turn the low setting to 180º and the Delta at 10. How many room thermostats do you have ? If more than one, it is a zoned system. Does the control with HI, LOW and DELTA have a name brand on it ?

AWESOME RESPONSE! First thing is first. It is a zoned system. 6 zones total. Person before me must have been a plummer Each bedroom has a zone (3). Full bath upstairs (1). living room/kitchen/breakfast nook (1). Finished basement (1).

Your explanation of DELTA and LOW make perfect sense as to why the baseboards seem to only be warm most of the time.

I have a question about LOW. You say the temp is maintained at 160. What does that mean. If it gets to 155, it goes to 190, correct? Or does it just stay in the 155-160 range unless there is demand, such as someone turing on a hot water faucet. or the heating system requests hot water. At that point, it will build to 190?

When I get home, I'll readjust things to the settings you mentioned and let you know how things went.

Thanks to all! is indeed a BOILER, not a furnace

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: flamingelephant
it if was installed in 2003 and its not hot enough, then call the people who installed it and have them come take a look at it. There is probably some kind of warranty, no?

Boiler works fine. jsut not maintaining hte temp correctly. The control system just needs some adjusting as NASCAR mentioned.

 

[flamingelephant]

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004

Originally posted by: flamingelephant
it if was installed in 2003 and its not hot enough, then call the people who installed it and have them come take a look at it. There is probably some kind of warranty, no?

Boiler works fine. jsut not maintaining hte temp correctly. The control system just needs some adjusting as NASCAR mentioned.

the control system is part of the boiler, no? either way you call the people who worked on it

 

[Armitage]

Another thing to consider is air in the system. It may need to be bled or the scaveging valve (sp?) may be bad. If you get air in there, the furnace can be plenty hot, but the water can't circulate right. I suspect a symptom of this would be that the burner isn't lit, because the boiler temp is hot enough, but the pump runs alot/constantly trying, unsuccesfully, to pump the hot water to the cold zones.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: flamingelephant

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004

Originally posted by: flamingelephant
it if was installed in 2003 and its not hot enough, then call the people who installed it and have them come take a look at it. There is probably some kind of warranty, no?

Boiler works fine. jsut not maintaining hte temp correctly. The control system just needs some adjusting as NASCAR mentioned.

the control system is part of the boiler, no? either way you call the people who worked on it

Even if calling someone is free, I'd still have to wait. Adjusting it is quite easy. Just unscrew protective panel and adjust settings with screwdriver.

I'm also a DIYer so learnign how to set up a boiler is advantageous.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: Armitage
Another thing to consider is air in the system. It may need to be bled or the scaveging valve (sp?) may be bad. If you get air in there, the furnace can be plenty hot, but the water can't circulate right. I suspect a symptom of this would be that the burner isn't lit, because the boiler temp is hot enough, but the pump runs alot/constantly trying, unsuccesfully, to pump the hot water to the cold zones.

Good call on bleeding the valves. I'll do that as well. Water is circulating though. It jsut seems as though the water isn't getting up to temp like it should be. Even the shower occasionally gives cold water.

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004

Originally posted by: Armitage
Another thing to consider is air in the system. It may need to be bled or the scaveging valve (sp?) may be bad. If you get air in there, the furnace can be plenty hot, but the water can't circulate right. I suspect a symptom of this would be that the burner isn't lit, because the boiler temp is hot enough, but the pump runs alot/constantly trying, unsuccesfully, to pump the hot water to the cold zones.

Good call on bleeding the valves. I'll do that as well. Water is circulating though. It jsut seems as though the water isn't getting up to temp like it should be. Even the shower occasionally gives cold water.

Is your hot water heater internal to the boiler, or is it a secondary unit where it basically runs as another zone off the water heater? I have one of the later - well, I will when I get around to finishing my addition. It's basically a big tank with a coil of pipe in it that the boiler pumps hot water through. If you have this, then air in the lines will affect it just like the rest of the system.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: Armitage

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004

Originally posted by: Armitage
Another thing to consider is air in the system. It may need to be bled or the scaveging valve (sp?) may be bad. If you get air in there, the furnace can be plenty hot, but the water can't circulate right. I suspect a symptom of this would be that the burner isn't lit, because the boiler temp is hot enough, but the pump runs alot/constantly trying, unsuccesfully, to pump the hot water to the cold zones.

Good call on bleeding the valves. I'll do that as well. Water is circulating though. It jsut seems as though the water isn't getting up to temp like it should be. Even the shower occasionally gives cold water.

Is your hot water heater internal to the boiler, or is it a secondary unit where it basically runs as another zone off the water heater? I have one of the later - well, I will when I get around to finishing my addition. It's basically a big tank with a coil of pipe in it that the boiler pumps hot water through. If you have this, then air in the lines will affect it just like the rest of the system.

The boiler does al lof the heat exchanging internally. It does the heating of the drinking water and it heats the water for the baseboard heaters.

 

[NascarFool]

You might have air in the heat zones. Air will stop the water flow completely in a zone. As for the temperature settings, a residential boiler system only heats up when a thermostat calls for heat. A commercial boiler stays at 180º at all times. As for the temperature control (aquastat), a boiler normally has two temperature controls. The first setting would control the temperature of the boiler (normally 180ºF), the High limit (normally set at 200ºF) is used to shut the 24v gas valve off in the event that the 180º setting fails to shut the gas valve off. Each zone thermostat will open the zone valve and the zone valves will fire the boiler up. The circulating pump will run when there is a call for heat from the thermostat and will remain on even after the boiler has reached 180ºF and the thermostat is still calling for heat. Any chance that you could post a picture showing the boiler, zone valves and pump ?

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: NascarFool
You might have air in the heat zones. Air will stop the water flow completely in a zone. As for the temperature settings, a residential boiler system only heats up when a thermostat calls for heat. A commercial boiler stays at 180º at all times. As for the temperature control (aquastat), a boiler normally has two temperature controls. The first setting would control the temperature of the boiler (normally 180ºF), the High limit (normally set at 200ºF) is used to shut the 24v gas valve off in the event that the 180º setting fails to shut the gas valve off. Each zone thermostat will open the zone valve and the zone valves will fire the boiler up. The circulating pump will run when there is a call for heat from the thermostat and will remain on even after the boiler has reached 180ºF and the thermostat is still calling for heat. Any chance that you could post a picture showing the boiler, zone valves and pump ?

If I stil have troubles later tonight, I will be back with pics, etc. Thanks for hte post. VERY informative.

 

[cavemanmoron]

wow you have 6 zones,t'stats!!

I have one thermostat,and use gate valves to control the heat to zones/loops.

I have one zone/loop for the 2nd floor,one for the first floor bathroom/laundry/kitchen,
one loop for the rest of the first floor,and another for some heat in the basement.

When its below about 10f outside,like today {0f}
my furnace/boiler is working extra time to keep the house at 67/68f.

I know I need to add More insulation,and have some more New insulated windows on order.

I have replaced 8 of 10 windows in the living space on the first floor,and have the other 2 coming,
and have 5 of 7 on order for the 2nd floor.


Plastic over the windows will help for a bad cold freeze,for short term use.