So I woke up to a $400 code on the boiler...

Clark1961

Clark1961

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Boiler supplies DHW through a "sidearm" tank. The circulator was running when I woke up. Got around to checking the code and it's about $400 for the indicated part.

Futzed around a bit to see what's really wrong and tested the pressure relief valve. It's stuck. Okay replace valve when CLR doesn't clean up the existing valve. $20. Inductor fan runs continuously at low speed with no voltage to power side which indicates short from sensor side. Boiler answers heat call and trouble code doesn't come back. Inductor fan shut down completely. Hmmmm. Maybeshould order part anyway to prevent cold days this winter...hmmmmm.
 
What is a boiler? Is this a home hvac device we are talking about?
 
I used to work on boilers/furnaces in the 60s-70s. Didn't have codes back then though. So the first indication was the code, and was it because you had no DHW?
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
What is a boiler? Is this a home hvac device we are talking about?
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No boilers in south Texas I'm sure.

A boiler supplies warmish water which can be circulated to heat a building or other object. Commonly they are used with radiators installed in various rooms in a home or office. On a large scale they can be used to supply heat to entire sections of a town or an industrial complex.

In my case it's an 80,000 btu natural gas fired unit. Nicely sized about 2' square and 1' deep, the unit hangs on a wall which is nice compared to the unit it replaced which was an ancient cast iron monster that occupied about 1/4 of the room. In addition to heating the house this unit also supplies domestic hot water in essentially unlimited quantities. It's sorta nice when working which is most of the time. I did all the design and installation work on the boiler about 10 years ago. It was a little bit of a stretch since I hadn't done a domestic installation previously. Overall it wasn't bad from a mechanical perspective but all the residential code stuff was new to me.
 
mscard88 said:
I used to work on boilers/furnaces in the 60s-70s. Didn't have codes back then though. So the first indication was the code, and was it because you had no DHW?
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The first indication was the circulator running continuously. Said, hmm that's odd. After the second cup of coffee I decided it was time to look at it. Had 40 gallons of hot water stored so no immediate worries there.
 
Ones I worked were for large buildings like barracks, office buildings etc, and the circulating pump for DHW ran constantly. Sounds like yours shuts off once the tank reaches it's set temperature.
 
mscard88 said:
Ones I worked were for large buildings like barracks, office buildings etc, and the circulating pump for DHW ran constantly. Sounds like yours shuts off once the tank reaches it's set temperature.
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Yeah, the hot water storage tank is on an aquastat that calls for heat when needed. Storage temperature is adjustable for call and cut-off. Sorta nice but no messing with it once it's set. Everything on that side of the system is stainless steel or copper so it should last essentially forever.
 
So your pump doesn't run constantly? Just when you open a faucet and place a demand on it I guess. Good thing you replaced that pressure relief valve though.
 
mscard88 said:
So your pump doesn't run constantly? Just when you open a faucet and place a demand on it I guess. Good thing you replaced that pressure relief valve though.
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Pressure is supplied by pot water so no pump needed for hot water supply. It works like a conventional water heater except a heat exchanger replaces the burner or electric element.

The relief valve was a bit of surprise. I guess it had been leaking a little since the last time I checked it. About and 1/8" calcium build-up on it in less than a year. No bueno for sure.
 
When I was stationed in Germany we had DHW tanks for barracks/large buildings that would get about an inch of calcium built up inside them. Always was fun to scrape those things out.
 
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Clark1961 said:
Futzed around a bit to see what's really wrong and tested the pressure relief valve. It's stuck.
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The ability to troubleshoot things properly has saved me so much money over the years. I hate devices that throw "codes". They're nearly always wrong. Vehicles, HVAC, computer systems at work...

That "see what's really wrong" made me chuckle.
 
Well the boiler coded again today so have ordered parts. Dug up the OEM for the part and found it for $120 cheaper than using the boiler manufacturer's part number. Yeah interwebz. Should ship tomorrow so arrival early next week.
 
Clark1961 said:
Well the boiler coded again today so have ordered parts. Dug up the OEM for the part and found it for $120 cheaper than using the boiler manufacturer's part number. Yeah interwebz. Should ship tomorrow so arrival early next week.
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Made in China, baybeeee! LOL. ;)
 
denverpilot said:
The ability to troubleshoot things properly has saved me so much money over the years. I hate devices that throw "codes". They're nearly always wrong. Vehicles, HVAC, computer systems at work...

That "see what's really wrong" made me chuckle.
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You mean you don't trust something that is malfunctioning to tell you why it's malfunctioning?
 
I'll bet that got you pretty steamed.
 
denverpilot said:
Made in China, baybeeee! LOL. ;)
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Assembled in Germany. I'm assuming the electrical components are from China. The residential boiler market is really dominated by the Germans and American manufacturers end up copying German designs. On this one the fuel control valve and combustion air fan are from Germany. The burner and heat exchanger were built in the US. The computer and power supply are American. I haven't had to look into the pressure switches to see where they are made. I built out the system using American made circulators and I regret that every 5 years or so when I have to replace one. The computer crapped out a couple years ago and the manufacturer had given up on the design so got to replace the computer and the display/control panel. The only really solid American made part with moving pieces has been the Honeywell zone valves. They have been flawless.
 
New blower installed today. The electrical connections were moved on the new blower. At least the pigtails were long enough that I didn't have to splice...
 
mscard88 said:
So steamed he popped off! (PR valve)
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At work I hate hearing people talk about PRV valves. Happy to see you only use one 'valve'.

We also do duct air leakage testing, DALT, commonly referred to as "DALT testing".

Automated teller machine machine kinda thing, I reckon.
 
mscard88 said:
So steamed he popped off! (PR valve)
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The new PRV fixed a problem with the old valve. There was a very short nipple off the valve which was slightly uphill. Now the short nipple is downhill like it should be. I expect no more calcium buildup from trapped water.
 
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