# Need Help for Elderly Couple Boiler Fan Running Non Stop.  House heats to 85!



## michiganwinters (Jul 25, 2012)

Hello everyone!  

I am a wood stove user myself but we work for an elderly couple who own a heatmore wood boiler.  While working there I noticed the blower motor was running nonstop.  She said they go through 15 cord a year I can see why with the blower running non stop!  It would be like me running a woodstove wide open all winter!  

Anyway, she said that it has no problems meeting correct water temp...think she told me 180?  But more alarming is the fact she will have her house thermostat set to 70 and her house heats up to 85  She said they had to open the windows in the middle of winter.  Her installer was crap...and theres really no professionals in the area.  So PLEASE HELP ME HELP HER!!  She is 72 and this is just unacceptable.

Thanks in advance!


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## hobbyheater (Jul 25, 2012)

michiganwinters said:


> Hello everyone!
> 
> I am a wood stove user myself but we work for an elderly couple who own a heatmore wood boiler. While working there I noticed the blower motor was running nonstop.
> 
> Thanks in advance!


 
Is the blower on the boiler forcing air into the fire box or is it a blower in the plenum of a forced air system?


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## heaterman (Jul 26, 2012)

More than likely they have a temp sensing control in the furnace plenum which powers up the blower when temp rises. The installer probably set up the boiler constant circ and installed the hot water coil in the plenum so that control is always seeing some heat. Something to that effect is going on.

I doubt the issue has anything to do with the Heatmor. Installer error or intellectual disability.

Location?


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## michiganwinters (Jul 26, 2012)

hobbyheater said:


> Is the blower on the boiler forcing air into the fire box or is it a blower in the plenum of a forced air system?


 
The blower is forcing air into the fire box and stays on constantly.  Inside the firebox the logs are blazed up due to the air blowing on them.


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## michiganwinters (Jul 26, 2012)

This boiler is set up for radiant heat inside the house not for a furnace.  Located 40 mins north of Grand Rapids, MI.  Thanks in advance!


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## hobbyheater (Jul 26, 2012)

michiganwinters said:


> The blower is forcing air into the fire box and stays on constantly. Inside the firebox the logs are blazed up due to the air blowing on them.


 


There should be a aquastat similar to the one pictured below on the boiler, it could be faulty or  wired incorrectly .When the boiler water gets to 180-195 degrees it should be wired so that when the water reaches this temperature the switch opens cutting the power to the blower shutting it off.


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## michiganwinters (Jul 26, 2012)

Ok, I think I saw one of those inside the boiler.  How or where would I find the correct way to wire or test to ensure the control is good?


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## webbie (Jul 26, 2012)

It could be the house thermostat too...I guess? That is, if it doesn't shut off the circulation when temp is reached.....

Or, the control which should shut the blower off is not working (aquastat) or set wrong.....and then lets the unit get too hot, which may turn on an overheat control and force the water to the house whether they desire it or not.

This is usually pretty simple stuff, but I'd suggest having a heating pro do it anyway...so it's right. If need be, I'd chip in a few bucks and maybe raise a few bucks here to help......


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## hobbyheater (Jul 27, 2012)

michiganwinters said:


> Ok, I think I saw one of those inside the boiler. How or where would I find the correct way to wire or test to ensure the control is good?


 
The aquastat is basically an automatic switch that senses the water temperature inside the boiler. On the aquastat pictured below, it would make contact at 145 degrees (the lower pointer) and turn the blower on and when the water reaches 190 (upper pointer), it would break contact and shut the blower off. In a simple wiring setup, there should be two sets of wires coming into the aquastat. The two bare copper (ground wires) should be joined together, the two whites should be joined (neutrals) and the two blacks (hot or switched leg). The black wire on the power in side should go to the common red screw and the second black switched leg to the blue. Before you take the cover off the aquastat, turn the breaker to the boiler off! Should there be a third set of wires or a third red colored wire, then I'm in way over my head. The pictures below can be enlarged by clicking on them. Do not be shy to seek out profession help as that big boiler is one big ground and should you happen to touch a live wire and the boiler at the same time, it may be fatal.
Should you want to, I'd be happy to send $20.00 your way to start a small fund to help out!


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## heaterman (Jul 27, 2012)

Anywhere near Big Rapids? We are working near there next week finishing up a Garn job.

If the wood boiler combustion fan is running all the time it could be wired wrong or the aquastat could be faulty.  There are a number of things that could be done wrong, controlled wrong, installed wrong or maybe have just failed.
Has the problem existed ever since the Heatmor was installed or did it happen later?


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## michiganwinters (Jul 27, 2012)

No it was installed at one house and moved to another house after a few years.  It worked correctly at the first house.  She had it installed and has had problems ever since.  Nicest hardest working person Ive ever met, but people seem to keep taking advantage of her and do crappy shotty work!  We have been working for her for the last 4 months and Im determined to get this right for her.  

Her place is 2 or 3 highway exits south of Big Rapids, about 20-25 mins. I will PM you my contact info and we can discuss.  

Appreciate your guys help....Im SO frustrated with people and them cutting corners at any opportunity.  Just do a good job, with honesty and integrity, take care of people....very simple principles that are lacking a lot now days.


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## MishMouse (Jul 27, 2012)

That is what happened to my mother after my father died.  She hired a contractor to do some work for her and they took her big time, actually did damage to the house (insulation and plumbing). I do not know why some slime balls like to take advantage of the elderly.


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## stee6043 (Jul 27, 2012)

Can I ask a silly question.......why is her wood burner running in July?  Is she using it for domestic hot water too (I hope)? 

Hopefully heaterman can help out.  If not, I'm not far from you to the south.  I'm no professional but I think I actually have a spare aquastat laying around I would donate to a nice older lady...or trade it if she has a Blatz or something vintage in the fridge.  ha.


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## michiganwinters (Jul 27, 2012)

LOL ....no the boiler is not running now.  We've been working for her since March and it was running then when I noticed the issue.  While working there my husband would feed the boiler for her just to make sure the house was warm for her when she came home.  He had to fully load it 2-3 times while there only 8hrs.  We both agreed there is an issue with all of that air fanning the fire and burning up the firewood load so quickly.

She is one of the nicest hardest working people Ive ever met.  I wanna make it right for her


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## michiganwinters (Jul 27, 2012)

MishMouse said:


> That is what happened to my mother after my father died. She hired a contractor to do some work for her and they took her big time, actually did damage to the house (insulation and plumbing). I do not know why some slime balls like to take advantage of the elderly.


 
She would give the shirt of her back.  And then all the people she had work on her house took all they could and gave her poor products and service.  Im now helping her on things like this to make sure its done right and shes not taken advantage of!


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## webbie (Jul 28, 2012)

If HM or anyone else here ends up going there, I insist on buying them dinner or something (let me know)...or paying for parts and gas.


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## michiganwinters (Jul 30, 2012)

Hi there everyone!  Thanks for all of the help and insight.  We are willing to take care of the who ever is able to help out.  We just need to isolate what the issue is and Im not sure how to identify or test controls ect to determine.  Im a woodstove person and these boilers have more parts that Im not familiar with.  Shes had several from the area and they seem to think its fine.  She got tired of fighting and I think its unacceptable so Ill fight for her  

So I started thinking....could it be there are 2 issues?

#1 - combustion fan staying on all the time burning up the wood quickly
#2 - Thermostat in home.  If its set on 70 why would it get up to 85?  What is the thermostat controlling to moderate temps in the house?


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## hobbyheater (Jul 30, 2012)

michiganwinters said:


> So I started thinking....could it be there are 2 issues?
> 
> #1 - combustion fan staying on all the time burning up the wood quickly
> #2 - Thermostat in home. If it's set on 70 why would it get up to 85? What is the thermostat controlling to moderate temps in the house?


 
I would deal with the fan issue first. With the fan working properly # 2  may take care of itself.


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## stee6043 (Jul 31, 2012)

Quick thoughts:

#1 - There should be an aquastat that controls the fan on the boiler.  The aquastat should be able to be set to a certain temp that the fan comes on, and a certain temp that the fan goes off (180 off, 160 on?).
#2 - The thermostat in the house should be controlling a pump (or more than one pump) that pulls water through an HX or manifold of some sort and into her radiant floor system.  Can you confirm that there is more than one pump?  If the boiler circ pump is pushing directly into the radiant floor I'm not sure this will be fixable without major rework.  The boiler is working to maintain 180 degree water all the time (even once we get the aquastat fixed).  If this system had an HX in a forced air furnace setup it would be fine with no additional pumps.  But with in-floor heat she needs to be able to control the temps of the floors separate from the boiler output.  And usually floors are not operating anywhere near 180 so there should be a mixing manifold somewhere.


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## mikeyny (Aug 1, 2012)

I suppose there could also be an overheat protection loop designed into the system that could be malfunctioning, th_us, overheating the house but protecting the boiler??. How about some photos? As usual, start with the simple stuff. the thermostat  wire could have been stapled too tightly to  a stud, shorting it out and continuously calling for heat. disconnect the therm to see if the fan or fans shut off. It really could be that simple. _


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## michiganwinters (Aug 2, 2012)

Anyone going to be in the Howard City area sometime soon?  Looking for anyone who really knows their stuff and how to troubleshoot these boilers.  We can arrange to compensate you for time an parts, ect.  I just want to make sure shes good for winter   Thanks!


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## mikefrommaine (Aug 3, 2012)

mikeyny said:


> I suppose there could also be an overheat protection loop designed into the system that could be malfunctioning, th_us, overheating the house but protecting the boiler??. How about some photos? As usual, start with the simple stuff. the thermostat  wire could have been stapled too tightly to  a stud, shorting it out and continuously calling for heat. disconnect the therm to see if the fan or fans shut off. It really could be that simple. _


 I had a neighbor who had that happen with her oil boiler. Local service company sent an inexperienced tech who over several visits and two grand in parts and labor never figured out what was wrong and why her house was 90.


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## heaterman (Aug 4, 2012)

Our schedule is jammed up pretty tight for the next couple weeks but I will be happy to take a look at it if they can wait til the later part of the month. I have your phone number and will give you a ring when we get through a couple jobs here.


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## michiganwinters (Aug 5, 2012)

heaterman said:


> Our schedule is jammed up pretty tight for the next couple weeks but I will be happy to take a look at it if they can wait til the later part of the month. I have your phone number and will give you a ring when we get through a couple jobs here.


 Fantastic!  I REALLY appreciate it!  I know she will too!  Give me a call and I will arrange to meet you there and for access to the house.


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## michiganwinters (Aug 6, 2012)

mikefrommaine said:


> I had a neighbor who had that happen with her oil boiler. Local service company sent an inexperienced tech who over several visits and two grand in parts and labor never figured out what was wrong and why her house was 90.


 Yeah, sounds like whats shes been through.  I knew I would be able to find an experienced professional here on hearth


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## heaterman (Aug 6, 2012)

We'll want to fire the Heatmor up to see how it's operating and also put the house heating system through its paces so we'll need some wood there for the owb.

What doesn't make sense to me is the fact that if the blower on the HM is indeed running constantly, it would be boiling the water and having to be refilled regularly. The only variable there would be that the house is actually using/losing all the heat that the HM can put out. Can you tell me if the Heatmor has to be refilled (water) frequently?

Is this a new house?
What type of radiant system is installed there? Slab? Tube under the floor? radiant panels on top of the floor?


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