PB-105 Installed! Installation / Operation questions & PICS!

[Wayne64SS]

I guess we'll start with the pics!

Here is the new next to it's backup.

The red circulator in this picture is for the overheat and only runs when the boiler is over 220. It has the check removed.

Another shot of it:

This is the circulator that runs when my thermostat calls for heat. It is on the return side of the boiler. It comes from my heating zone above the circ, then through the circ, then up the pipe immediately next to it into the return end of the PB105. The red valve in the picture is closed and takes the oil boiler out of the loop.

My settings on the PB105:

This is the pressure / temp guage that came with the PB105. Its horribly inaccurate for temp. It's about 30 degrees to low. When the boiler is at temp (180deg) it reads 150. right now it is at 100 (130 real temp) because I turned the heat on.

We're burning some pellets:

Here are my questions: When my therm calls for heat the circulator kicks on immediately. This drops the temp in the oil burner long before it drops the temp in the pb even though the valve on the return side of the oiler is closed. Thus running my oiler till it hits 120 again. Do I have poor flow to the PB? Is that one circulator enough to push the water through everything? Should i be running both circs when the therm calls for heat? Should the circ be running the entire time the therm is calling for heat? I'm pretty sure it is. Any help / advice is appretiated. I've had the boiler installed for about a day and a half. I've used the heat two or 3 times during that time and have gone through almost 4 bags of pellets so far.

 

[Tarmsolo60]

Nothing better than that first fire.

just looked at the pics quickly so I can't answer your questions, it looks like you put a smaller pipe in the relief valve than what it is tapped for. This shouldn't be done because it makes the valve incapable of it's rated relief. I'm not trying to give you a hard time, just concerned for safety. I'll go back and try to answer your questions.

I could be wrong about seeing the reduced pipe size, My eyes might just be fooling me.

 

[Wayne64SS]

I didnt install this myself. I will go down and look again at it though, good looking out.

 

[wil lanfear]

After looking at your photos, with the red valve closed on the return of the oil boiler, circulator running for heat sending the water to the return of the PB 105, the supply of the PB 105 to the zone, no water from the PB 105 can circulate through the oil boiler to prevent it from running to satisfy the temp setting. Maybe I'm not seeing something, am I wrong with my thinking???

 

[Wayne64SS]

correct... the oiler just runs here and there to maintain its set temp of 120.... i'd rather it wasn't this way. I would rather have the oiler as an "auto backup" right now i have to physically change some things on it in order for it to take over from the pb. How should it be plumbed in order for that to work. Guys coming back on thursday....

 

[wil lanfear]

I have my PB 105 piped in parallel with my oil boiler using a circulator between the boilers controlled to run with an aquastat installed in the oil boiler. When the temp in the oil boiler equals the PB 105 temps setting, the aquastat turns the circulator off. When a call for heat from one of my three zones lowers the temp in the oil boiler, the circulator starts, bringing heated water from the PB 105 so as to equalize the temp in the oil boiler, thus the PB 105 fires first because of the lower temp setting (130 degrees) in the oil boiler.

It appears that yours is piped in parallel, the red handle valve would have to be open so heated water from the PB 105 can be circulated with a circulator through the oil boiler to equalize both boiler temps.

 

[Wayne64SS]

that red handle is on the return side of both boilers... therefore if i turn it into the on position the water will just continue circulating through the oiler and never reach the pb.... right?

 

[Wayne64SS]

can you describe or post a pic of how yours is plumbed... should i be in series maybe?

 

[Wayne64SS]

hmmm after reading through the docs and looking at everything again, it appears that maybe i should be running my red circ (currently only for overheat) instead of my green one during a reg call for heat. I should be doing this with the red valve to the oiler open. running the red circ instead of my green one would guarantee me flow into the pb.

 

[wil lanfear]

can you describe or post a pic of how yours is plumbed... should i be in series maybe?

I don't have any photos, don't think they would be of much help to you if I did because the oil boiler is in a different room than the PB 105. My PB 105 is piped in parallel with the oil boiler meaning the supply from the pellet boiler connects to the supply of the oil boiler, the return of the pellet boiler connects to the return of the oil boiler. A Taco 007 circulator is installed in the return line between the boilers, the starting and stopping of this circulator is controlled by an aquastat installed in the oil boiler. This circulator between the boilers insures that the water being heated in the PB 105 circulates through the oil boiler until the temp reaches the aquastat set temp. My three heat zones have a circulator for each zone using a relay, a thermostat on each zone to open and close each relay.

 

[Wayne64SS]

I HATE that I can't understand how this works....

Wil,

When your Taco 007 is running it is essentially reversing the flow through the OB right? If your Hot output from the PB is connected to the Hot output from the OB and the Cold return of the PB is connected to the Cold return of OB I'm assuming when you turn the taco on inbetween them it pulls water from the return of the OB into the return of the PB, heats it, pushes it out the the Hot end of the PB and into the Hot end of the OB.... essentially reversing the flow in the OB.... right??!?!?!? Uuugh

 

[wil lanfear]

I HATE that I can't understand how this works....

Wil,

When your Taco 007 is running it is essentially reversing the flow through the OB right? If your Hot output from the PB is connected to the Hot output from the OB and the Cold return of the PB is connected to the Cold return of OB I'm assuming when you turn the taco on inbetween them it pulls water from the return of the OB into the return of the PB, heats it, pushes it out the the Hot end of the PB and into the Hot end of the OB.... essentially reversing the flow in the OB.... right??!?!?!? Uuugh

Yes, you got it. Maybe to help you understand it better, on a piece of paper draw two squares side by side, label one OB the other PB. Add lines between the tops of the boilers, this represents the boiler supplies connected together, do the same with the returns on the bottoms of the boilers, adding a circulator in the return, flow of water from the OB to the PB.

 

[Wayne64SS]

lol I could picture it no prob i just didn't know you could reverse the flow through the OB .... I could only picture the flow going one way only. when my installer comes tomorrow I'll talk him through it too

 

[Wayne64SS]

I HATE that I can't understand how this works....

Wil,

When your Taco 007 is running it is essentially reversing the flow through the OB right? If your Hot output from the PB is connected to the Hot output from the OB and the Cold return of the PB is connected to the Cold return of OB I'm assuming when you turn the taco on inbetween them it pulls water from the return of the OB into the return of the PB, heats it, pushes it out the the Hot end of the PB and into the Hot end of the OB.... essentially reversing the flow in the OB.... right??!?!?!? Uuugh

Yes, you got it. Maybe to help you understand it better, on a piece of paper draw two squares side by side, label one OB the other PB. Add lines between the tops of the boilers, this represents the boiler supplies connected together, do the same with the returns on the bottoms of the boilers, adding a circulator in the return, flow of water from the OB to the PB.

Hey will, got to thinking about this again.... how does the circ when running not send the water through the heating zone ? Is there a zone control valve that stops it? uuuuugh details. lol

 

[wil lanfear]

I HATE that I can't understand how this works....

Wil,

When your Taco 007 is running it is essentially reversing the flow through the OB right? If your Hot output from the PB is connected to the Hot output from the OB and the Cold return of the PB is connected to the Cold return of OB I'm assuming when you turn the taco on inbetween them it pulls water from the return of the OB into the return of the PB, heats it, pushes it out the the Hot end of the PB and into the Hot end of the OB.... essentially reversing the flow in the OB.... right??!?!?!? Uuugh

Yes, you got it. Maybe to help you understand it better, on a piece of paper draw two squares side by side, label one OB the other PB. Add lines between the tops of the boilers, this represents the boiler supplies connected together, do the same with the returns on the bottoms of the boilers, adding a circulator in the return, flow of water from the OB to the PB.

Hey will, got to thinking about this again.... how does the circ when running not send the water through the heating zone ? Is there a zone control valve that stops it? uuuuugh details. lol

The circulator between the two boilers is located in the return piping, the flow of water is from the return of the oil boiler to the pellet boiler, from the supply of the pellet boiler to the top (supply) of the oil boiler. On my three heating zones I have a flo-check installed on the supply that only opens when the circulator for that zone runs which opens it, otherwise it is closed which prevents flow to a zone.

 

[Wayne64SS]

I HATE that I can't understand how this works....

Wil,

When your Taco 007 is running it is essentially reversing the flow through the OB right? If your Hot output from the PB is connected to the Hot output from the OB and the Cold return of the PB is connected to the Cold return of OB I'm assuming when you turn the taco on inbetween them it pulls water from the return of the OB into the return of the PB, heats it, pushes it out the the Hot end of the PB and into the Hot end of the OB.... essentially reversing the flow in the OB.... right??!?!?!? Uuugh

Yes, you got it. Maybe to help you understand it better, on a piece of paper draw two squares side by side, label one OB the other PB. Add lines between the tops of the boilers, this represents the boiler supplies connected together, do the same with the returns on the bottoms of the boilers, adding a circulator in the return, flow of water from the OB to the PB.

Hey will, got to thinking about this again.... how does the circ when running not send the water through the heating zone ? Is there a zone control valve that stops it? uuuuugh details. lol

The circulator between the two boilers is located in the return piping, the flow of water is from the return of the oil boiler to the pellet boiler, from the supply of the pellet boiler to the top (supply) of the oil boiler. On my three heating zones I have a flo-check installed on the supply that only opens when the circulator for that zone runs which opens it, otherwise it is closed which prevents flow to a zone.

That was the piece of the puzzle I wasn't picking up without it being stated. It all makes perfect sense when all the components are there! Thanks Wil.