New to the scene- need help setting up a Seton 130!

[Trzebs13]

First thing I would reccomend is turning your temps down. Go way down with them, maybe even more than 10 deg. You can always turn them up.

Sounds like it must be some kind of flow problem to me. when my basment floor turns on. Even if it just ran for awhile it will suck that temp down in a matter ov 30 seconds or so. How ever long as it takes the fluid from the floor to the boiler.

As for the Modine, this would act allot like my air exchanger above my furnace. That does drop the temps but, not anything like that massive concrete block at the bottom of my basment.

Are you getting any heat any where? Baseboards, basement etc? Really sonds like you ar not transfering your heat. If your not you definitly have a flow problem. Take some temp readings over by your exhangers and see if you are getting 200 deg water every where it runs. I am guessing your not.

Good Luck, you'll get it.

 

[Akgasser]

Update:

Plumbed in a Modine 45k BTU unit heater above the seton. Have a Grunfoss pump circulating the water through the unit heater and have the aquastat set to kick the fan on at 165deg.

Sealed load door and damper door well with hi temp silicone, I think there is still a 1/16" gap at the top when the damper door closes b/c I applied it too thick on the bottom. Have to fix that sometime soon.

Have had fire in the boiler for the past several days and it is doing well. Last night though it hit 200 degrees with the unit heater fan on and dumped water out of the temp relief valve. When the fan kicks on it only drops the temp 5 deg. in normal operation.

Running out of ideas on how to keep if from overheating

 

[Pat53]

A 1/16th inch gap is still a pretty big gap for air to slip thru. If the zones aren't calling for heat, the temp is going to creep higher as long as its getting some that air. I think you need to get that damper as air tight as possible and that will probably rectify the overheating. At what temperature does you damper close down?

 

[sgrenier35]

Did your plumber accidentally put in a hot water heater relief valve (temp and pressure) or just a pressure relief valve?

 

[Jesse-M]

Did your plumber accidentally put in a hot water heater relief valve (temp and pressure) or just a pressure relief valve?

The Setons come with both, a pressure relief and a temp/pressure combo....the temp is 210* I believe.....gotta get that door gap taken care of.

 

[91220da]

Quick thought. When I first plumbed my system I had a lot of air in the system. The little self purge bleaders would not get all of it out. I had to disconnect the pex pipe on the return side and and pump onto the garage floor for a few minutes until I was sure I had a solid flow of water (Glycol water mix actually). I have also read that infloor radiant systems can be a bear to purge. Air in the system can definatley cause an overheat. If your pressure valve is blowing off eventually it will remove the air provided you are adding enough make up water fast enough.

 

[Pat53]

I also noticed that at 160F your pressure is at 26 PSI, which is definitely high. Not sure how much expansion tank size you have, but i would run that system with a bit lower pressure, maybe 20 PSI or so max.

 

[Jesse-M]

I also noticed that at 160F your pressure is at 26 PSI, which is definitely high. Not sure how much expansion tank size you have, but i would run that system with a bit lower pressure, maybe 20 PSI or so max.

I was wandering about that gauge as well...don't think mine has ever been above 20#, maybe it's actually blowing off because of pressure not temp?

 

[Pat53]

I also noticed that at 160F your pressure is at 26 PSI, which is definitely high. Not sure how much expansion tank size you have, but i would run that system with a bit lower pressure, maybe 20 PSI or so max.

I was wandering about that gauge as well...don't think mine has ever been above 20#, maybe it's actually blowing off because of pressure not temp?

Yup, thats what I'm thinking. 26 PSI at 160F could easily get to 30 PSI at 200F if the expansion volume isn't sufficient

 

[Akgasser]

Resealed the damper door. Is there a better gasket material for the damper door than silicone? Damper closes at 170 and fan kicks on at 180.

 

[Akgasser]

There prob is air in the system. Is the psi high because the expansion tank on the seton is undersized?

 

[Pat53]

There prob is air in the system. Is the psi high because the expansion tank on the seton is undersized?

How much water does your entire system contain, and what size is the expansion tank?

 

[JMann]

Just checked in and saw that you're still having issues...I had an issue this year with overheating my Seton - very frustrating. I stood by the overflow and flushed all air completely from the system (watching all the air bubbles come through was surprising to say the least). Then I burned smaller fires with the damper aquastat set to 170* - watched the temp hit 170* and made sure the aquastat kicked in. Mine seemed to be a bit off (+10*) so I turned it to 165*. Called my plumber and he suggested keeping it there for the week and see if the system "breaks in". Sure enough, after a few days I was able to set the aquastat temp higher and higher. It's now at 185* and working like a charm (once again). Not sure exactly what the breaking in did, but it is running fine now. Also - I did not change anything (except the way I ran it) Good luck...

 

[91220da]

Ep,
I agree with the other guys in that you seem to have a closed system that is pressurized when running. A true open system is open to the air like your car or trucks cooling system with the plastic overflow recovery tank next to the radiator. When your truck overheats it blows into the plastic tank than draws the antifreeze back into the radiator as it cools. I just posted a video of my greenwood that is definetaly an open system. The 55 gallon drum is my boilover protection and holds additional water/glycol to act a supply water. I also know that one or two pine or soft wood pieces will crank my temps up much quicker than 4 or 5 hardwood pieces. Somebody mentioned smaller fires as a test and I agree. The guys on here are amazing and everybody wants to help. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V98CutTE6is

By the way I am assuming you do drive a truck if you are in Alaska

 

[roaring fire]

:coolsmile: EP
Why are you resisting cutting back on the temperature?
Knock your damper close temp back 10 degrees & observe.
You have been lucky only your relief valve has been blowing.
Next time maybe one of your connections could go anywhere,
just pray that no one is near it when it happens!
Take 10 secs & knock back the aquastat.
Dan

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

As far as air in the system, my recommend would be to listen to Pat and other guys that run a closed system.

As far as air leaks go . . . I'd agree that the damper needs to close when it closes. But I am perplexed by all the supposed need for silicone to close up air leaks. The one place that GW is notorious for sealing inadequacy is the nipple . . . please find below some really sloppy skin work

In my experience, sealing up every last little bit of air seems impossible, and unnecessary. Who knows, maybe the fact that my GW is slightly undersized is keeping me from overheats.

 

[91220da]

I sealed around the boiler nipples and any other area that I thought I may have to remove in the future with electricians Putty, sometimes refered to as DUM DUM. It molds easy, heat proof, none sticky, and can be removed and reapplied in the future. Lowes or Home Depot sell it in the electrical Isle. It is used to seal conduit and electical boxes etc. Worked great.

 

[Akgasser]

Thanks for all the help guys. I kicked the damper back to 160deg and it's holding steady around 150-165 with no oveheating today. I did plumb the TRV to dump
in to a 5 gal bucket for now. I used a couple 3/4" pipe thread street elbows, a 2" coupler and two 18" pieces of pipe. I've been burning mostly birch, which seems to keep the temp down a bit.

I do drive a truck, have a hoss plow truck and a built 78 FJ40 with a 350 sitting on 42's instead of a 4wheeler