Hardy H4 OWB

[Wayned24]

Unfortunately not driving distance (comfortably)...Takes me about 3 1/2 hours to get to Cleveland.

That second paragraph is a little above my intelligence level. Not sure what an "on-demand Domestic Hot water tank" is or what HX is...I'm so dumb with this stuff, but I've learned a lot just in the last 24 hours since I've joined the site.

 

[NSMaple1]

You're doing good. We might get you to the point you can call the pro off - lol.

This stuff isn't overly complicated but does take a bit of applying & digesting & understanding. It's more or less follow the flow of the hot water to see where it is (or isn't) going and when you come to an unknown component - ask what it is (pics very good) & keep following the flows. A key thing/tool is being able to accurately measure temps though - measuring accurate temp differences at ins & outs of components or piping sections is key to seeing where heat is & isn't going. A good IR temp gun can be useful for that, they can have their issues though. The main one being they don't measure shiny surfaces good - a blotch of flat black paint sprayed on any shiny spots you want to measure should fix that.

The comment about on demand - I am assuming there is a HX (heat exchanger) in that pic, likely a flat plate HX, under the big blob of spray foam insulation. It transfers heat from one system (boiler water) to another (DHW) without actually mixing them. But not seeing a pump or circulator on the DHW side would mean it would only transfer heat when a hot water tap is turned on (on demand) since otherwise water won't move through the DHW side to move heat from the HX into the DHW tank. So if DHW isn't being used, there wouldn't be any heat transferred from the HX, therefore the boiler water side wouldn't see a difference in temp between in & out.

I'm a bit over my head here because I haven't even see a Hardy in person, but most systems have some basics in common. Also not sure I'm not missing something in the pics.

 

[Woodcutteranon]

Just noticed you guys are in the same state. Cool coincidence. Within driving distance I wonder?

Quickly on above pics - that looks like an on-demand DHW setup? I don't see a circ on the DHW side? So there wouldn't be a temp difference in the boiler piping in & out of the HX if no DHW was being used - isn't that correct? And also with that arrangement - why would the DHW coil in the boiler be used? Just trying to figure things out - not a setup I've seen before.

DHW is a separate loop from the heat exchanger loop. It is on demand hot water. The feed to the hot water tank in the basement has a T installed on the inlet side. The water runs out to the Hardy, thru a coil of copper tubes within the water tank, and returns to the house to fill up the DHWT. My suspicions in this case is the Hardy sat dormant one winter but the valves on the T weren't switched to cut the flow off thru the Hardy. That water froze inside the coil inside the Hardy and burst the pipe. Now, whenever the homeowners uses hot water, the water leaks from the break inside the Hardy. When everything works as planned, the DHW does not commingle with the 100 gallons of water in the tank used by the Taco pump and heat exchanger.

 

[NSMaple1]

Ha, OK then - so there isn't a HX in that blob of foam? That explains how it doesn't really look like it then - those are just 4 pipes from/to underground. You could very well be right then - hopefully so for the OP. Should be an easy thing to trouble shoot, as you said, just by closing some valves and seeing what happens.

 

[Wayned24]

Thank you to everyone that has responded and helped out. My heating issue has been (knock on wood-no pun intended) SOLVED! Special thanks to Woodcutteranon for personally calling me and walking me through my issues, step-by-step. When I joined this site I was not expecting this type of hospitality, but I thank you all immensely!!! I will continue to learn from this website and I look forward to interacting with you all in the future! Thanks again!

 

[crowbuster]

That's why I love this place. Good job fellas. Don't know any of you but proud of all of ya.

 

[dave_dj1]

First let me say congratulations!
Secondly would you mind sharing what you found and what steps were taken to solve the issue? I find many threads on the internet that ask questions and then never post the answer after getting good advice or tips. I think it will help others who find this on a search to know what solved your issue/s.
Thanks

 

[Wayned24]

Sure!
My taco pump wasn't pumping warm water into my house. The main plug in was connected, but only one of the two splices off the main power cord were connected. That's the way I found it when I bought the house last May, so I just assumed it was supposed to be left that way. After connecting that second "splice" (for the lack of a better word) the taco pump fired up and immediately began pumping hot water into the house. My house is now completely heated with wood and my electric bill will be very appreciative! Thanks again!

 

[NSMaple1]

Great that you are getting more heat! But that wouldn't explain the water leak & use thing though would it? Unless it was constantly boiling over - but that is a crap load of water to boil over.

Also if there was a wire disconnected it sounds like there might need to be some rearranging or tidying up of controls. Sounds like somebody unhooked it to stop it from running - but an aquastat should do that when the boiler cools off. So yours might keep running long after it should stop itself. Not a big issue in the winter when you have a fire going and need heat 24/7, but could be in spring & fall or when the fire does go out.

 

[Wayned24]

I forgot about the leak. I closed my DHW so that it wasn't being controlled by the Hardy. Woodcutteranon seems to think I might have a small leak in one of my coils. He said as long as I keep my DHW turned off for the winter, I could probably take care of it in the spring when I stop using the Hardy for the season. It's a bummer not to be able to use the hot water, but I'm just happy to have the heat working now! Woodcutteranon would probably be better at explaining my issue haha.

 

[Woodcutteranon]

I learned that Wayne24 had recently purchased this house and this is his first winter with the Hardy so he is dealing with the learning curve of making it work.

@Wayned24 sent me some pics of his control panel and I noted a wire disconnected from the main relay...the wire was from the Taco pump and we figured out what terminal it came from. He plugged it into the correct terminal and the Taco pump fired up! So all this time his Hardy wasn't pumping hot water thru his heat exchanger! ugh... I'm left wondering why the seller pulled this wire off however. After our fix, Wayne24 said the pump only ran when the house furnace blower kicked on, which is correct. The Hardy Taco pump is not set up to run constantly. I will assume the plug was disconnected for a reason which makes me wonder why this occurred and why the seller didn't tell him about it. I guess the seller could have forgot...I will have to think on this one.

His Hardy leaking water has now stopped. We cut off the water feed from his house and it seems to have dried up. I am not 100% sure without seeing with my own eyes but this water loss appears to be a break in his DHW loop inside his Hardy. Speaking with Wayne24 his Hardy could have been boiling over as well given his pump wasn't pumping and the fire was still burning... What he should do now is keep the valves shut off to the Hardy and let everything dry up. Manually fill the Hardy with a bucket when the red light comes on. He can try reversing the DHW valves again in a few days and see if his leak returns.

It was great to have a chance to help him out and welcome him to AS. His is a very nice man, a school teacher, baseball and basketball coach. And now he has the warmest house in southern Ohio!

WCA

 

[NSMaple1]

Two thumbs up - this is a great help-over-the-internets outcome!

I agree, something seems not right for that wire to be unhooked. I wonder if the pump will keep running, if the house blower is running - but the wood fire is out? Thereby sending back up heat to the OWB? But that can now wait until heating season is over. (Any way to contact prior owner & ask?)

 

[dave_dj1]

Awesome, I'm glad a fellow burner was able to help you out That's what it's all about.