home made boiler -- digital controller unit

[builder1101]

bought one of those dwyer controller units made by love

bought the thermocouple for it.

it takes power, takes a reading from the probe.

wont' turn on my blower.
switched the NO and NC maybe i had them backwards.
still nothing.

am i supposed to use a relay? if so, what's the input voltage supposed to be? there's no DC or AC voltage coming from the load contacts of the controller....

but when i change the temp, i hear the relay inside the controller click. so, i'm assuming it's switching like it should?

thansk for the help.

 

[blakey]

I'm not familiar with the control but it sounds like you just have a set of contacts and you need to supply the power. Run the neutral to the motor and switch the hot through the contacts.

 

[MS-310]

I know those love units well..... Did you make sure when you programed it you set it for heat? I run it on N/O (breaking the hot side) 10diff in water temp.... Call dwyer they have some really good tech guys,

Good luck

 

[builder1101]

there's 7 hookups.

2 for the thermocuple
2 for the power
3 for the load..


i hook the load to the draft blower....nothing
i looked at a friends central boiler wiring schem...
and according to that, i need to have a SSR (solid state relay) hooked up between them.

should i do the same?
because i'm getting nothing at the draft blower...
final question is, what make/model of solid state relay? AC or DC input? naturally i'd assume it to control AC out, since my blower draft motor is AC...

 

[blakey]

What is the model of your control?

 

[Wirenut2266]

Blake you had it: Neutral straight through to motor, 120v. hot to "com" on controller, another wire from "n/o" on controller to motor. Controller calls for heat, contacts switch state there in, starts motor

 

[builder1101]

i'm an idiot.

i got it. thanks.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

i'm an idiot.

i got it. thanks.

Don't worry about it!!!...you're doing ok, son!

 

[builder1101]

one question though, would it be smart to have it switch 24v relays to do the heavy amp switching? as i'm running both a draft blower and a draft solenoid.

when it calls for heat, solenoid snaps the draft open, and also kicks on the blower....

when it's satisfied, kills the blower and the draft shuts air tight...

best of both worlds in my opinion. no 'waiting' for the fire to 'take off'. Within seconds it's rippin and roarin. and when it's idling, about as much smoke as a cigarette plums out... But since there's such a quick recovery of heat, everything runs for only a 2-3 minutes at the most, and then shuts down, ALOT of switching...

anyways. between everything, there's quite a few amps. According to my amp meter, it's safe below the dwyer controller's limit, but, would it be smart to have it switch 24v relays instead? i suppose would it be worth the 10 minutes to wire it up since i already have the free parts?? (i have loads of 24v tranformers, relays, and blower motors, all the same make/model)

in the end, i'm trying to take the load off the dwyer controller. If it needs to do such frequent switching, i'd rather it work with milliamps and 24v instead of 5-8 amps and 120v....

 

[Wirenut2266]

You answered your question. Sure run 24v. through the controller to the coil on your relay(s).....Sounds good. Yeh, pump and blower together will get the heat going in a hurry. Two things kill electronics, heat is the first, loads are the second. Go for it!!!

 

[builder1101]

You answered your question. Sure run 24v. through the controller to the coil on your relay(s).....Sounds good. Yeh, pump and blower together will get the heat going in a hurry. Two things kill electronics, heat is the first, loads are the second. Go for it!!!

reason i built mine with nothing inside the skin, and nothing inside the insulation. there's 18" of clearance from the bottom of the skin/insulation to the ground. the electronics box that contains the transformer and relays are under it. the circulator pump is under it. and the blower motor is under it. all exposed to the cooler air and has just skirting around it - no insulation, only the pipes are wrapped..

when i built mine i kept others flaws nearby in thought.....

 

[mtfallsmikey]

How 'bout some pics???...Enquiring minds wanna know!

 

[Wirenut2266]

Good idea but; Heat kills electronics, motors/pumps can take a load of heat. Cold cold on electronics is a good thing, colder the better. But, cold on pumps/motors makes them very inefficient. Just a thought.

 

[builder1101]

they're not totally exposed. nothing like buried in a bank of snow...
they're skirting all around it. it's above freezing inside the skirting, just from the emitting heat from the motors/hot water in the components...

they're way more then luke warm to the touch....


BTW, no easy way to get pics of my damper control, but, i used a simple, creative, and everyday used technology.....

what's on top of every fuel injected gas engine, opens enough to provide lots of CFM, and shuts air tight enough to build up vacuum, and already has the levers/arms installed for a solenoid??

 

[mtfallsmikey]

they're not totally exposed. nothing like buried in a bank of snow...
they're skirting all around it. it's above freezing inside the skirting, just from the emitting heat from the motors/hot water in the components...

they're way more then luke warm to the touch....


BTW, no easy way to get pics of my damper control, but, i used a simple, creative, and everyday used technology.....

what's on top of every fuel injected gas engine, opens enough to provide lots of CFM, and shuts air tight enough to build up vacuum, and already has the levers/arms installed for a solenoid??

How 'bout 'ya, throttle body, come on?

How 'bout 'ya, throttle body, come on?

 

[builder1101]

not sure if it's my eyes, but, when you quoted my post, the last line is like mysteriously added??