Infloor Radiant Heat Trouble Shooting
#1
10-25-16, 04:28 PM
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Infloor Radiant Heat Trouble Shooting
I have a 2 Zone infloor radiant heat system in a one level slab house that has 1 Zone not working. The other zone is just fine but the 2nd zone calls for heat from the wall thermostat but no heat is turning on. I included 2 images, the first being the WIRSBO panel, basically my understanding of how this works is the green light is for the main power, when you turn either wall thermostat on and system is running, there is a red a red arrow lite up under the assigned zone. The two metal boxes I think are called zone values (not sure) each of these is wired to the WWIRSBO panel. The top of each of the metal boxes have one side marked as MAN OPEN and the other marked AUTO. Both are to the RIGHT and on AUTO. I am guessing that the plumber just slid the handle over to do the trouble shooting? One zone will not show the red arrow and the pump is not being activated. I had a plumber come by the house a few days ago and he ran them both in manually and they worked. When he put them back to auto they both worked so no repair was done at the time. He said all looks good maybe it good stuck and he did not charge me anything
. A few days have gone by and today the same zone I called about is not working again. My guess being a non-plumber is there is a problem with the zone value, maybe an intermittent fault as it worked for a few days and now it doesn't. Is there any way for me to verify and find the issue, or is it better to call him back. Not sure if this is a DYI simple repair or something more complex. Thanks for any input.Paul
#2
10-25-16, 11:06 PM
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If you know which zone valve is for the zone that's not working..... try pushing the lever to manual to see if the zone heats.
It looks like the green comes on when calling for heat and the orange/red means the valve should be open. If the arrow is pointing to the problem zone then more that likely the zone valve is bad. It should be replaceable without unsoldering the valve from the pipes.
It looks like the green comes on when calling for heat and the orange/red means the valve should be open. If the arrow is pointing to the problem zone then more that likely the zone valve is bad. It should be replaceable without unsoldering the valve from the pipes.
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10-26-16, 05:58 AM
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#4
10-27-16, 05:23 PM
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It was getting chilly in the house tonight and I decided to give the zone a try and it turned on, didn't do this for a few days now. Spoke to a heating guy and he seems to think it may be the WIRSBO Controller as the zone value worked when put in manual and when put back to auto, but stopped working after a couple of days until tonight.
#5
10-27-16, 07:34 PM
Paul, a zone valve has basically 2 functions. On a call for heat the tstat sends a signal to the 2 yellow wires on your zone valve which opens the valve and lets water pass through. When the ZV opens it makes an end switch and the red wires send a signal to the boiler to start and reheat the water. I tell you this because it is possible for the zone valve to partially work, that is to open but not start the boiler and if that happens you would just have cold water circulating or no water at all depending how the boiler control is wired. By opening the valve manually you are bypassing the tstat and relay control. If you turn on the heat and nothing happens you can use an electrical meter to locate the problem.
Something you can try is to turn the tstat up and check the lever on the zone valve. If the ZV opens there will be no tension on the lever, It will move freely. If you're calling for heat and the lever still has resistance it is not getting power from the panel or the ZV motor is failing. If this happens this is where the meter comes in. You must determine if the panel is sending power or if you have an internal problem with the ZV. It is a 24Vcircuit if you test it so you will not get hurt.
Something you can try is to turn the tstat up and check the lever on the zone valve. If the ZV opens there will be no tension on the lever, It will move freely. If you're calling for heat and the lever still has resistance it is not getting power from the panel or the ZV motor is failing. If this happens this is where the meter comes in. You must determine if the panel is sending power or if you have an internal problem with the ZV. It is a 24Vcircuit if you test it so you will not get hurt.
#6
10-28-16, 03:17 PM
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Thank for the excellent explanation. "Something you can try is to turn the tstat up and check the lever on the zone valve. If the ZV opens there will be no tension on the lever, It will move freely." I did this and the lever moves freely with no resistance at all.
#7
10-28-16, 04:40 PM
That means your t-stat and Wirsbo control are working properly. Besides the ZV opening it should have started the boiler. You can check for voltage on terminals 3 & 4 or the red wires on the ZV that turn on the boiler. With the ZV operating correctly there should be no voltage showing and the boiler should be running. If the boiler doesn't come on that means the end switch on the ZV didn't make and the meter will show 24V. In this case the power head on the ZV needs to be replaced. You can check the readings between the 2 ZV's and compare the two.
A little sidebar. If you turn on the t-stat on the trouble zone and then turn on the working zone you will get heat to both since the t-stat was able to open the valve on the defective zone.
If you have to replace the head on the bad zone you don't have to replace the whole thing. You can just buy the head so you don't have to open up the system.
A little sidebar. If you turn on the t-stat on the trouble zone and then turn on the working zone you will get heat to both since the t-stat was able to open the valve on the defective zone.
If you have to replace the head on the bad zone you don't have to replace the whole thing. You can just buy the head so you don't have to open up the system.
