I have a boiler in my basement that recently stopped working. I went without heat for about two weeks when I had enough and decided to fiddle with it to see if I could correct the problem. (it wasn't bad enough to spend $100 on a service tech) The whole setup seems pretty simple, however I don't know the correct terms for some of the pieces so please bear with me.
I see the electric shutoff switch which supplies power to the whole system. One of the items off this switch is the pump motor. The curcuit for the pump is run through some sort of low voltage on/off relay switch which seems to be triggered (on and off) by the thermostat in my living room. I just noticed it buzzing which it hasn't done before. I bypassed it and hardwired the pump to the switch and it it worked wonderfully. After a few hours I decided to check the pump and it felt very hot. I wasn't sure if the motor itself gets hot or if the 180 degree water circulating through it caused it to be hot. I turned the whole system off for about eight hours and let it cool. I then turned the pump back on but left the boiler off so it was only circulating cold water. Again, after a few hours I checked it and it was pretty hot.
Is this normal? Can I theoretically leave the pump on all day and night until I get the new transformer/relay thingamabob? I wasn't sure if this was a good practice or not. The thermostat still controls the boiler so if the right temp is reached the pump will still circulate water regardless if it's being heated or not.
Also, there are two mercury rocker switches on my boiler. One is obvious enough...I can select how hot I would like the water in the boiler to be. The other one is a little bit beyond me though. It sits in the line bewteen the pump and the main electric switch. It looks like a mercury rocker switch with a magnet at the bottom. I guess if electricity is applied it would pull on the magnet and cause the murcury rocker to close/open. I simulated the magnetic pull and just tipped the rocker with my finger. Nothing happened. No clicks or hisses. Does anyone know what this rocker switch is for? I don't see any extra wires that would control the magnetic device.
And last, for now, that transformer/relay thing that either completes or breaks the circuit for the pump...does anyone know the correct name of that part?
Thanks In Advace,
Jim
Detroit
I see the electric shutoff switch which supplies power to the whole system. One of the items off this switch is the pump motor. The curcuit for the pump is run through some sort of low voltage on/off relay switch which seems to be triggered (on and off) by the thermostat in my living room. I just noticed it buzzing which it hasn't done before. I bypassed it and hardwired the pump to the switch and it it worked wonderfully. After a few hours I decided to check the pump and it felt very hot. I wasn't sure if the motor itself gets hot or if the 180 degree water circulating through it caused it to be hot. I turned the whole system off for about eight hours and let it cool. I then turned the pump back on but left the boiler off so it was only circulating cold water. Again, after a few hours I checked it and it was pretty hot.
Is this normal? Can I theoretically leave the pump on all day and night until I get the new transformer/relay thingamabob? I wasn't sure if this was a good practice or not. The thermostat still controls the boiler so if the right temp is reached the pump will still circulate water regardless if it's being heated or not.
Also, there are two mercury rocker switches on my boiler. One is obvious enough...I can select how hot I would like the water in the boiler to be. The other one is a little bit beyond me though. It sits in the line bewteen the pump and the main electric switch. It looks like a mercury rocker switch with a magnet at the bottom. I guess if electricity is applied it would pull on the magnet and cause the murcury rocker to close/open. I simulated the magnetic pull and just tipped the rocker with my finger. Nothing happened. No clicks or hisses. Does anyone know what this rocker switch is for? I don't see any extra wires that would control the magnetic device.
And last, for now, that transformer/relay thing that either completes or breaks the circuit for the pump...does anyone know the correct name of that part?
Thanks In Advace,
Jim
Detroit