Outdoor Wood Furnace Info
All-Purpose OWF Discussions => General Outdoor Furnace Discussion => Topic started by: coolidge on November 25, 2017, 07:53:32 AM
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Anyone using these? https://www.supplyhouse.com/Taco-VR1816-HY2-4C2A00-Viridian-Infinitely-Variable-ECM-High-Efficiency-Circulator-Less-Flanges-Universal-120V
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Unless I’m mistaken sounds like a Grundfos Alpha, if I had a choice between the two and they both did the same thing, it wouldn’t be a Taco
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I have not tried them. Have been having good luck so far with the Armstong 20-20CI.
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They do appear quite similar in application to an Alpha 1. I will second the statement above; even if prices were the same I'd still pick a Grundfos over a Taco anyday. Plus these are out of stock as well as $50 more than an Alpha. Just my opinion though
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Will do some research on the Alphas and Armstrongs, trying to cut electric usage and have 6 Tacos and 1 Grundfos.
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What size pumps do you have?
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House primary is 016, with 4 07 on zones.
Garage primary is 010 with Grunfos 15-42 zone.
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0016?
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Yup
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I have never heard of that model and Google finds nothing but food when I search for that.
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I'm sure not up on all the pumps available and what it costs to run them, but still unsure why tacos are getting a bad rap? my taco 0011 has been pumping water for me 250 feet one way since 2003. shut it off in April and turn it on in October. every year now for a while I been thinking, this is the year it don't start, 14 years and counting. I will likely replace it with a grundfos just because there is a dealer of these pumps very close to me but if he sold tacos I would likely try another one.
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I have never heard of that model and Google finds nothing but food when I search for that.
Good food anyway, I will check on the pump
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I'm sure not up on all the pumps available and what it costs to run them, but still unsure why tacos are getting a bad rap? my taco 0011 has been pumping water for me 250 feet one way since 2003. shut it off in April and turn it on in October. every year now for a while I been thinking, this is the year it don't start, 14 years and counting. I will likely replace it with a grundfos just because there is a dealer of these pumps very close to me but if he sold tacos I would likely try another one.
Don't mind the Taco, just looking to see if there is anything more electrical efficient.
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Nothing wrong with a Taco, there are a lot of guys having great luck with them. As a person who used to sell and install Taco exclusively however, I can say that I won't ever buy another green one. In my 11 years in this game with the last 5 being exclusively red, I have only seen 1 Grundfos fail and that failure was due to the homeowner closing the isolation valve and cavitating it to death. Taco on the other hand, I could fill a dumptruck with the amount of shredded impellers I've thrown away. A customer of mine had been burning 2 or 3 Taco 007s a year for at least 5 years on his shop loop and last winter I finally convinced him to put a B&G on it because it was all I had in stock at 2am, and first fire this fall he called and wanted another because his 009 on the house loop was stuck. It was new in February of last year. Not sure what it is with them, but some people just have terrible luck with them. Can't say I've ever seen a B&G have issues, but I prefer the Grundfos as the amp draw is lower and they employ a bleeder for purging air
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I started with 4 B&G pumps on my system and have replaced 2 of them with the Grundfos Alphas. No problems with the B&G pumps just wanting to save electricity and boy do they. The Alphas also have better rated performance than the Tacos.
I used a wattmeter to test the power consumption on my B&G's on low speed (which is what I was using them on) even though it is listed on the pump and it came in very close to listed wattage. Same went for the Alpha even though it displays the power use instantly.
I was able to use the Alpha on my in floor system in my shed and for the in floor storage reservoir in my home. I had to stay with the B&G pumps on the back of my G200 for adequate GPM flow. I wish they made an economical ECM pump that had the performance of my B&G NRF-36 because these are the pumps I have to run 24/7. I tried them for my OWB pumps doing a flow test and even on low the B&G had higher GPM flow.
My power consumption on the B&G's on low was very close to 90 watts. My Alpha pump in the house is on low and it uses about 7 watts. If I remember correctly my shed Alpha is on medium and draws around 30 watts. I have had no problems with any of my pumps, knock on wood.
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Just a user, but I have had Taco pumps on an OWB and in zone loops since 2004 and I will not buy another. I have replaced every single pump except one, at least once, and a couple of them would burn up every three or four years. It's not just a single problem either. One cavitated to death, a couple locked up due to overheating or steam, a couple more blew gaskets and would not stop leaking, and one of them I replaced simply because it made so much noise I thought it was a Cessna.
My new OWF has Grundfos pumps and I will be using them from now on. Basic models, 15-58 for circ loops, but I am considering an Alpha for the basement central zone and planning on consolidating a couple of zones.