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[Roger2561]

I believe the taco circ on the pressure side of the heating system has failed - no water circulating through the baseboard emitters - zones calling for heat and it's chilly in the house this morning - how do I go about troubleshooting it to be sure it is the taco pump not something else; i.e. a problem with the triple aquastat?  The pump is 20 - 21 years old so it's possible that it failed.  Also, is there any difference from a taco 007 vs a taco 007-F5?  If it is the pump I'll check with our local supply store to see if they have one in stock.  It's supposed to get quite cold tonight into tomorrow and I need this thing up and running, it's my sole heat source.  Thanks, Roger   

[slimjim]

Yes Roger the 007 is very widely used, they more than likely will have one at your local hardware store, you should always have one on the shelf as without it you have no heat, Do you have Isolation flanges on both sides of your circ?

[Roger2561]

Yes Roger the 007 is very widely used, they more than likely will have one at your local hardware store, you should always have one on the shelf as without it you have no heat, Do you have Isolation flanges on both sides of your circ?

Slimjim,  Thankfully when they installed it they put isolation flanges above and below the circ. I know you know what you're doing and I trust your judgement but how can I be sure it's the taco not something else?  I hate throwing parts at things without troubleshooting it be sure.

Will I need to purge any air from the new taco or will it take of itself without?   

And, I hear you about having a second one on hand - Every year I'm going to pick up a new one but something more important comes along and it can wait til next year.  I think you've heard that line before. 

The only saving grace is there's a Grundfos between the drain and FPHX on the oil furnace to keep the water jacket in the oil burner hot at all times.  When I noticed the Taco wasn't turning on I turned up the Grundfos to the speed number 3 and it's helping but struggling to move the amount water freely due to the restriction of the FPHX.   Roger

[slimjim]

Can you manually open your zone valves in order to allow them to convect into the upstairs?  When you install the new Taco, leave the flange just a bit loose on top when you turn on the iso flange and it will purge the air pretty well from the circ, you could check to be sure there is power present at the circ but I would be willing to wager that is what it is.

[slimjim]

Roger do you have my phone #, I'll PM it to you, perhaps I can talk you through it!

[Roger2561]

Yes, I can manually open the zone valves.  My guess is that will lesson the restriction and allow for better flow?  And, I got your phone number.  I'll a call if I run into a problem.  It sounds pretty straight forward.  Roger

[Roger2561]

Okay, I performed the following.

I went to the basement with the thought of manually opening the zone valves.  But, instead of doing that, I traced back the wire from the taco 007 to the triple aquastat.  I found the terminal where they were screwed into the circuit board.  I turned off the power and unscrewed them from their terminals.  I then found my suicide cord and connected the white to white and black to black.  I then made sure nothing was shorting and plugged it in.  The taco 007 turned on.  I let it run for a couple of minutes watching the all zones open.  I then decided to shutdown the power and unplugged the taco 007.  I then reconnected it to their respective terminals in the triple aquastat.  I turn everything on and when the first zone called for heat the taco fired right up.  Now, the question is - perhaps there's a gremlin in the aquastat and needs to be changed or perhaps a problem with the zone controller?  I have the old zone controller (it changed out to allow me the option in the future of having zone priority if I need it) and I'm tempted to change out the newer zone controller for the old one.  Your thoughts please.  Roger     

[Roger2561]

Okay, I performed the following.

I went to the basement with the thought of manually opening the zone valves.  But, instead of doing that, I traced back the wire from the taco 007 to the triple aquastat.  I found the terminal where they were screwed into the circuit board.  I turned off the power and unscrewed them from their terminals.  I then found my suicide cord and connected the white to white and black to black.  I then made sure nothing was shorting and plugged it in.  The taco 007 turned on.  I let it run for a couple of minutes watching the all zones open.  I then decided to shutdown the power and unplugged the taco 007.  I then reconnected it to their respective terminals in the triple aquastat.  I turn everything on and when the first zone called for heat the taco fired right up.  Now, the question is - perhaps there's a gremlin in the aquastat and needs to be changed or perhaps a problem with the zone controller?  I have the old zone controller (it changed out to allow me the option in the future of having zone priority if I need it) and I'm tempted to change out the newer zone controller for the old one.  Your thoughts please.  Roger   

Okay - another update;  The taco 007 has been operating flawlessly since I performed my little experiment above.  But, I believe I now have a faulty zone valve power head.  When it calls for heat the red LED lights up and I have 26 volts across the terminals both at the end switch and the terminals on the zone valve power head, but it will not flow water.  The taco 007 will not even turn on.  It only will flow water when another zone asks for heat and then it decides it wants to work.  On my work to work shortly (I'm leaving my co-worker in lurch) I'm stopping by to pick up another power head and another taco 007 pump for our local supply house.  I'll change out the zone valve power head when I get home work but I think for now I'll leave the taco 007 alone.   I hope this ends the saga.  Roger

[slimjim]

Sounds like you nailed it Roger, Want a job?

[Roger2561]

Sounds like you nailed it Roger, Want a job?

I already have a job.  The trouble is my boss expects me to do some work.  The nerve of the guy!   

Would a faulty zone valve power head cause the 007 not to run? 

Oh, I picked up a new power head and 007.  It cost more for the power head than the 007.  There are in my car.  When I get home I'll be changing out the power head.

Thanks.  Roger 

[slimjim]

 It could if the end switch does not make or you could have a bad connection/wire

[Roger2561]

Slimjim - FYI - I thought you'd like to know that everything is working just perfect now.  When I got home from work yesterday I changed out the zone valve power head and that made all the difference. 

It was -12 this morning with a slighter lighter wind than was forecast but still a bit chilly out there filling the OWB for the day at 5:00am this morning.  The house was a toasty 70 degrees - very comfortable indoor temps.  Roger

[slimjim]

AwesomeRoger and I'm glad you liked the Hot to crazy matrix, can you believe that guy being able to keep such a straight face while he is explaining it and knowing how it all ends