Central unit heater

[mainmanscott]

It wasn't a retorted statement. Sorry, I went overboard. My mother "surprised" me with a visit in to town that week. It put me in a mood. Anyway, being new to HVAC, I have a lot of weak points and relays are at the top of the list. Too many kinds for me to know. Saw another type today (I think a switching relay, used for electric cable ceiling heat). It Looked like a transformer.

[marrao33]

I was browsing this post when I came upon mainmanscott question "what is a heater relay". I think the correct answer is: a heater relay is an overload protection relay that uses heat to trip the circuit to protect the load (usually a motor). It is not a regular relay used to control a heater. More modern overload protection relays use solid state components that will measure the current flow and will trip the relay when overload occurs.
That's my take.

[mainmanscott]

Nothing like resurrecting an old post. I am MUCH more familiar with relays, and control circuits in general, now. I think they were refering to a relay that actually controls the heat being turned on and off. Could be a multi-purpose relay, contactor, or sequencer. Could have been a PCB problem. It may not have been a relay problem at all. The problem is the OP never got back to us, never told us what type of equipment he has or what fuel. It was impossible to know what the problem was.

Welcome to the board Marrao33. How's everything in Lynn?

[marrao33]

thank you for the welcome mainmanscott!!
Everything is great around here. I just thought the argument bettween you and badbillr was very amusing and figured I should leave my 2 cents on the subject.

[mainmanscott]

Yeah, I'm kind of hot headed. You should be used to that in your area.