Is this normal for a hot water heat system?

[kxs]

First time with a hot-water system and was wondering if this is normal: after the thermostat has completed a heating cycle the whole thing shuts down. This seems pretty dumb to me, as often the boiler is still very hot, and instead of running the pump a bit longer to distribute that heat it just sits there in the boiler and cools down. Maybe there's a good reason for this?

[superheater]

Like over heating the space.

[kxs]

yeah, good point.. But for those of us who are maybe setting our thermostats a little lower these days to save a few $$ it would be nice if all that heat I generated would actually be used to heat me, not just cool off downstairs.

I'm sure this works in both directions but nothing makes me more annoyed than hearing the gas shut off downstairs and then 1 minute later the thermostat clicks, and the pump stops running. That's a lot of of hot water that wont circulate.. Can I make my boiler/pump more intelligent?

[maxster]

your stat controls the circulator,and the gas burner control is within the boiler to maintain(160F-180F)a certain temperature or what is called the limit.by the next cycle on the furnace it will still be hot enough too heat the house.there should be a temperture/pressure dial on the furnace one for actual boiler temps and the other for the pressure of the same.in the winter and the stat calls the circulator will run and the burner will come on as the water loops in the house(thru the boiler)and it goes BELOW that limit.

[rich pickering]

If you really want to save money, have an outdoor reset control installed. Check out tekmarcontrols.com

[james mo]

The type of boiler and the kind of radiation you have comes into play here. You may have a low mass boiler such as a condensing or steel tube boiler where it doesn't matter as much and if you have a low mass boiler with large cast iron radiators, the radiators will stay hot for a while. You can call a pro and have controls put on to make the boiler more efficient. Such as the above mentioned reset control or an aquastat that will cycle the pump based on return water temperature, but you definitely need a qualified set of eyes on the entire system first.

[tinknocker service tech]

the one thing you need to consider as you wonder about all the heat left in the boiler. it is nessary for it top cool down slowly. if you leave the circulatoe run to cool down the water and the cast iron doesnt coll down as quick you will optain what is call thermal shock on the boiler. this is when the water is cooler then the iron and the iron sweats and starts to rust. over a period of time the rust will eat through the iron and shorten the life of the boiler. there fore the reason for the water to cool off slowly is for the protection of the equipment you have spent a lot of money on. the water leaving is arround 180 and returning is arround 160 after about two or three minutes the temp will be down to 120 or less and this is when the sweatting will begin. you are correct it is waisted heat to some extent but at the same time it is needed heat to protect the equipment
hope this puts your mind at ease
wayne

[casturbo]

Originally posted by tinknocker service tech
....there fore the reason for the water to cool off slowly is for the protection of the equipment you have spent a lot of money on. the water leaving is arround 180 and returning is arround 160 after about two or three minutes the temp will be down to 120 or less and this is when the sweatting will begin. you are correct it is waisted heat to some extent but at the same time it is needed heat to protect the equipment
hope this puts your mind at ease
wayne

Don't outdoor reset controls violate what you've described then? Just wondering.

[kxs]

I was wondering that too. My boiler is an oldie btw, 1959 original. Pump and other pieces look to be of newer vintage but the boiler itself is ancient looking

The system has 2 loops but no seperate controls on them, that may be a better improvement to get since one loop runs on the less-used side of the house.

[beenthere]

As Rich said, outdoor reset control.

Even resets have min temp settings on them.

You'll need a contractor to install and set it up properly, so as to save money and not harm your boiler.

[looser]

If you don't heat domestic water with that boiler, and it does'nt maintain temp. direct wire the pump to run 24-7. Been doing that for 20 years and it works just fine.

[Edmund Forsthe]

that would be a waste of electricity

[beenthere]

Originally posted by Edmund Forsthe
that would be a waste of electricity

About 525.6KWH for a year.

Just leave the flo check open, or don't install one.