thermostat sticking?

i have an old american standard hot water boiler, there are 2 thermosats in the house.one i replaced last fall. the one i replaced stuck, and the only way to get it off was to hit the relay where the wires from the thermostat conect. do i need to replace the relay?

 

If you disconnected the wires at the relay & the heater continued to run, the relay is bad. Without disconnecting the thermostat wires from the relay, you are just guessing.

 

is there any way to clean the relay, theres some contact points that was fused togeather, i had to take apeice of sand papper and file them down, the other rely is newer and has a transformer like a door bell wire uses mounted on a junction box..what do i ask for at the plunbing store, juast a relay box?thanks

 

I suggest replacing both relays. Sanding the contacts is a stop-gap measure. Try to get any numbers you can off of the relays. Worst case, label the wires, make a diagram, disconnect & take the relays with you. "I need one of each of these".

 

thanks,grady.. i will try unhooknig the thermostate wires when it sticks again.. and that means i need a new relay.. theres no #s on this relay, the otherone is newer its marked mars fan control certer 204013.. i planed on replacing the old boiler but run into some fanacial problems.. mabe next year.thanks

 

If you can host some pics of the unlabeled relay on photobucket or other photo hosting site & post a link to them here, I might be able to tell you what you have. The Mars relay should be available at any HVAC supply house or maybe a plumbing supply.

 

thanks grady.. i dont know that much about the computer to send a picture, i do have a scaner on this printer, but i dont know how to use it.. any way the relay that is giving me trouble its about as big as the old bell tellephone boxes, in the cover it has a wiring diagram and it says type r132a2k..2 rating in amperes volts 115 cyc 60.. i got the old instalation manaule and maitenance manual.it dont show this relay. this boiler was installed in 1960. i wish i could send you a picture of the relay pumps and boiler..and you could give me some insight on it..

 

Are you sure that number isn't r182 instead of r132? Can you describe the wiring as it is connected to the relay? \
To help you here is a description of a typical switching relay: Heavy black wire to terminal #1, heavy white wire to terminal #2, brass bar between terminal #'s 2 & 3, heavy black wire from terminal #4 to circulator, heavy white wire from terminal #3 to circulator. Small wires to termials T & T.

 

grady.. the # is clear 132..the box is 51/2x41/2. at the top the box wires from the thermostat conects R2 W1 B12 R1then below that is side byside in the middle of the box looks like a small doorbell tranformer no wires connect to this, next to it is what i call a small relay with contacts that had fused togeather and i had to clean. a silver bar conects from R1wireto a small green jumper wire that conects to the bottom of the box ans another silver bar.the bottom of the box is the hot wires coming from the main box and is W2 B1 B3 R4and a wire from there going to a pump..there is 2 pumps on this boiler, there made by Bell& Gossett Co.i hope you can understand this, again this relay box looks like the old bell telephone junction boxes that was placed in the basement of the home, and the phone wires run off it. all i know is this thing is old..the newer box thats marked mars electric fan control.

 

I found R132 relays in one of my catalogs but it must be discontinued since it is only available as a remanufactured part.
To help me suggest a replacement, I need some more information. How many thermostat wires are connected & to which terminals?

 

grady.. there is 3 wires.W1-B12-R1,, the old thermostat i replaced was the old honeywell oblong one.. about ayear ago..grady if i deside to replace this this boiler this fall, i can get a weil mclain for $1800.00 if i install it.. the going in and out of this thing is 1 1/2 to 2 inches, would i still need pumps for the boiler.. i know ican do the work but reducing the pipe down to copper,has me stumped. thanks

 

The three wire thing has me puzzled. What kind to thermostat do you have now & what wires are connected to which terminals?
Regarding replacing the boiler: I have a big problem with Weil-McLain. So big a problem I refuse to install them unless the customer signs a waiver stating I recommended against that brand of boiler. That being said, there are an awful lot of them sold every year.
Why would you want to convert to copper? Black steel pipe, harder to work with I grant you, will hold up far better than copper. Yes, you would still need circulators but I think I would change the B & G's to Taco 007's.

 

grady.. i bought the thermostat at home depot. it round a honewell ct87a wires on the thermostat is green wire R terminal..white wire W terminal.. red wire Y terminal.. on the reay its white wire W1 terminal.. green wire B12 terminal..red wire R1 terminal..grady i live in ohio and most places wont sell you a furnace unless your a licenced plumber, iam in youngstown , and i know a plumbing shop in cleveland that only handles weil boilers, that why said weil mclain.. about the piping i to prefer steel pipe, and i was told ithe new boiler had the pumps ...

 

Just my luck, Honeywell's web site lists all CT87A thermostats as obsolete, except one, & any information about that one model is not available online. I strongly suspect you could use a RA89A switching relay & connect only the red & white wires to it's low voltage terminals & terminals R & W on your thermostat.

I completely understand why you chose W/M as a boiler. Many contractors around here use them with good success. I may be just holding a grudge over the way some customers of mine were treated when they had warranty issues. The company has changed ownership since then. The boiler would come with one new pump. It is up to you if you want to replace both at the same time but I would suggest doing so.

 

grady.. thanks for all your help. right now i realy dont need the furnace on, so i will wait till end of summer, mabe i can get a new boiler, if not i will get the relay . and if i have trouble i will give a yell. thanks again