Need help wiring zone valve to taco zvc
#1
12-29-14, 04:02 PM
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Need help wiring zone valve to taco zvc
Hello,
I am hoping for some guidance on wiring a 4-wire honeywell 8043E zone valve to a taco zvc404exp. The information I've found from taco's site is clear how I should do this, BUT I've only got 2 wires running to my boiler room instead of 4.
The whole radiant floor system was installed 7 years ago along with a zone valve designated for a toe kick heater in an unfinished upstairs bathroom. Well, the bathroom is finally finished, the plumber is long gone, and I'm not sure what the plumber's plan was by looking at how he left the wires.
The zone valve is located in a box in the kitchen along with 2 other zone valves that control 2 rooms on that side of the house. The bathroom toe-kick zone valve yellow wires are both capped with wire nuts. The red ones are connected (in the boiler room) to the #3 & 4 screws in the taco zvc. The bathroom thermostat is connected to one of the red wires in the kitchen zone valve "box."
Would it work to rewire the thermostat to a yellow wire and connect both of them to the #1 & 2 screws in the taco zvc, put a jumper on #3,4 and treat it like a 2-wire zone valve? Would I then leave the red wires capped or twist them together?
Other possibly useful info: There is 110 volt power to the zone valve box. The other 2 zone valves each have 4 wires running to the taco zvc. Running more wires to the boiler room isn't really possible without cutting a new channel through plaster/adobe bricks.
Thanks for any ideas you can give me!
I am hoping for some guidance on wiring a 4-wire honeywell 8043E zone valve to a taco zvc404exp. The information I've found from taco's site is clear how I should do this, BUT I've only got 2 wires running to my boiler room instead of 4.
The whole radiant floor system was installed 7 years ago along with a zone valve designated for a toe kick heater in an unfinished upstairs bathroom. Well, the bathroom is finally finished, the plumber is long gone, and I'm not sure what the plumber's plan was by looking at how he left the wires.
The zone valve is located in a box in the kitchen along with 2 other zone valves that control 2 rooms on that side of the house. The bathroom toe-kick zone valve yellow wires are both capped with wire nuts. The red ones are connected (in the boiler room) to the #3 & 4 screws in the taco zvc. The bathroom thermostat is connected to one of the red wires in the kitchen zone valve "box."
Would it work to rewire the thermostat to a yellow wire and connect both of them to the #1 & 2 screws in the taco zvc, put a jumper on #3,4 and treat it like a 2-wire zone valve? Would I then leave the red wires capped or twist them together?
Other possibly useful info: There is 110 volt power to the zone valve box. The other 2 zone valves each have 4 wires running to the taco zvc. Running more wires to the boiler room isn't really possible without cutting a new channel through plaster/adobe bricks.
Thanks for any ideas you can give me!
#3
12-29-14, 04:30 PM
BUT I've only got 2 wires running to my boiler room instead of 4.
From what terminals are the TWO wires to the boiler room coming from?
the green connector at the lower left of the panel? (2 black wires)
Where are the four wires on the 'expansion connector' at the top of the panel going?
Above the terminal strips for the thermostat connection, it's either a shadow, or that pc board appears to be burnt. Is it?
Is that a loop of wire I see on the zone 3 thermostat?
From what I've read so far, your ex-plumber didn't know his wiring... if he's the one who did that.
Don't do anything further until we get this all sorted out. You may damage something ... (more than it appears that the panel is already damaged if that is really scorch marks.)
Last edited by NJT; 12-29-14 at 04:52 PM.
#4
12-29-14, 04:33 PM
Where are the four wires on the 'expansion connector' at the top of the panel going?
The panel you've photo'ed looks as if it's set to MASTER, the other panel that must exist should be set to SLAVE.
#6
12-29-14, 04:45 PM
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The 4 expansion connector wires are connected to the other expansion connectors on the zvc mounted just below the one in the photo.
#7
12-29-14, 04:50 PM
OK, you need to show us the 'big picture'. The closeups are fine, but step back and show us everything...
By the way, that gray electrical cord that's powering the panel is incorrect for the purpose, but let's worry about that later.
Please review and answer all my questions.
By the way, that gray electrical cord that's powering the panel is incorrect for the purpose, but let's worry about that later.
Please review and answer all my questions.
#8
12-29-14, 04:57 PM
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The Taco installation diagram shows 4 wires with the 2 yellow (L1, L2 hot) going to #1 & 2 of the panel for that zone valve and the 2 red (end switch) going to #3, 4. The way it's wired now the reds (end switch) ARE correctly going to 3 & 4 (although the wires are yellow at that point), but the yellows (L1, L2 hot) coming out of the honeywell zone valve are capped and not connected anywhere.
Yup, that's a loop on the top thermostat terminals of zone #3.
Aaand, it's just a shadow. Nothing burnt.
I'll go check out the black wires coming out of the green lower left connector on the panel.
Thanks
Yup, that's a loop on the top thermostat terminals of zone #3.
Aaand, it's just a shadow. Nothing burnt.
I'll go check out the black wires coming out of the green lower left connector on the panel.
Thanks
#9
12-29-14, 05:13 PM
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Here's both panels and below are the pumps. I assume one goes to domestic hot water and the other to the radiant floor pipes.
#10
12-29-14, 05:27 PM
Oh my...
What did they do, cut an orange extension cord apart to power the pumps?
I'm going to try and be as gentle as possible here...
You've got a number of electrical code violations there that need to be addressed.
I'm not giving up yet, but I don't know how much help I'm going to be...
You need to correct all of the 120 VAC wiring problems.
What did they do, cut an orange extension cord apart to power the pumps?
I'm going to try and be as gentle as possible here...
You've got a number of electrical code violations there that need to be addressed.
I'm not giving up yet, but I don't know how much help I'm going to be...
You need to correct all of the 120 VAC wiring problems.
#11
12-29-14, 05:27 PM
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Bigger picture...
The house has 5 zones for the radiant floor heat. The bottom panel controls the 3 on the west side of the house. Those zone valves are in the boiler room below the panels. The top panel controls the 2 zone valves for the east side of the house (zones 1 and 2 in this top panel). The #3 is the toe-kick that's not connected and #4 is the domestic water priority zone.
The boiler is a Buderus with a side arm tank for the domestic water.
All 5 floor heat zones are connected the same way in the panel: namely, with the hot L1, L2 yellow wires from each zone valve going to #1 & 2 connectors for their respective zones and with the red end switch wires going to #3 & 4 connectors. All thermostats are connected to their respective thermostat terminals at the top of the panel EXCEPT for the toe-kick zone. It's got a jumper right now, but has never been connected.
Now, looking at the taco panels again, the circuit board DOES seem brown at the top thermostat connections.
The house has 5 zones for the radiant floor heat. The bottom panel controls the 3 on the west side of the house. Those zone valves are in the boiler room below the panels. The top panel controls the 2 zone valves for the east side of the house (zones 1 and 2 in this top panel). The #3 is the toe-kick that's not connected and #4 is the domestic water priority zone.
The boiler is a Buderus with a side arm tank for the domestic water.
All 5 floor heat zones are connected the same way in the panel: namely, with the hot L1, L2 yellow wires from each zone valve going to #1 & 2 connectors for their respective zones and with the red end switch wires going to #3 & 4 connectors. All thermostats are connected to their respective thermostat terminals at the top of the panel EXCEPT for the toe-kick zone. It's got a jumper right now, but has never been connected.
Now, looking at the taco panels again, the circuit board DOES seem brown at the top thermostat connections.
#12
12-29-14, 06:12 PM
the hot L1, L2 yellow wires from each zone valve
This implies that they are 120VAC and they are most definitely NOT.
So just call them the yellow ZV wires, or the ZV MOTOR wires... anything but L1 L2.
All 5 floor heat zones are connected the same way in the panel: namely, with the hot L1, L2 yellow wires from each zone valve going to #1 & 2 connectors for their respective zones and with the red end switch wires going to #3 & 4 connectors.
EXCEPT for the toe-kick zone. It's got a jumper right now, but has never been connected.
but the yellows (L1, L2 hot) coming out of the honeywell zone valve are capped and not connected anywhere.
It sounds like you're going to need to find a way to fish some new wires through because that last zone needs to be wired the same as the others.
#13
12-29-14, 06:53 PM
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Thanks so much for putting your time and thoughts into this. Just to throw out a couple of ideas...
Is it possible to power the zone valve by hooking up a new zvc panel inside the kitchen zone valve box? Or does it have to connect to the boiler room panel to control the circulator pump there?
What about tying both the #1 and #2 floor heat zone valves together so that they'd be controlled by the same thermostat? I'd lose the ability to control those two rooms/zones separately, but end up with 4 new unused wires running to the boiler room. Is there a problem with running 2 zone valves off one set of wires?
Is the only code violation you see in the boiler room the orange extension cord? Is there anything else I need to correct? Can I just replace that wire with 12 gauge UF wire?
Thanks
Is it possible to power the zone valve by hooking up a new zvc panel inside the kitchen zone valve box? Or does it have to connect to the boiler room panel to control the circulator pump there?
What about tying both the #1 and #2 floor heat zone valves together so that they'd be controlled by the same thermostat? I'd lose the ability to control those two rooms/zones separately, but end up with 4 new unused wires running to the boiler room. Is there a problem with running 2 zone valves off one set of wires?
Is the only code violation you see in the boiler room the orange extension cord? Is there anything else I need to correct? Can I just replace that wire with 12 gauge UF wire?
Thanks
#14
12-29-14, 07:33 PM
I'm still trying to think of a way that you might be able to do this without fishing new wires.
Not really a good solution to combine zones... but it could probably be done if it's the only way.
In addition to the orange extension cords, it appears that there are also extension cords connected to the ZVC panels... the gray cords... and if I'm guessing right, those are plugged into that outlet near the boiler. That's not exactly proper either. Those panels should have had the AC input 'hard wired'.
No, UF (Underground Feeder) is not the right wire to use either. If you meant NM (Non Metallic) aka 'Romex', no, that's not correct either. It certainly would be better than cutting up 18ga extension cords though! But still not right. Any of that sort of wiring must be done with metal sheathed cable, aka MC cable.
Not really a good solution to combine zones... but it could probably be done if it's the only way.
Is the only code violation you see in the boiler room the orange extension cord? Is there anything else I need to correct? Can I just replace that wire with 12 gauge UF wire?
No, UF (Underground Feeder) is not the right wire to use either. If you meant NM (Non Metallic) aka 'Romex', no, that's not correct either. It certainly would be better than cutting up 18ga extension cords though! But still not right. Any of that sort of wiring must be done with metal sheathed cable, aka MC cable.
