Honeywell Relays


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Old 11-26-15, 05:20 AM
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Honeywell Relays

I have a wood boiler closed system hot water heating system in my house. I currently use a Honeywell RA89A relay to turn the circulating pump on and off as the thermostats call for.There are four thermostats wired to this relay. There has been several times when the thermostats told the relay to turn the pump on and the switching mechanism in the relay bound up and did not turn the pump on. You all know what happened next.

Question is could the Honeywell R845A relay be used with the four thermostats wired to it. Or do I need a R845A relay for each thermostat?
 
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Old 11-26-15, 09:11 AM
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Four thermostats wires to one relay.

That would work if all four thermostats do only ONE thing. Like any thermostat turns on a single pump. If it were wired that way.... how do you control each zone ?? No zone valves ?

The RA89A is a single pole relay.
The R845A is a two pole relay.
 
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Old 11-26-15, 07:42 PM
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PJmax, Each zone has its own Honeywell V8043 E 1012 zone valve. Each thermostat basically just turns on the same pump to supply water to any one or more zones wanting heat. I was wanting a control that would be more reliable than the RA89A relay.
 
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Old 11-26-15, 08:41 PM
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Ok....so you have four zone valves and the end stop switches all activate the one relay. That makes sense.

What is the problem with the relay ? That is a very reliable unit.
 
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Old 11-27-15, 04:47 PM
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PJmax, In the upper right hand corner of the relay there is a mechanical device that closes to make the circuit. That mechanical switch has bound up a few times and and did not turn the pump on and caused an emergency with a boiler overheat. I do not have a good picture of the other relay but it sort of looks like the other relay has the same mechanical switch.
 
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Old 11-27-15, 06:23 PM
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The older, meaning more than thirty years ago, Honeywell relays with the plastic armature were good relays. The newer ones with the metal armature (looks like a chunk of zinc) are pure garbage in my opinion.

Here is a picture of a newer Honeywell relay. The relay proper is on the right side, below the transformer and above the screw terminals. If the armature is the least bit loose the relay becomes problematic and unfortunately, the only "fix" is total replacement.

http://bostonheatingsupply.com/image...l/DSCN3906.JPG
 
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Old 11-28-15, 01:34 AM
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Furd, These relays were bought new in 1980 and have not seen much use. I have two of them. One of them was wired up for only a day or so, then disconnected. The other one was used for a few years until I just bypassed it because of the sticking of the relay and I sort of ran this system manually ever since. I wonder if a bit of high temperature lubricant at the pivot points would help?

One of the relays has a black plastic piece that moves when it is pulled in and the other has maybe a zinc piece that moves. Neither of them look like the one you pictured. These two look very much alike except for that switching mechanism. Both were bought at the same time, in very late 79 or before Valentines day 1980.

After what you have said I will probably use the relays I have. Another guy suggested using the other relay to turn on a 007 Taco pump. That is what gave me the idea to switch relays.
 
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Old 11-28-15, 05:23 AM
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Have you measured the control voltage? should be a solid 24 VAC.
Just a thought.
Geo
 
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Old 11-28-15, 10:49 AM
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I'm having problems following you. You said relay.... now there are relays. You said you bypassed the relay..... and what.... left the pump running continuously ??

You need a basic single pole normally open relay with a 24vac coil to run the circulator pump.
If you'd like a replacement recommendation I'd use something from the RIB line. The RIB2421C would be a good choice. It's a 10A relay. Sometimes shopping around you'll find the 20A version for less.

hvac usa/functional-devices_RIB2421C


This is how I mount and use them. (says from air handler... yours would be from the zone valve end switches.
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Old 11-29-15, 02:37 AM
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Geochurchi, I just tested the transformer that powers the zone valves and relay and got 28 volts. I am thinking that the relay that was wired in and I by passed the switching part of it no longer works. I used to be able to hear it switch when the wood circuit powered up, but I no longer hear it switch. The controls would only power up when the wood boiler came up to temperature.
 
 

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