Mojoe Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 Who has it? Who works on it? Who just found out theirs hasn't been working? This guy. Apparently the flux capacitor is tripping the safety reset, shutting off the Geo. So, the heater, being electric, has been pushing all the heat. That is, until the heater motor blew the other day. Sweet! Being this is our first house with geo, and know it how it works, the key would be it working, to know it is working. I'm thinking it's not worked at all since we moved here last year. Hence, the blown heater motor. Noted. We should be all set and up and running soon. FYI, in calling around and leaving messages, I'm amazed in two days we didn't get one call back. We got a hold of Wise and they came right out and walked me through everything. this confirmed what I knew about the system and taught me the basic trouble shooting and problem solving. Great company so far. Let's see how the fix ends up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyM3rC Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 My last house had a very early total loss geothermal system from the 1983? Pumped from our well, dumped into the sewer. It was still working as of 2013 when my dad removed it for a newer much more efficient system. That said, our heating bills for an 1800sqft 1960 house was always under $200, kept it at 66 degrees. The heater vents saw air about 105 degrees F with JUST the geothermal, and 115 with the electric coils on. The newer variable pump systems are crazy efficient, my dad saw almost a 50% reduction in month-to-month cost, and his air outlet temp is over 110 with just the geothermal, no electric. Also, recirculates the waste through the hot water tank so that almost never comes on. Geothermal is where it's at. I could go on and on haha. Oops my bad, our house was ALL electric, so those bills are for everything. Not sure if you have any gas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoe Posted April 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 We are on the same old school system you had. I'm having a hard time justifying a new system for $20k-$40K. For that money, I would go all solar and not care how much the electric furnace ran, making my own power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyM3rC Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 Whoa $20k seems like an awful lot! I'll verify with my dad what he paid when he replaced it, but i know he got a pretty decent chunk off as some sort of efficiency credit or writeoff. That being said a solar panel installation is its own set of headaches and hurtles. Even out in the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WrxRcr Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 My leutinant has geothermal wells, 4 of them I believe. I think he payed around 7k when he had his house built. I can confirm this at work Tom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakotart Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 I believe my house was setup for geothermal. There are 4 PVC pipes (2 pairs) that run out through the basement wall. The furnace was removed before I moved in so I had to install a new furnace and went with propane. I'd be interested in knowing if any company can figure out what type of system was installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS69 Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 Do a search in the forum, we have been thru this recently. I love my geothermal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattKatz Posted April 16, 2014 Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 Geo isn't a lot different than conventional Heat pump, just uses ground source heat transfer instead of air......That being Said, I can work on heating systems in the now defunct Nasa Spaceships, and occasionally I moonlight on parts for some Lamborghini Guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoe Posted April 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 Do a search in the forum, we have been thru this recently. If by recently, you mean 2011 and not in a Geothremal specific thread, I see what you mean. http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97507&highlight=Geothermal It has been touched in in several threads. However, no search showed a a direct topic of it. My hope was for people to talked the pro's and even some frustrations with the systems they have. Talk about if it's a loop or a pump and dump, and how they might do things different in the future or next time. I have received a few PM's that are pretty helpful. That is very appreciated. Anything electric, and I'm screwed. So working/learning this system is pretty much a love hate process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS69 Posted April 17, 2014 Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 If by recently, you mean 2011 and not in a Geothremal specific thread, I see what you mean. http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97507&highlight=Geothermal It has been touched in in several threads. However, no search showed a a direct topic of it. My hope was for people to talked the pro's and even some frustrations with the systems they have. Talk about if it's a loop or a pump and dump, and how they might do things different in the future or next time. I have received a few PM's that are pretty helpful. That is very appreciated. Anything electric, and I'm screwed. So working/learning this system is pretty much a love hate process. Sorry, I thought this was discussed more recently. Yes, I have geothermal in my house. We installed it when we built the house 18 years ago. Yes, there is a place in Plain City, Geo Source One that installs and services geothermal systems. We have a Tetco system and my brother and parents have the Water Furnace brand. I have a closed loop system, with 3500 feet of piping throughout my side yard. If you have additional questions let me know. Overall, we have been very happy with our system. My parents got 22 years from their first Water Furnace. We went with Tetco, because my heating contractor when we built our house wasn't able to purchase from Water Furnace directly. Whenever, I need a new system in the future it will be Water Furnace from Geo Source one, these guys know their stuff and have been around for a long time. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoe Posted April 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2014 Thanks Rick. Ours it Teteco as well. Aside from it being 40 years old, we are on a well and have hard water, with a pump and dump system. The issue with pump and dump, and hard water is the build up that occurs over time. Given I have a system that is not working, and that it's surely clogged in a never easy place to get to, I'd say this one is all done. I'm not re-digging to do a close loop. I just can't justify all the expense to have it pay itself off in 15 years+. If we were building new, that would be different. I'm going to have to look into some efficiency electric heating and cooling systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyM3rC Posted April 18, 2014 Report Share Posted April 18, 2014 In regards to the build up in the system- my old system that was about as old as I am had no buildup whatsoever in the main pipes. At least where we cut there was nothing, although I can't say if there wasn't build up somewhere else in the system. I'll be interested to hear if you had buildup in yours when you remove it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoe Posted April 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2014 If we do end up going with non geo, I don't see any reason to pull what is in the ground out. As for the piping that is in the house, we will have to see what is in there. They are coming back out tomorrow to talk details. I would like a working effeciant geo. If what I have is too old to fix or get parts for/ has crazy build up from hard water, then I wil have to get updated on my other options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRN96WS6 Posted April 18, 2014 Report Share Posted April 18, 2014 Why couldn't you put in a whole house water softener that the water would go through before going into the geo thermal unit? If that's not possible disregard as I don't know much about geothermal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoe Posted April 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 I thought about that. And thought it was a great idea for a minute too. I just put in a $5000 Kinetico softener last year. My reason to decide against it was not wanting to over work the pricey new softener, that should last us the next 30 years, we hope. It may work, but without hearing that is has been done before, it's not something I'm will to give a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XChris1632X Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 I have a customer that had horrible water and I refused to install a new geothermal on his well in the current condition. We brought the well driller out and he redrilled the well and in only 39 feet more depth had beautiful water. He was able to remove half of the water treatment equipment in his house and only has a softener which uses less than 1/4 the salt it used to. I think he had around 2k in getting his well fixed and we have yet to had any issues with build up in the unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoe Posted April 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 I use about 80 lbs of salt for 10 Mouths. I don't think that is bad, but I have nothing to compare it to. Chris, is it worth getting a system this old running? Are the components needed to fix it even out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XChris1632X Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Out here the hardness isn't as much a problem as the iron is. Iron seems to plug geo and tankless units faster than other deposits out here. I guess I missed reading what the definate problem really was. If it is indeed plugged you are prob out of luck. I commonly use chemicals to flush and clean the units but depending on the water if it is that old it could be too late. After so long you won't get everything cleaned out. Once the deposits form they act as insulators and don't allow for the heat transfer and you lose efficiency as it gets worse. Does the compressor run? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoe Posted April 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 It trips the safety relay and shuts off after a minute. I don't know that it's clogged. I know it's old. I now think it hasn't worked in quite a while. The motor in the heater is blown and some components in the geo, a booster, are shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XChris1632X Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 It possibly could be plugged or it could be a zone valve not operating correctly. There are quite a few things that can cause that but running for a minute or two and shutting off is commonly a flow problem. First, can you hear water moving under the initial start up. Maybe best to have someone watch at the drain to see if water is coming out. If there is absolutely no water at all, it could be as simple as a zone or possibly a pump. Many pump and dump systems will rely on mostly well system pressure to move the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoe Posted April 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 I did hear water moving. Pretty positive the dump goes to the pond, but have not been able to see if it has flow when the reset is triggered. Where it comes from the well, feeds off the same line the pressure tank fills from. Given my dealings with the well treatment recently, and having to triple check the function of the pressure tank, I feel confident everything from the well is functioning very good. I have a guy coming at 10am. I will sask about the zone value and seeing if water is dumping. Thanks Chris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS69 Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 I have a customer that had horrible water and I refused to install a new geothermal on his well in the current condition. We brought the well driller out and he redrilled the well and in only 39 feet more depth had beautiful water. He was able to remove half of the water treatment equipment in his house and only has a softener which uses less than 1/4 the salt it used to. I think he had around 2k in getting his well fixed and we have yet to had any issues with build up in the unit. Chris, do you sell/install Water Furnace? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XChris1632X Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 I believe we briefly did in the past but now we use Comfort-Aire Geologix units which I think just went through a rebranding but same unit we have used for years. I work on a lot of water furnaces and they share a lot of the same designs/parts. We have had really good luck with them and that's why we don't bother switching to anything else. I don't like to sell anything that needs maintenance on my end so I don't sell cheap units. It doesn't pay for me or the customer to have to work on something constantly. If it wasn't for these units I would probably sell water furnace. As with most companies out there, some has to do with what is available to me from my suppliers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoe Posted April 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Chris, should you find yourself in my area, I have a ton of beer, BBQ food, and ammo to play with. I'm here all weekend *cough cough* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.cos Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 akula has it and I believe he has a thread on here about it I don't think it's been a fun system as far as issues go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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