M380 Hurricane Heater

[Arcticdude]

You should be able to buy an inexpensive pump at any of the tool houses -northern tool, horrible freight, etc- that would get the job done once for cheap. Hopefully that's all you'll need it, is once. Maybe even 2 pumps, one to push and one to suck would work even better.

[cmillsap]

Circ. Pump March 809 HS Custom Magnetic Drive, 12 VDC, 3.0 GPM @ 12’ Head

This is the HH pump specs above


http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/100067909?c...=100067909

I found this pump at HD.
Do you thnk this pump will do the jop of purging the air out of my system and changing the antifreeze.

[davidbrady]

Chuck, do you have an old SHURflo water pump lying around? Those pumps are self-priming and would work.

I'm confused. The March pump isn't self priming, but if you're getting fluid flow thru Loop 1 then the pump's primed, and if the pump is primed then with the head it's capable of it should be able to push fluid thru Loop 2. Now I'm leaning more towards a mechanical obstruction.

Maybe you can disconnect Loop 2 and drain it of any remaining fluid and hook up a supply of regulated air to see if you can very, very, gently blow thru it, rather than deal with the messy fluid. Too much air and you can easily damage heat registers or split apart connectors. (with safety goggles, I don't want a dislodged projectile to hit you on the head)!

[cmillsap]

(02-22-2013 09:41)davidmbrady Wrote:  Chuck, do you have an old SHURflo water pump lying around? Those pumps are self-priming and would work.

I'm confused. The March pump isn't self priming, but if you're getting fluid flow thru Loop 1 then the pump's primed, and if the pump is primed then with the head it's capable of it should be able to push fluid thru Loop 2. Now I'm leaning more towards a mechanical obstruction.

Maybe you can disconnect Loop 2 and drain it of any remaining fluid and hook up a supply of regulated air to see if you can very, very, gently blow thru it, rather than deal with the messy fluid. Too much air and you can easily damage heat registers or split apart connectors. (with safety goggles, I don't want a dislodged projectile to hit you on the head)!

The March pump sits below both loops so it's kept primed.

David, I have some reservations about introducing more air into the loop, but like you, I am concerned about an obstruction other than air.

I think it may be prudent to just Reverse the hose connections on zone 2. The only risk is (if it is a mechanical obstruction) it could end up in the pump impeller at sometime in the future. This may push it back out and since it appears the obstruction is on the first register in the circuit, there is less danger of lodging it somewhere else before it hits the expansion tank.

What do you think about That?

[Robert Britton]

I found the invoice but the amount of coolant used was not listed. I also found my Hurricane Owners manual...here is what it says about filling the system with coolant...

To Fill system use a separate self priming pump with a hose on the suction side. Put the hose into a 5 gallon container. Remove the systems hose from the outlet of the expansion tank, which is feeding the system circulating pump and attach it to the outlet of the self priming pump. Remove the hose from the inlet of the expansion tank and hang it into the 5 gallon container.

Make a final check to ensure all of the air vents and drains are closed. Pour a mixture of antifreeze and water into the container and start the pump. As the mixture is pumped out, slowly add more mixture keeping the level above the inlet of the suction hose until all air has been expelled and the mixture starts coming out the return hose hanging in the container. This will flush the system of any debris and purge the lines of air. Continue to run the pump for about 15 minutes.

When no more air is being expelled, stop the pump and reconnect the lines to the expansion tank. Top off the expansion tank with the mixture and turn the systems circulating pump on with the jumper, located on the main control board just right of the pump fuse marked "cir. Pump Override". When the jumper is on, the pump will run continuously and the bottom LED will be lit.

Check for a good flow through the expansion tank and double check all joints for leaks, Open and close all air vents to eliminate any remaining air bubbles. Recheck the mixture level and circulation in the expansion tank.

Caution: Make sure you have good, quiet circulation of water through the heater. Check the pump to make sure it does not run dry. If the heater has air pockets trapped in the water jacket when it is turned on, it could overheat and damage the unit. None of this is covered by the warranty.

Here's a link to the manual. The model in the M380 is "CO45", also refured to as "CO45D"
http://itrheat.com/wp-content/uploads/20...ual_R4.pdf

Hope this helps.

[cmillsap]

Thank you, Robert,

I reversed the flow in zone 2 but ran out of coolant before I could get the fluid to the blockage. I had to keep filling the tank. Zone 2 was empty from the small register in the privy which is the first register serviced by the flow. The blockage is obviously there.

I'm just tired of fooling with it. I will make an appointment at ITR in Vancover on my next trip to WA this spring. It probably needs to be serviced anyway.

Considering the denist's bill of $1400, it would have been much cheaper to have it serviced by ITR.

I did get my electric heater in the bath repaired. Between those heaters and zone 1 on the Hurricane, we have plent heat available 'till then