M380 Hurricane Heater

[cmillsap]

(02-21-2013 11:25)Bird Owner Wrote:  Does each zone have a separate circulator pump?

Thanks,Rich,

No, The Huricane has one circulating pump providing fluid to the registers in both circuits. The supply and return lines are split outside the unit with tees in both lines.
There is another small pump inside the unit used in another separate circuit for preheating the engine. This pump is controlled by a engine preheat switch on thee dash.

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(02-21-2013 11:42)pgchin Wrote:  Thanks Chuck,
Rich is on to something if the Hurricane is like the Aquahot and zone 2 has its own circulation pump, great idea Rich! Thanks for the explanation Chuck. George has a great point as air is an issue with all of bird systems! Since the Tee out gets hot from zone2 but the return line is cold for zone 2 another SWAG may be a bad return tee valve on line 2. It may show "open" but in reality something might have broken off inside the line and it is somehow blocked. If its the kind that has the plastic handle and sits in the lines that was used on other vintages, then that could be a possibility. The only other way around bleeding the system that I know of other than what you described above is to get a submersible pump, a 5 gallon bucket and some extra heater hose and antifreeze. Break the supply and return line from the system for zone 2 and put them in the bucket with the pump attached to the supply line. Fill the bucket with the system antifreeze and let it push the air out and just let it run a while........sloppy and more $$$$$ but that is the only other idea I have for bleeding that I got out of the Aquahot "install" manual! In effect you are creating a zone 2 system with its own dedicated circulating pump and supply. Gosh, gotta love a challenge eh!

Thank, Peter,

The tees are plain old 1" brass and have no valve mechanism. I am not anxious to try to bleed the system through the bleeder screws on the registers. I agree with you and believe the best way to remove the blockage wheather it is air or debris is to backflush the system with water and replace the fluid. There are fittings available on the system to do this as shown in the pic below. You can see there are two hose bibs and a shutoff valve inbetween the two hose bibs. This is installed on the return line between the the tee and the HH unit.

I'm a little concerned to backflush the system first (through the left hose bib) as the reverse flowing fluid will flow back through the expansion tank in the unit before exiting the unit and the right hose bib. This because if it is debris blocking the flow, I may contaminate the expansion tank. So I think I will try pushing the fluid through the unit first (as it normally flows) and therefore push any debris out the left hose bib into the bucket.

I swear, owning Wanderlodge is full of challenges............