# First Alpine install...shortcycling...



## plumbcrazy81 (Jun 17, 2012)

Hey Everyone, been awhile since Ive posted but definitely been lurking 
Quick Background...Plumbing for 10 yrs, Licensed for 7. Self employed for just over a year. 
Business has been going really good the past few months thanks to decision to try YELP advertising. I know I read some mixed reviews of YELP on here but for me, it's working great. :thumbup:
So im from Mass so with the heating season and state rebate/loan programs has come a major influx of high efficiency boiler estimates. For years while I worked for other Companies I piped a lot of high efficiency boilers so I am very familiar with the piping aspects, primary and secondary etc. but unfortunately I was very seldom around to see the boilers fired off and dialed in. 
Heating has never been my strong suit as nothing is taught in plumbing classes about it other than gas fitting, and I never really got too much field experience. (A lot of new construction work). 
Now that I am on my own, I felt I needed to pick a boiler manufacturer to go with when people ask what I put in, so for my first solo boiler I chose the Alpine. It seems to be very popular with other contractors, so I went with it.
The install went well, I try very hard to do neat work that is aesthetically appealing. So when it was all done and I had installed the programmable thermostat that the state had sent my customer I turned the boiler on. I think my first mistake was turning the tstat all the way up. I think this confused the boiler with the outdoor sensor (it was 70 out) The boiler fired up, went up to 140 and turned off, down to 130, then back up to 140 and again, and again just short cycling. So I went back today, and called burnham to speak with a Rep. He suggested jumping out the thermostat at the boiler and told me the boiler should come up to whatever the outdoor sensor will allow it to and then it should modulate down and hold that temp til the tstat is satisfied. So with the tstat jumped out, I turned it on and it came up to about 130 and then I heard it modulate down and it held that temp for a couple minutes...then started short cycling again :blink: The rep also asked about the spacing of my tees for the primary. My tees are 4.5" apart and are supposed to be 4" (4 times the diameter of manifold) So a little off, but I dont think its enough to cause these issues. He also asked about the sizing of the boiler. Its a smaller condo, the sq.ft. and baseboard called for 75k so an 80 would have worked but the residents wanted tee's left off for an indirect so I installed a 105. The rep told me that you dont need to add anything for an indirect because its wired for priority...but this is a modulating boiler so again I don't think that's the issue either. I know oversizing high efficiency boilers will decrease the lifespan but this isnt GROSSLY oversized, just a little extra for the indirect i thought...now I know better but still i dont think thats the problem, although at this point I really have no clue what the problem is. I was just hoping someone might share some of there expertise or experience with this stuff. Any Ideas? Im going back on thursday to sit in front of it and call the rep again. If needed I could have a burnham rep come out but hopefully I can resolve this...(With your help) :notworthy:


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## vinpadalino (Aug 27, 2010)

I never installed an alpine but I would check the polarity of the wiring and it has proper flow.


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## RealLivePlumber (Jun 22, 2008)

Id put the right size boiler in.......................


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## bct p&h (Jan 19, 2013)

what part of Mass are you in? I do a ton of work in the Merrimac valley.

First, the boiler doesn't know what you set the thermostat to. As far as the boiler is concerned it is on or off, not 75 or 90. 
Second, programmable thermostats are junk especially for modulation boilers. They are more efficient running on low fire all day than going on and off.
Third, try an htp boiler next time. They are less money and look almost identical inside. The company is also out of Mass so you're supporting local jobs.

From the sound of your problem with the alpine I'd say you have a flow problem. Lazy pump, obstruction or air in the line. The boiler is heating up faster than you can get the water out of it. Or you might have a bad board. What size pump did you run for primary/secondary?


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## Catlin987987 (Nov 12, 2010)

Did you program the boilers parameters or just use what came with it?


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## leakey98 (Oct 6, 2013)

Does the boiler have wwsd mode if so that could b throwing it off. It sounds like a programming issue


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