Hello,
Our church had a Prestige Triangle Tube unit installed a couple of years ago, and we have never been satisfied with its performance. The installer has checked it multiple times and assures us that everything is working as it should. We suspect that he is just trying avoid having to do further work or stand behind the product.
The reason for our suspicion goes beyond the fact that the church does not heat to a comfortable temperature. If the unit were merely undersized for our church, I would expect to see a slow but steady rise in temperature. It is commonplace to be sitting in a cold church and hear the pump start and pipes start to pop, signifying that hot water is again flowing. This even though the thermostat is set at 68 and the room temperature is in the low 60s.
Wanting more detail, I created a temperature log last March from 6:30 at night to 3:00 the following afternoon. This was on a night with temperatures in the high teens in the evening, low teens at the coldest overnight, and low 30s for a high on the next day. Some findings:
6:30 – 9:00: Thermostat turned down as a test. Temperature falls smoothly and gradually from 56.5 to 55.5. No reversals.
9:00 – 10:06: 55.5 to 58.9 steady rise
10:06 – 11:45: 58.9 to 59.9 steady rise
11:45 – 6:51: 59.9 to 60.9 some fallbacks
We gained nearly 3½ degrees in the first hour. It then took almost 2 hours to gain one more degree and over seven hours for the next, even though the outside temperature was not changing significantly.
The next day:
9:52 – 10:46: 63.8 to 65.3 one fallback
10:46 – 1:04: 65.3 to 65.3 up and down
1:04 – 2:13: 65.3 to 67.3 up and down
We gain 1½ degrees in less than an hour. Then, with full sun and significant warming outside, we gain nothing for the next 2¼ hours. Then we gain 2 degrees in 1¼ hour. We gained 12 degrees over the full 18 hour test, never reaching the thermostat setting of 70.
Before the purchase the dealer told us that it would heat so rapidly that we wouldn’t have to turn up the thermostat until Sunday morning. His latest recommendation is that we leave the thermostat setting up all of the time, so we are now expected to heat the church to 65-70 degrees for 168 hours a week just so that it will be comfortable for one.
It appears to me that the operation of the pump is sporadic. I have asked if there is some kind of shutdown control to protect the pumps from overheating that might be malfunctioning. However those that should know tell me that there is not.
I find it very hard to believe that this is normal operation and would appreciate any insight or suggestion as to action we might take.
Thank you.
Gary
Our church had a Prestige Triangle Tube unit installed a couple of years ago, and we have never been satisfied with its performance. The installer has checked it multiple times and assures us that everything is working as it should. We suspect that he is just trying avoid having to do further work or stand behind the product.
The reason for our suspicion goes beyond the fact that the church does not heat to a comfortable temperature. If the unit were merely undersized for our church, I would expect to see a slow but steady rise in temperature. It is commonplace to be sitting in a cold church and hear the pump start and pipes start to pop, signifying that hot water is again flowing. This even though the thermostat is set at 68 and the room temperature is in the low 60s.
Wanting more detail, I created a temperature log last March from 6:30 at night to 3:00 the following afternoon. This was on a night with temperatures in the high teens in the evening, low teens at the coldest overnight, and low 30s for a high on the next day. Some findings:
6:30 – 9:00: Thermostat turned down as a test. Temperature falls smoothly and gradually from 56.5 to 55.5. No reversals.
9:00 – 10:06: 55.5 to 58.9 steady rise
10:06 – 11:45: 58.9 to 59.9 steady rise
11:45 – 6:51: 59.9 to 60.9 some fallbacks
We gained nearly 3½ degrees in the first hour. It then took almost 2 hours to gain one more degree and over seven hours for the next, even though the outside temperature was not changing significantly.
The next day:
9:52 – 10:46: 63.8 to 65.3 one fallback
10:46 – 1:04: 65.3 to 65.3 up and down
1:04 – 2:13: 65.3 to 67.3 up and down
We gain 1½ degrees in less than an hour. Then, with full sun and significant warming outside, we gain nothing for the next 2¼ hours. Then we gain 2 degrees in 1¼ hour. We gained 12 degrees over the full 18 hour test, never reaching the thermostat setting of 70.
Before the purchase the dealer told us that it would heat so rapidly that we wouldn’t have to turn up the thermostat until Sunday morning. His latest recommendation is that we leave the thermostat setting up all of the time, so we are now expected to heat the church to 65-70 degrees for 168 hours a week just so that it will be comfortable for one.
It appears to me that the operation of the pump is sporadic. I have asked if there is some kind of shutdown control to protect the pumps from overheating that might be malfunctioning. However those that should know tell me that there is not.
I find it very hard to believe that this is normal operation and would appreciate any insight or suggestion as to action we might take.
Thank you.
Gary