Basic Questions about Navien

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Who controls this unit?
If you mean who is responsible - my landlord calls a local plumbing biz when they get complaints but nothing gets resolved.
 
Then, unfortunately, you must deal with the landlord to get resolution. If you feel what they are doing is a danger to you and your family, you could contact either the police or housing authority. Other than this, moving out may be your only other option.
 
If your a tenant you should not mess with this system. The taco controller will have a thermostat for each zone. The pumps are labeled front and back apt. You should have a thermostat somewhere in your unit just like your neighbor.
 
First. Havasu and Greynolds – thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge. I am a person who likes to understand ‘how stuff works” and I clearly I know nothing about heating. But I like my apartment and have a good landlord and a concerned caretaker. The problem is that the local plumbing outfit bills but never fixes the issue.

I’m retired but a tech guy. So I was just trying to educate myself about the Navien before once more addressing the issue with my landlord. I would never interact personally with the equipment but would like to frame and isolate what the issue might be before calling the professional back in.

As mentioned, the system is clearly capable of providing enough heat for both apartments. But it is also clear that the thermostat signals from each apartments ‘appear’ to only ‘register’ at night. Everyday it is cold, may apartment temps drop to ~ 61 and then rises to ~ 71 in the evening. (I supplement my day heat with a space heater.) To a lay man like me the system behaves like it is on a ‘timer’.

So I visited the mechanical room and took the pics I presented; then looked up the Navien 240 info and got on this forum. I saw nothing in the Navien info about setting daily heating schedules. I have not looked into the capabilities of the Taco SR502 yet so I apologize so here is what I am asking asking…..



Am I correct in assuming:

1. The Navien’s primary function is to generate the heated water when requested?

2. The Taco SR502 is the quarterback and receives the thermostat info from the apartments and communicates any requests for hot water to the Navien?

3. Am I correct in thinking that each apartment in this case is referred to a “zone”?

4. And if in fact there was a schedule somewhere – it would be in the Taco?



Sorry for all the detail but I so appreciate your efforts.

Pete
 
Am I correct in assuming:

1. The Navien’s primary function is to generate the heated water when requested?

2. The Taco SR502 is the quarterback and receives the thermostat info from the apartments and communicates any requests for hot water to the Navien?

3. Am I correct in thinking that each apartment in this case is referred to a “zone”?

4. And if in fact there was a schedule somewhere – it would be in the Taco?



Sorry for all the detail but I so appreciate your efforts.

Pete
1) yes
2) Basically yes
3) yes
4) schedule would be done through the thermostat or the Navien combi.
 
4) schedule would be done through the thermostat or the Navien combi.

I currently have a dumb dial thermostat; no programming capability; but it does work fine.
So that leaves the Navien. I will look again at the docs for the 240E but I didn't previously see any instructions related to 'schedules'.
Havasu mentioned he had a plug in device - part number 30000609A.
The Navien 30000609A NR-10DU Remote Controller might unlock the secrets......less than a $100.

I guess I'll mention it to the landlord. Hell at this point I would pay for it to see if I have been living under half-ass schedule for years!
 

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You should have a thermostat somewhere in your apartment that tells the zone to heat up, or turn off the heat. This is the duty of the programmable thermostat.
If you cant find it, ask the landlord how you yourself can control the heat in your unit.
 
I have a working thermostat. The issue is what happens to the signal when it leaves my apartment. I'm trying to determine if it is being overridden by some 'schedule'......
 
I found a youtube video that showed the capablities of a Navien remote. It was older mode - NR-10PU


The device looks like it gives decent access to the brain of the Navien system and there looked like there was an option to set temps.

But it makes me ask:
1. Why would someone install such a system and not buy a $80 device to be able to control it?
 
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There is no scheduling or programming on the Navien without the remote. The Taco controller is basically a relay. Thermostat calls for heat taco sends control signal to boiler and circulator. On thing to keep in mind is if there is DHW use the space heating will not function until DHW use is done. So if water is being used by you or your neighbor space heating will be paused.

Taco Manual
Navien Manual
 
Here’s a thought, is there a chance that the hot water for the restaurant is run through this Navien unit ? If so, then the priority for the restaurant will over ride the heat . The taco zone controller has zone 2 priority , are you zone 1 or 2 ? Most likely zone 1 , since you are not getting heat since zone 2 will override. It’s hard to diagnose just looking at a few pictures but I would bet the zone priority could be causing your problem. Is the restaurant closed a certain day of the he week and your heat functions correctly? Can you temporarily cut off your neighbors heat ? Like closing a valve so you can determine which zone you are on ? Just my 2 cents, trying to help figure this out.
 
I think I understand your logic but there is no indication that the restaurant uses the Navien for anything. There is no visible piping running through the wall to the establishment. I see in this photo they label my neighbors apartment (Back Apt) with a 1; I am in the front apartment. Unclear if such designations carry through to the Taco..........
 

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The outside temp in NY at the moment is 38 degrees. I woke to an apartment that was ~ 71 degrees. But with each hour, I have lost heat. At the moment (11:30am) the apt temp is 62 degrees. This is the daily pattern. Since I began the thread, I have surfed through a bunch of blogs and looked at videos that deal with the Navien NCB-240E. (Ours was installed in 2017.)
As initially stated, I became convinced that somewhere in the system, a ‘schedule’ was triggering my daily heat drop. The appliance itself is essentially ‘closed’. The front panel does have a small led screen that allows for basic interaction – but no real access. However, Navien now produces a Navilink device - I assume it could be used by our model. In the Navilink product video, around the 8:30 mark, they discuss ‘recirculation’ – that was the closest thing I could find to a schedule:



I’m a layman, but it sounds like the function of ‘recirculation’ is to make sure the temps in the lines remain at predetermined levels. Not sure if that is true but in theory it might an impact on my heat. The video mentions other ‘parameter’ settings available via the Navilink but it doesn’t explore. Moreover, it ‘seems’ that the focus all seems to be on “domestic hot water” and not space heating (baseboards) which is my issue. I never seem to lose hot water in my taps.

So here I am a bit more knowledgeable but still cold. I don’t want to move. The landlord isn’t taking short cuts, he just hasn’t gotten the help from the local ‘pros’! But he’ll likely just call them again when I broach the subject. So what do you think:

1. Can a Navien rep be brought in directly for a review? If so, should I suggest?

2. Should I also suggest installing a Navilink? The video suggests the installation is plug and play?

PS. Mark's theory about the restaurant next door siphoning my heat still needs to be officially ruled out.

That’s plenty to chew on – and again thanks everyone - Pete
 
Back when i installed my Navien TWH, they actually sent reps to my house and verified the installation. Mind you, my house was 40 minutes from their factory. I hear these days, they wont even answer the phone. I'm glad i sold that house and first thing i did when I moved to my new house was to rip out that tankless crap, and installed a nice 50 gallon tanked water heater.
 
Definitely reach out to Navien this combi boiler should be serviced by people who know these systems but to be fair the problems I see are from bad installs and no maintenence services ever being done.
 
Thanks Rossando. I agree that is the correct approach. I started the thread to better understand what was going on because I was curious why my landlord couldn't fix it once and for all.
Any thoughts on the usefulness of the Navilink device?
 
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