The Ultra Series 2 Gas Fired Boiler is equipped with the patented PhD technology from Weil McLain. The PhD stands for Precision Hydronic Data technology; this technology has a smart system that brings the PhD heating and hot water requirements while bringing the most efficiency by determining the data parameter of your home heating system.
The Ultra Series 2 Gas Fired Water Boiler has a cast aluminum heat exchanger and a burner that is made with a high quality stainless steel construction and the burner uses a factory mixed air and gas, which offers a wider assortment of firing rates. This will save money as you won’t need to fire up the boiler as much as you would on any other boiler system.
It also has an Ultra Control Mode; this means that the control module answers to the signals from the thermostat, water supply, return water sensors and the flue gas sensor. Almost all of the sensors in the Ultra 2 Series answer and respond to the Ultra Control Mode. Everything is kept neatly in this package.
The boiler transformer installed in the Ultra Series 2 is designed to decrease the amount of electrical voltage used in the line. It has a range of 120 vac to 24 vac. The 24 vac controls the gas valve and the blower signal. The front door of the boiler is designed to be sealed to the boiler assembly around the whole boiler. Some other boilers are designed partially around the boiler.
The Ultra 2 Series Boiler has a P/T temperature sensor that is installed on the pressure temperature gauge and can be installed into the outlet water pipe. Some other standard features on the Ultra Series 2 are the Boiler Drain Valve, the Data Port, the Air Intake Adapter and the Venturi, which is designed to act as a vacuum when the air comes through the venturi. This device is used to help with the quality of the airflow.
When you are working with the operation of the boiler, there are just some things that you should know. You should not block the flow of combustion or any ventilation to the boiler. The heat exchanger is constructed with aluminum and needs the pH system should always read between 7.0 and 8.5. The water chemistry should always be checked when the boiler is serviced.
There are easy to read electronic display buttons on the Ultra 2 Series Boiler. The display has a 4 number display, you can access the heating temperature setting, you can see the outlet water temp and all other operating conditions, you can see the boiler status and the shutdown and any lock out codes which makes troubleshooting problems easy.
When you have someone install these boilers, you will need to know that the clearance for hot water pipes is ½” from all combustible materials. For the vent pipe the clearance has to be at least 0.20″. You should have 12″ of maximum ceiling enclosure and a 12″ maximum above the floor enclosure. By ensuring the proper clearances you can look forward to a stress free installation.
Kirk,
Thanks for all the great responses, Thank you for helping these fine folks by responding to there questions, and most of all, I am glad an article like this can help so many people, and you seem to have helped many!
Its amazing what a SIMPLE web page can do.
Thanks so much again Kirk!
Joseph a.k.a. Wet Head
Hi there,
This forum is great!
I have the Weil Mclain Ultra Series 2 – installed in December of 2005 with a Taco SR506 circulator, Amtrol/extrol model 30 expansion tank, and an indirect fired Superstore ultra stainless water tank (80 gallons)for DHW. Heats DHW plus 2 zones of house.
Have not had any problems with the heater until after the DHW tank just had to be replaced.
The Superstore Ultra died a pre-mature death (leaking everywhere) a few days ago. Was still under warranty, so got a replacement for free, but had to pay for the replacement labor.
Used the same, very large, highly rated heat/ac company that installed the forced air heating/cooling system in the other half of my house. They did the replacement, but afterwards the Mclain Ultra would not restart. Kept stalling at the b 30 soft lockout error( Reason = “High limit operation – temperature rise across boiler too high.”)
says “usually indicates flow rate too low.”
The guys that replaced the water tank did not know anything about the heater. I was able to get the company to send another technician supposedly knowledgeable of these heaters, without charging me (the manager wanted to – said it would be $120 for first half hour and then $50 afterwards). I argued that the heater was fine before and that it was probably some kind of installation/system integration problem.
Took the technician a couple of hours to get it running. He said it had not worked with this particular model before. He was very nice/professional and did work methodolically to try to figure it out. He flushed the system 2x (although he claims there was no air in the lines from the installation). He also checked the voltage – said seemed Ok. Powered down/up every few minutes. Eventually started ok, although was not sure why.. said to keep an eye on it and to call again if it had trouble (but I would definitely be charged if they had to come out again…)
It had been running fine for the last 3 days until this morning when it again is flashing b 30 and there is no heat.
I have tried restarting it several times (since that is what he said he did, and it just started working after a few tries…)
It has been a couple of hours, and no luck.
Do you have any ideas? Looks from above that could be the Taco circulator that coincidentally failed when DHW tank replaced. or the pressure differential – pressure not set right after replacing DHW tank?
after getting $800 bill to replace DHW tank, not in mood to pay more to potentially just to have the installation adjusted properly for my heater, or for the technicians to come up to speed on my heater at my expense. If there anyway I can tell if it is the Taco heater that needs replacing, and not just an adjustment that needs to be made to the DHW tank installation?
thanks a lot,
-K
Hello all,
besides the circulator problems with flow do you have hard water, sediment,or just plane bad water. over time this may start to build up in the exchanger causing low flow.
To all that have the Weil-Mclain Ultra series 1,2,or 3 look at your manual under piping and see if your boiler piping looks like the manual, and if it does, not this could be a main cause of your problems. The piping may look complicated but take a few minniutes and look it over.
Some of the soft lock outs because of over temping may be rectified by changing a few of the paramiters in the controll.
It is also very,very very very important to have some one that knows the boiler, how it works,how to set the paramiters and how to install them properly.
HAVE YOU SENT IN YOUR REGISTATION CARDS. If not find them and send them in,(on the front of the envelope with the boiler manuals)It gives you a 5 year parts and labor warranty. I belive it is transferable. Even if it is close on age its worth sending it in. You can call to see if it is regitered you will need the CP # (it is on the frame twards the bottom inside the cover) 1-800-824-5090 If you do not have the CP # it is hard for them to look it up (look in the phone book how many people have the same last name). The people that answer the calls are not techs and are very helpfull (DONT BE MEAN). Some contractors are not registered with the warranty people so you may have to pay the contractor and then get reimbursed, I am not sure how it works in a whole.
I absolutely love these boilers and when installed properly they are great. They are mechanical and will break down but as a whole they are GREAT.
If I can help I will and Ill try a visit again soon.
Hello- we installed the Ultra 155 boiler in our newly renovated house. The first few weeks it worked fine. Then it began to lock out and the error code was water flow. So my plumber contacted Weill Mclein and they told him to replace the pump. He installed a TACO. They also replaced the board for us free of charge. It worked for awhile and then it began locking out daily for high temp. So my plumber followed their techs directions and he changed some of the parameters. It worked fine for about two weeks and now it is locking out all the time. Our plumber suggested taking the water heater offline and putting in a instantaneous water heater so it will not rely on boiler. What do you think or know about this?? We are afraid to leave the house when it gets cold fearing the boiler will lock out and our pipes will freeze???
John
I forgot to adress the Super Store tanks. Thes are a great Stainless tank but when using them with the Ultra you need to make sure the circulator is sized right. I belive it needs to be a Taco 0014 or equivilant(lots head pressure threw coil). Under sizing will effect the recovery of the hot water and the boiler over temping. The tank should (needs) 1″ piping from the boiler to the coil.
Also back to the boiler piping make sure the pipeing is sized to the chart in the manual.
thank you! technician happened to come over today just after you responded. He was glad to get your feedback. the circulator was only half the size of a taco 0014. He put in a german brand one that is between an 11 and 14 that was in his truck to see if it resolved the problem. was all we could at the time as the whole neighborhood happened to lose electricity (man holes actually blowing up down the street, so had to shut down electric~) right after he came. After he left, electricity came back on. It started running, but still got b 30 error. he returned. I think he wasresetting some parameters. I had to leave. When I came back it was running in normal mode. the water is much hotter (was only lukewarm before) … we will see if it makes it through tomorrow morning’s shower time. thank you again! – K
also – submitting my registration card now~ they emailed it to me and send the warranty would become active a month after they received the card…
Im glad to hear you got it fixed. Depending on the size of your boiler the circulator size may vary, the pump sizing chart is in the manual
Some times when your boiler comes on to heat the hot water the water in the coil is very hot so the return sensor gets a spike in temp and may cause soft lock outs, this is not a real problem but if you are watching the boiler operate you may notice it.
A b 30 code is a soft lock out, “High temp operation, temp rise across the boiler to high”. usualy a flow issue if it continues to happen have the tech check the boiler circulator (this circulator should be on the return pipe of the boiler and piped below the hot water tank return pipe) to see if its operating. The biger circulator on the hot water tank may have helped for now untill you have a call for heat it may show up again.
The boiler circulator does not come on when you have a call for hot water, it only comes on when you call for heat.
One last thing was the warranty person helpfull? now im done rambling
Correction to to position of the boiler circulator. It should be on the return pipe ABOVE the return ot the hot water tank
I have a Weil McLain Ultra-80 model that has made it unattended through 2 northern Michigan winters. Sounds like I’m lucky based on what I read. But as soon as I return to the home and turn up the thermostat, I get an E02 or E28 error message.
However, my major concern at the moment is the howling noise that occurs when the boiler is firing at certain levels. I have found an adjustment screw on the gas valve but can’t find information as to which way to turn it to eliminate the howling. Any ideas?
Thanks for your time and input,
Kevin Fabry
Kevin,
The E02 and E28 are tied together resulting from the same cause. The E28 shows you have a problem with the blower. Usually, the blower’s control circuit is faulty. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do for this except get a new blower. The E02 code is because the boiler has tried to ignite 5 times and since the blower is not running, has failed to ignite and has locked out.
Kirk
Kirk: thank you for your comments on the error messages. Do you have any experience or thoughts on the howling noise when firing? I spoke with Weil-McLain and they said to check 1) for a loose silencer (which was not the cause), and 2) have a service technician adjust the screw on the gas valve. I spoke with my service technican and he recommended gradually opening the gas valve adj screw. I opened it gradually until I reached 1 1/2 turns and the howling got worse. So, I returned it to the original setting and per my technician’s advise, started closing or tightening. I’ve now gradually tighted the adj screw by 1 1/2 turns without any change to the howling noise. WC won’t give any guidance on the adjustments for liability purposes.
Any thoughts?
Kevin
Kevin,
Could the howling be because the boiler is over-firing due to inadequate water flow? I haven’t had any of the Ultra’s I have installed howl because of the gas situation. I have on Trinity’s though. Check and see what the model number is on your pump. An Ultra 80 should have at least a Taco 007 circulator. I can’t imagine it was installed with anything smaller. I had a Buderus once that was howling and after trying numerous different things to no avail I took it apart and cleaned it up. It didn’t look too dirty, but there must have been enough dust in there to create a problem. After cleaning the problem was gone. Might give that a try.
Good Luck, Kirk
Kirk:
We have the Ultra Series 2 w/PHD boiler as well and it is flashing E02. I understand the error code as we had lost heat 5 times last winter!! Our house hovered at 55 degrees for a combined 7 days & trying to get our boiler “fixed” has been a costly nightmare! The unit is going on 4 years & I thought we had it fixed last winter! The techs finally figured out that a zone controller needed to be installed since we have dual zones and the bozo that initially installed the unit configured it for one zone (which would explain the constant fan blowing & costly energy bills). To date, we have had the following replaced or diagnosed: “has exhaust kit, would rather see “gooseneck” 3″ PVC, replaced the draft inducer blower motor, replaced circulator with Taco 007-F5 120V, replaced gas valve, inducer motor would make “grumbling” sound AND today when I turned the heat on, I got the E02 error code!!!! HELP!!
Lisa
Lisa,
Since you mentioned that the tech’s put a 007 pump on your boiler I figure you have either an Ultra-80 or 105. If your unit is larger than either of these you will have to get a different pump or you will probably have more problems (flow) in the future. I have installed many of these boilers with the factory termination for the flue and the combustion air instead of the “gooseneck†you are referring to without any problems. The only way the factory termination could really cause you any trouble is if the was wind blowing at it constantly causing the exhaust to get sucked back into the combustion air. The zone controller you mentioned shouldn’t have any bearing on if the boiler operates properly or not. If the boiler is piped correctly, and getting enough flow the boiler should operate without caring what your zone controller is doing. The heat being distributed to your house might be affected though. Now to your E02 error code: As noted in your control supplement manual that should have been left with the boiler you will note that there are many scenarios that can cause this. The reason the boiler locks out is that it has tried to fire 5 times without success. I have had to replace the inducer fan on boilers before as the control board on these fans will fail. But they shouldn’t grumble (as I am sure you have suspected), and have never heard one grumble. Have the techs removed and cleaned, or replaced the ignition electode? This tends to be more of an issue if the gas supply is propane versus natural. But sometimes this electrode will get a white film on it similar to a calcium deposit and will not operate properly. This is where I’d start first. Also if the fan IS making the grumbling noise I think you should have it replaced (still under warranty). If cleaning you ignition electrode doesn’t work, give me a little more information about your system. The BTU size of the boiler, type of gas, total lineal footage of your flue and number of elbows, how far your boiler is from the gas meter. We should be able to figure out what is causing this problem. Also where is your geographic location.
Kirk
Kirk,
THANK YOU so much for getting back with me! It’s refreshing to deal with someone who actually knows what he’s talking about! I checked and yes, we have the Ultra 105, Series 2 model. We live in Waukee, Iowa and only on the coldest days did the boiler stop working (and while my husband was out of town)!! We actually just got our warranty retro active since you had to fill out the card 30 days after installation (which we bought the house new 4 months after it was installed). So, $2000 later, the company, Golden Rule, agreed to refund us for only 1/2 our bill (that’s a whole other issue – our a/c had a $1000 repair this summer also – beginning to wonder if this company knows how to install heating & cooling systems at all). The tech that came out Saturday said once he removed a seal and let more oxygen in, the system fired right up. He’s thinking it’s not getting enough oxygen (and he said he knows nothing about the system, all the other techs who have worked on our home refused to come out since all of the parts have been replaced (except the control board which they’ve checked several times) & said it’s too big of a problem…I’m beginning to think we have a lemon or it wasn’t installed properly). Either way, IF/WHEN the boiler stops working again, do you think it’s reasonable to have it replaced with the dozen repairs we’ve had? March/April, 2010 will be 5 years and I do NOT want to have to pay any more money for this unit!! If by chance we don’t have any more problems this winter, is there an extended warrranty we can get? THANKS!!
Lisa
Lisa,
Since you mentioned that the tech’s put a 007 pump on your boiler I figure you have either an Ultra-80 or 105. If your unit is larger than either of these you will have to get a different pump or you will probably have more problems (flow) in the future. I have installed many of these boilers with the factory termination for the flue and the combustion air instead of the “gooseneck” you are referring to without any problems. The only way the factory termination could really cause you any trouble is if the was wind blowing at it constantly causing the exhaust to get sucked back into the combustion air. The zone controller you mentioned shouldn’t have any bearing on if the boiler operates properly or not. If the boiler is piped correctly, and getting enough flow the boiler should operate without caring what your zone controller is doing. The heat being distributed to your house might be affected though. Now to your E02 error code: As noted in your control supplement manual that should have been left with the boiler you will note that there are many scenarios that can cause this. The reason the boiler locks out is that it has tried to fire 5 times without success. I have had to replace the inducer fan on boilers before as the control board on these fans will fail. But they shouldn’t grumble (as I am sure you have suspected), and have never heard one grumble. Have the techs removed and cleaned, or replaced the ignition electode? This tends to be more of an issue if the gas supply is propane versus natural. But sometimes this electrode will get a white film on it similar to a calcium deposit and will not operate properly. This is where I’d start first. Also if the fan IS making the grumbling noise I think you should have it replaced (still under warranty). If cleaning you ignition electrode doesn’t work, give me a little more information about your system. The BTU size of the boiler, type of gas, total lineal footage of your flue and number of elbows, how far your boiler is from the gas meter. We should be able to figure out what is causing this problem. Also where is your geographic location.
Kirk
Lisa,
I am not sure what seal you may be referring to. If the combustion air was piped into the boiler directly it should be getting enough air. Unless there is a chance that maybe birds have nested within this pipe or something like that. When these units are operating correctly they are very good units. However, when they aren’t they are a royal pain in the butt (as you know). The deal is that there are so many different components to these boilers, that getting a new one won’t necessarily solve the problem if it is not installed properly. And many times it isn’t the main component of the boiler itself, but a separate integrated part that fails.
Do you have an email where I could give you a pertinent information contact at Weil McLain where maybe you could get some information concerning your warranty. I really don’t want to post the number here, although I should for a little payback :).
Kirk
Kirk,
Thanks again! My email is michel324@mchsi.com.
Lisa
Hi Kirk:
Had ultra 155 series 2 and indirect 40 gal hot water installed Feb 08. Just started having problems. Other day had E-29 code. Pressed reset button and yesterday boiler kicked on and ran for 6 hours. Then getting 0-76 code (I believe this is standby with current water temp in system). Today restarted boiler and it ran for approx 4 hours. The code is again 0-70+/_ . I believe it gets stuck in standby mode. When I press reset boiler appears to attempt to start as blower fan is spinning but will not accellorate and no ignition visible. It is always returning to the O mode. Any ideas? Also I was away when system was installed and didn’t realize 30 day warranty requirement and just registered my system the other day (19 months after installation) Will my warranty coverage start anytime soon?
Tks, Paul
i have ultra 80 boiler and i installed myself it ran just fine last winter and i am trying to get it going this year. i am getting code for supply is 58> than return. i know why the water is running through heat exchanger. pump was hot so i replaced with taco 007 same as old pump. ran water backwards through heat exchanger. water ran fine. i am clueless as to what can be causing the water not to run through the heat exchanger. I NEED HELP
Kevin,
The howling you hear may be that the blower speed needs to be increased or decreased. This has happened a few times to me there is a parrameter for this but if you donot have the controll supliment you will not be able to change it yourself.
Lisa, is there any way you would be willing to e-mail some pictures of your boiler so I could have a look at them. In no way should a seal have been removed from anything on your boiler. I realy think your boiler is piped incorectly. I hope you can get your boiler fixed before it gets to cold. FIND SOMEONE THAT KNOWS HOW TO SERVICE THE ULTRA
John,
No you should not take out the storage tank and put in a instant heater. Your system should work fine if piped correctly. What size pump is on the hot water tank? What size tank and pipe is piped into your tank from the boiler? What type of water tank do you have? What size piping is going in and out of your boiler? You also said renovated house, what do you have for heaters fintube baseboard, radiators,radiant. And I am going to assume you have a serries 3. Take a look at the boiler piping manual and see if it looks like your piping. A little more info will help figure out what is happening.
Dave,
Do you have city water or well water. Are you using circulators or zone valves (If zone valves there should be 1 system circulator (system circ may not be running) ? Do you have castiron radiators (they have lots of build up in them that may plug the passages in the boiler if not purged and flushed)? Is there a flow controll on the supply side of the boiler (that could be stuck). What size pipe do you have in and out of your boiler? I will check back later to see if I can help.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO HAVE A SERVICE THECH THAT KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING WITH THE ULTRA BOILERS. Some companies install these and have no clue how to fix them. If you cant find a good tech go to a plumbing/heating wholesaler around you and ask them if they know of any one that knows how to work on them.
Paul,
Did you get your issue fixed yet?
On the Ultra series 2 I dont see a way to set the miniumn target temp when using the outdoor reset. I checked through the control suppliment and see where you set the design temp and the target temp at the design temp but I dont see anywhere to set miniumn water temp. I am running Slantfin, thinfin baseboards and they really like 120 degrees or more. I find on warmer days it starts off with the target temp too low and it take about 30 minutes before target temp kicks up via the boost feature before the the room temp starts to rise.
I use proliphix termostats monitored by intherma.com(highly recommend) and it is really easy for me to see the temp not go anywhere for a while and then ramps up hard as the target temp starts to rise.
Is there a way to set a miniumn target temp on the series 2? If I can get that to work properly I would love to turn the boost feature off but I dont see a way to do that either.
Rich, Try raising your temperature setting for Parameter 4 (page 18 of the Control supplement). This is the setting that the water temp will operate when the outside temp is 32 or lower. It also changes the curve (Fig.5 page 10) to a steeper response in relation to lowering outdoor temperatures.
Reply
i have ran water through the boiler the way it should go. i hooked up a water hose where the pressure relief valve is on the supply side and ran water through the boiler and out of the drain valve on the bottom of the boiler so there is no flow problem through the boiler. i have 1″ copper pipes in and out of boiler and it ran just fine last year as i stated. i dont have any zone valves or flow valves anywhere. i have no clue why water will not flow through the boiler. i am going to call a local boiler tech see if he can figure it out
Rich, Try raising your temperature setting for Parameter 4 (page 18 of the Control supplement). This is the setting that the water temp will operate when the outside temp is 32 or lower. It also changes the curve (Fig.5 page 10) to a steeper response in relation to lowering outdoor temperatures.
I already have that set at 185F. I guess I could make it 190F but what I really am looking to do is shift the left side of the curve up so that at 55F or so I hit 120F. If I could do that I would then want to turn the boost off.
Is that possible?
Rich
You seem to understand your boiler well enough I think I can lead you through this.
1) With the boiler display in standby (STBY) mode.
2) Press and hold the STEP button. While holding the STEP button press and hold the MODE button. Hold both buttons together for several seconds until CODE is displayed. Release buttons. CODE stays on the display.
3)NOTE: If CODE is not displayed after several seconds release the buttons and press MODE button several times to return to STBY. Repeat step 2 again.
Once CODE is displayed:
4) Press STEP button once.
5) Use the + or – buttons to make the display show C-05.
6) Press the STORE button.
7) Press the mode button several times until PARA is displayed.
8) Press the STEP button until P-5 (or P-05) is displayed. This is the outlet water temperature the boiler tries to maintain whenever the outside temperature is higher than 32 degrees ( the fixed setting on the curve).
9) Use the + or – buttons to make your desired adjustment to this temperature.
10) Press the STORE button to save this change.
11) Press the MODE button until STBY is displayed to exit.
This should make the change you are looking for. You can experiment with this setting to accomplish your desired heating preference.
Good Luck
Kirk