Older WeepMizer acting up

[slash007]

Last year around this exact same time of year after surviving the bitter cold with no issues, I noticed one night that is was 30 degrees and no water was weeping. I went to the wash and the Weep Mizer said it was 37 degrees outside. I adjusted the turn on to a higher number to get by, but then changed the thermostat. When the new one was installed, it read the same as the old one, so I was baffled but then didn't need it anymore that year. Now this year I survived the crazy temps with no issues, but with the weather being warm during the day and dipping to about 25 at night, I had a freeze up 3 days ago and wasn't sure why. Last night I checked and the temp was 31 degrees and no weep. Going over to the wash, the Weepmizer said it was 39 degrees. Doesn't make sense to me that the thermostat is defective, so I'm wondering what the heck else could be wrong?

Thanks.

 

[Randy]

Where on the building is your Weepmizer thermostat located on the building? It should be away from any heat sources, floor heat, heat from the building etc. I have ours installed on the North side of the building on a bracket about 6 inches from the building on the back side of a beam. I've had to adjust the thermostat on the last one I replaced.

 

[slash007]

I have it in the first bay, on the wall that backs up to the ER. I always wondered about it getting heat from the ER or even the light above, but it only acts up this time of year and only the past 2 years. Never had this problem before. I even changed the light above to an LED light that doesn't put out heat like the old light with no luck.

 

[OurTown]

I'm not sure if it's the issue or not but they make two different replacements. One for the older units and one for the newer ones.

 

[washnvac]

Older one should be gray wire. The newer style is yellow wire. They are not interchangeable.

 

[Rudy]

My weepmizer had a wacky reading recently. I replaced the sensor with a new spare. The issue remained.

I opened the unit up....and found two rotten traces in the PC board near the bottom. I repaired the traces by soldering a wire between the two points that the traces were connecting.

Issue resolved. The unit works normally now with either sensor.

I still don't know why the circuit board traces rot/fail.

 

[Randy]

I have it in the first bay, on the wall that backs up to the ER. I always wondered about it getting heat from the ER or even the light above, but it only acts up this time of year and only the past 2 years. Never had this problem before. I even changed the light above to an LED

Try moving the temperature senor to the outside of the bay away from the heated building and floor heat. This is from the installation instructions for the DX1000 weepmizer
"Mount the sensor outside in a location that is not in direct sunlight or near any light fixtures. We recommend mounting the sensor on an angle bracket at least 3 inches from the wall on the north side of your building. Sensor should NOT be mounted to the equipment room wall due to the heat that leaks through the walls. If you cannot get to the north side of your building or far enough away from any heat sources we recommend using two sensors, one mounted on the east side and one mounted on the west side".
Once you get the sensor mounted in a location that it doesn't pick up any from the building or from your floor heat system it is possible to fine tune the sensor.

 

[slash007]

It is the old style and has the old style sensor. I did replace with the same old style sensor. I agree about the location instructions, they make sense. What doesn't make sense is that it has been completely fine and reading accurately in that location for 17 years now, so there has to be another variable. I will open it and see if I find any rotten traces. I actually might have another older style Weepmizer that I can connect and compare temps to see if the unit is at fault.

 

[Jsshac]

It is the old style and has the old style sensor. I did replace with the same old style sensor. I agree about the location instructions, they make sense. What doesn't make sense is that it has been completely fine and reading accurately in that location for 17 years now, so there has to be another variable. I will open it and see if I find any rotten traces. I actually might have another older style Weepmizer that I can connect and compare temps to see if the unit is at fault.

call Dixmore and see if they can still service the unit. I recall having something like this happen and it need to be serviced

 

[Undertaker II]

I have it in the first bay, on the wall that backs up to the ER. I always wondered about it getting heat from the ER or even the light above, but it only acts up this time of year and only the past 2 years. Never had this problem before. I even changed the light above to an LED light that doesn't put out heat like the old light with no luck.

View attachment 3102

I can tell you from the cold climate area that I'm in that there is a significant amount of heat loss between your equipment room wall and the bay. The shared wall gets very little ice buildup compared to the outside one's. This would indicate that you are likely picking up some of that heat. If I remember correctly the old sensors have a screw buried in the silicone behind it that you are suppose to be able to make adjustments with. Good luck. Kevin

 

[slash007]

Luckily 2 nights ago was the last night below freezing for the next few days at least, so no major concern right now. I do plan on moving the sensor to a different wall to see if that helps. It's just weird that it works completely fine all year until March then acts up. The heat on the ER wall has to be the same year round.

 

[cantbreak80]

This might be helpful.

http://www.dixmor.com/TIMER%20PDF/WEEP_TROUBLESHOOTING.pdf

Additionally, one can install multiple sensors...the WeepMiser will react with the coldest reading.

 

[george361]

Had same issue last year, replacement sensors would have same problem. Unit was 20 years old, mailed to Dixmor for repair, it cost me more in shipping than repair cost and it took longer to ship than repair, Dixmore fixed the day it arrived. Now holds calibration across full sensing range, including good accuracy between 25-35 deg F. Calibrate using ice water as 32 deg standard. Turning weep on a 34 deg F, helps with temp variations across bays - sun / shade effects.

 

[slash007]

Had same issue last year, replacement sensors would have same problem. Unit was 20 years old, mailed to Dixmor for repair, it cost me more in shipping than repair cost and it took longer to ship than repair, Dixmore fixed the day it arrived. Now holds calibration across full sensing range, including good accuracy between 25-35 deg F. Calibrate using ice water as 32 deg standard. Turning weep on a 34 deg F, helps with temp variations across bays - sun / shade effects.

That might be what mine needs. Thanks for sharing. Now that the weather is warmer, I can afford to send it out.