Bert teaches the Kalos techs about zone damper systems and how to work on them without being intimidated by them.
Zone damper systems have a zone panel, usually near the air handler, where 24v goes in and 24v goes out. The zone panel controls the dampers, which can open and close depending on where we need to send the supply air; the dampers can close when we don’t need to send air to a certain zone.
We typically encounter damper motors of two designs: spring or power-open/power-close. The latter tends to be much more common in modern zone damper systems. A control system will have common, open, and closed terminals.
A spring motor may have a wire run between common and closed; it doesn’t need to be connected to the open control because the spring will open it instead of power. When the system is not calling, the dampers will be relaxed, so they will be open.
Dampers also can’t open or close properly unless the set screw has been tightened all the way down. You can typically get an idea of how well a damper is opening or closing based on how the air resistance sounds; if the damper is working properly, the sound will change a bit.
When installing a damper motor, you need to know the orientation of your damper and make sure that the damper stops spinning when it’s supposed to stop. The size of the damper rod also matters and tends to vary by manufacturer, so you need to pay attention to get the proper repair parts.
Unlike the spring motor, a power-open/power-close motor will use common, open, and closed terminals. You can disengage the damper motor and see how freely the panel spins when you spin it yourself. If it spins freely, then you’d be able to rule out a panel jam diagnosis and could focus on the motor.
Damper systems need to be powered by a different transformer than the A/C system’s transformer, so you’ll have two transformers. The air handler may connect to common (which is a ground) and the R terminal on the thermostat, but the damper system’s terminals may connect to the actual damper system; common is NOT the same as on the A/C system. However, the staging on the damper panel needs to match the motor staging.
Many damper issues can be understood without going into the attic. You can start one zone and check to see if air is coming out of the vent. Then, turn zones on and off as necessary to see which zones are and aren’t receiving the airflow they need. Once you have an idea of the problem areas, THEN you can go into the attic.
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Thanks 🙏
My Board is a Honeywell TrolAtemp with 3 Zones. My home only has 2. After checking the airflow at the vents, I determined that my downstairs Zone Damper (Zone1), was always on. I checked in the attic with my volt meter to find that no voltage was being sent to shut the Zone 1 damper, when Zone 2 was the only active zone. I shut down the system and carefully moved the wires from Zone 1 to Zone 3 and it fixed the problem. I'm sure I'll have to change out the board at some point. Your video gave me just enough information to trouble shoot what was going on. The switch to Zone 3 was mainly a trial, to see if the damper was good or bad. After trying the upstairs and downstairs thermostats several times in different configurations, and watching to see how the board would react. I decided to leave it that way. There was one instants when Zone 1 came on for some reason and shut down the compressor, but within 2 minutes it shut itself back off and Zone 2 and 3 took back over. Feel free to comment if there's a reason I shouldn't run the unit using Zone 2 and 3 vrs. Zone 1 and 2.
"You almost always have a customer that is dissatisfied with their Zone System.
That is so true it made me laugh.
I have worked on zone systems since 1996 and have yet to see any of them really perform like they are supposed to. And they do have so many issues it makes you wonder if it's worth it.
If the system and the ductwork are sized right a zoning system is not needed. Better to avoid it.
Good video, but was hoping bypass dampers would have been part of it.
But is he intentionally trying to look like a sleepy salesman from the 1970s?
I know very little about HVAC but know I have a 2 zone system and have been searching for a "smart damper" why isn't or hasn't one been made yet? seems pretty logical for me to be able to open and close the damper to control the heat. I was told if some are closed off it will suffocate the furnace… ?? love to hear from those that know. THANKS
Use arzel neumatic dampers. Less things to go wrong.
The bypass damper is the most crucial component in zoning applications. If not setup up properly, there will be high limit issues in heating and coil freezing issues in cooling. This is especially important on single stage equipment. If no bypass damper is used, then minimum flow rates at each zone need to be set properly. There are also airflow balancing and static pressure settings to consider. Otherwise, there will be premature component failures, i.e. compressor; heat exchanger.
Thanks, but I got so lost in the middle of your presentation gone would you out there portion back up .
Enjoyed the video & got refreshed. Through me into a zone system start up & its taking me hours. Send me to diagnose one & I'm good. I like that you said the attic is the last check! Need to use your best tools first, eyes,ears,nose & touch!
Can you guys send a link for the entire video there is a lot of stuff that was not covered in this short clip like the bypass, more on the wiring that I would like to see thank you
Nice presentation Bert 👏 👌
Thank you for making the video! I learned something. Didn’t know about why a dedicated transformer was needed for the zone board. You guys talked about the DATS a bit but didn’t really get into why it’s used/needed for the zone board.
People pushing this fragile and troublesome tech on customers are unethical. The parts are junk and not robust for a residence without a call back ever two years or less. I had to do replacements seems like ever month somewhere. Callbacks make customer's mad when they see why.
🍺🥃🍺🎯🏌🏻♀️😐👍🏻
Thank you so much for all the WORK you do guys 🙏🙏
i have a bryant evo /carrier infinity? with 4 zones. my zone dampers buzz constantly in any position. i'm assuming these systems are much smarter in that if someone calls for more air which causes the blower to increase rpm, then some of the other zone dampers will actually close a little more (position 1-15?) in order to regulate the flow and send more air to the zone that's calling, am i right? i wish i could fly you to texas like OG matt does and pay you to look at my new home system, i already had a blower motor ecm fail and now rust on the 4" filter mesh from condensate dripping down from the vertical A coil, not to mention high static pressure and insufficient return, too much air flow in certain zones, etc.
Do you guys have a mini split video as well?