Hi, I have just finished installing my pex tubing, sandwich style on a suspended floor in our new sunroom. The finish floor is done and am ready for the hookup. This is where I am stuck. I bought the equipment from Tesmar Application Technology. It included the pex tubing, nice aluminum heat plates, Mr Pex manifold and actuators mixing valve and pump. I have done the pressure test (yay!)and am ready to hook everything up. Here where the problems start. Tesmar said they would stop by and give me guidance on hooking everything up but they have now said that they will no longer be passing through. I expressed my disappointment as my decision to buy from them was based on this important step. No I have everything I need but Tesmar got his nose all out of joint and will not tell me what the electrical connections to his controller are. They read: R, C, ES, ES, DRY, DRY. It is all housed in a neat homemade box with a Dayton Relay inside and all wired with a receptacle for the pump. I believe the thermostat, actuators and the Buderus boiler connects to the mystery low voltage connectors. I paid them $1800.00 upfront and am now stuck. Should I ditch his controller or could someone please help me figure it out? I have a trusted contractor stopping by on Monday but I really was hoping to get it up and running myself without another bunch of $$$ which we really can't afford. Thanks so much.

R and C are usually heat demand and common from a t-stat, "dry" usually means a dry contact ie: no power attached, which would go the the TT leads of a boiler to turn it on when the control calls for heat. Other than that, I don't knw this control at all but I hope it helps.

Thank you Mike, we making progress!

You have a "trusted contractor" but bought your system from Tesmar?

You have a "trusted contractor" but bought your system from Tesmar?

Hahah Badger! Trusted, yes but expensive. And I don't begrudge him that! This is ending up a typical pound wise, penny foolish scenario where it would have been maybe better to just find the cash and have someone do it for me. I trusted Tesmar until he dropped me. I am trusting my "trusted contractor" to be gentle and have the knowledge to use the controller I paid good money for but without instructions from Tesmar. Everything is done and done correctly and it is now the "easy" part that needs the KNOWLEDGE to complete (easy when you know how). That is what I was depending on Tesmar for but they dropped the ball! BTW, I paid $1800 upfront for everything. Someone could chime in with comments whether I paid too much or too little. I thought it was fair until... well, you know...

I am very surprised to hear this about Tom. he's been around a long time. I don't really know him personally but historically he hasn't been a shyster either. You guys must have had some very interesting conversations.

Rob is right.

Tom Tesmar has been around the radiant floor industry for a long time and I met him when he was still with one of the big PEX companies. His contributions have been considerable. What he charged and what you received is a horse of a different color. Though we rarely sell anything that my local company does not install,l we do perform "boiler rescue" for professionals and DIY homeowners alike. There are some folks on the DIY design side of the business that get to be a little much.

There is a niche for every talent.

Badger, what you mean by "What he charged and what you received is a horse of a different color"? Do you think it was too little for what I got? He did say that he never charged me a standard $200 consulting fee and heat loss analysis. I appreciated it but did not need a heat loss analysis. I didn't do any real price comparisons and went with my gut in who I bought from. You guys know more about pricing than me.

I don't have any idea what your deal was. From the sound of it, Tom is a bargain, but no one can tell from here.

We are licensed for hot water heat (among other things) in St.Paul and Minneapolis and can help if you find your "trust" misplaced. It is unwise to wire HVAC controls you are unfamiliar with.

Badger, thanks. I will just have to bite the bullet methinks and pay the additional expert to finish things for me locally. I did think Tesmar was a "bargain" or rather, value for money. Considering this is a public forum, Tesmar and my fallout should not be indicative of that company's general service so in the interests of fairness and education, this is basically what the deal was: 500ft 1/2" pex, 200 aluminum heat transfer plates s/steel 4 circuit manifold with actuators - 2 circuits for later additional use, pump assembled with fittings and mixing valve to neatly fit the end of the manifold. Tesmar controller made up as described above. The deal was, and why I went with him was, that he assured me he would be passing through my area at least 3 times before the end of the year and because I am located geographically 1/2 way to his destination, I agreed to "help pay for his overnight stay." He was to then show me what goes where. There were no instructions included with anything he sent, or had sent, to me. Now at this crucial stage, he got the flu, got behind and then said he wouldn't stop by. I expressed my disappointment (no stronger term than that) and he sent a scathing email back saying that I didn't appreciate what a bargain I got and I should have hired a local and paid "many thousands more." He is not responding to my enquiries, even my offer of paying him additionally for instructions... I believe I can use everything he sent me except for the (nice looking) controller. For all this I paid him $1800.00. The project is being done, out of necessity, on a shoestring and was hoping to save money where I could but don't believe I went for the cheapest option. In fact Radiantec gave a similar but cheaper quote. I was relying on a body with eyes to show me what's what and what goes where even though it cost more. Hope this helps someone. Thank you.

Considering your listed options I think you did great! Maybe Tom is getting old and grumpy...like me...eheheheehee

Send me a picture and the bill of materials if you like.

Merry Christmas

1/2" x 500' PEX with O2 Barrier - $139
4-Branch SS Manifold Set with Balance Values, Flow Meters and Temp Gauges - $156
200 Aluminum Heat Transfer Plates - $272
Grundflos UP15-42F Circulator Pump - $76
www.PexUniverse.com

DIY Heat Loss & Hydronic Floor Heat Gain Design Calculators with Instructions - No Charge
http://www.borstengineeringconstruction.com/Heat_Loss_Analysis_Calculator.html
http://www.borstengineeringconstruction.com/Hydronic_Radiant_Floor_Heating_Design_Calculator.html

Grand Total - $643

Hi Sailaway, Thanks! Add some shipping costs, time and materials to make up the connections and controller, perhaps a generous $200 and a tidy profit of nearly $1000.00 is made. His advice was shoddy at best and incorrect at worst... For example, the Mr Pex manifold has 2 grey adapter rings and I was told to use those in order to fit the actuators. Neh, they fit directly onto the black clip under the blue manual adjuster. I told him that I was going with 9" spacing on the tubing but he went on about 11/1/4" sleepers. Not that he doesn't know what he is talking about, I got the impression he just couldn't give a crap. I had no tube layout plan, or material list for cutting the OSB sleepers. I got more info online than what he gave me. Even after sending pics of where the tubing needed to enter the room, his recommendations were incorrect, i.e "drill holes through the subfloor for the tubing." Nope it is going horizontally through the WALL! I heard more about his Vietnam experience, his articles, books and HIM than my radiant heat!
Oh well, live and learn...
I am just finishing my floor and what I am doing is a little unusual that might be of interest. The top floor of the sandwich is 7/16" OSB. I cut them into 4x4's and laid them out like giant tiles with a 1/2" strip of birch between each. I used small head screws recessed and plugged the holes. Then sanded the shyte out of it using a drum sander and finish sander, stained with tinted polyurethane. On the 4th coat now. You can still see the imperfections and patterns of the OSB that gives it a surprisingly nice effect. The reason? Cash constraints! (Maybe cos I just paid some egocentric unnecessarily!) Would have liked to have gone linoleum but@ about $1200 - $1800 it is not doable now. Doing this, it cost only the time (a lot!) and supplies - not more than $250. This included stain, poly etc $120.00, sander rental $110. We can cover it with something else when we get tired of it. Now all I need is the heat! I would be happy to share pics and what I have learned. Don't see a way to share pics here so if anyone would like to see them I guess you would have to give me your email address.
Badger, would you be so kind as to look at the controller with the cover off showing the wiring etc if I were to send you a pic or 2?

out of curiosity radiantfan, what research did you do that lead you to Tom? He hasn't been very visible online for quite some time.

NRT Rob, it was just online surfing and you know how that goes... A to B to G to X I can't remember what exactly but I somehow found him. I would rather support the little guy and he had the credentials rather than an online seller. The online guys who did give me quote were a little vague. BTW, Tom did come through today with instructions on his controller but his wire colors were still incorrect wrt the actuators. I have already hired Dodrills Plumbing to get it hooked up. He says he can figure out the controller or he will use his own.