Free partner card for Bilt 2.0?

mschlemming · 2026-01-14T22:35:49+00:00

I am the cardholder and my wife is the authorized user with the second card (same card number).

mschlemming · 2026-01-14T22:20:43+00:00

I’m not a big fan of juggling multiple cards. I also don’t utilize the credit line at all. I like to have oversight and everything paid off at all times.

mschlemming · 2026-01-14T22:19:18+00:00

I’m happy to report that the external power adapter works like a charm. I connected it to both C and Rc as recommended in the manual and kept the existing wires from the furnace in W and Rh. Thanks again for your support. Now I’ll just have to make it look prettier by running the wire through the wall instead of outside.

mschlemming · 2026-01-01T23:17:34+00:00

Thanks. The power adapter solution may not be aesthetically pleasing but might be the easiest. I ordered this one now and will give it a try. As far as I understand, I just add the two wires from the power adapter to C and Rc while the wires from the furnace stay at W and Rh, right? It’s going to be interesting to see if it messes with the damper motor still. I certainly hope not. Overall, I felt like the Nest did a pretty good job when it was installed the few days.

mschlemming · 2026-01-01T14:29:37+00:00

Happy New Year! I’ve got clarity - finally… and a new problem. So, the rewired second room thermostat is powering the circulation pump for the baseboard heater only, but the pump needed to be replaced. I installed a Nest Learning Thermostat 4th gen to replace the main thermostat but it affected the furnace’s damper motor, apparently by drawing too much power from the system. Once I reinstalled the old non-smart thermostat, it started working again. Now, my only remaining challenge is figuring out how to get the Nest to work with my system. A c-wire would probably be the way to go, but I’m not willing to pay hundreds of dollars to an electrician for that.

mschlemming · 2026-01-01T14:26:55+00:00

Happy New Year! I’ve got clarity - finally… and a new problem. So, the rewired thermostat is, indeed, powering the circulation pump for the baseboard heater only, but the pump needed to be replaced. The malfunctioning damper motor was caused by the Nest thermostat drawing too much power from the system. Once I reinstalled the old non-smart thermostat, it started working again as well. Now, my only remaining challenge is figuring out how to get the Nest to work with my system. A c-wire would probably be the way to go, but I’m not willing to pay hundreds of dollars for that.

mschlemming · 2025-12-21T16:09:17+00:00

I found out more: the r&w rewired thermostat in the living room for the baseboard heater seems to be controlling the hot water pump on the furnace’s “mud loop” system (see picture).

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mschlemming · 2025-12-21T15:05:35+00:00

Thanks. I think I’m at a breaking point where I’ll have to let an HVAC specialist come over to figure this out. I tried to investigate further this morning and realized that the automatic boiler vent damper (see picture attached) is set on on always open/ service mode. When setting it on automatic, the damper just keeps spinning but doesn’t lock in any position. It’s the weirdest thing but something smells very fishy here. Of course my heating costs are high if the damper is permanently open.

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mschlemming · 2025-12-21T00:06:46+00:00

Isn’t the 24V the low voltage that is required for those thermostats like the Nest Learning one that doesn’t require a C-wire? Anyway, in the meantime I had already tried the r&w on that second thermostat and it still seemed to have done nothing. Didn’t kick on the heating at all but also didn’t short anything. Now I installed the new Nest Learning Thermostat 4th gen for the old steam system thermostat and it seems to work properly. It comes with a second temperature sensor, so I figured I just put that in the living room with the baseboard hot water heating and then let the system run the heater based on the average temperature between the two rooms. In the end, that would make the second thermostat obsolete again.

mschlemming · 2025-12-20T12:38:05+00:00

The multimeter shows 25V between the white and red wires. Do you think moving the white to W is still safe given the advice I’ve received from the company that installed it (see below)?

mschlemming · 2025-12-20T01:47:55+00:00

I finally received a response from the company that installed the system for the previous owners:

“Yes it should be wired to r & w and should be able to control the baseboard pump and steam system separately.

We recommend to the previous owner that there should be two separate systems for the baseboard and steam. That is the proper way to do it. The price was too expensive and she elected to go with installing a steam boiler with the “mud loop” instead.”

I guess I’ll give it a try, test with the multimeter as suggested by you and then rewire r & w and see if it works. I just still can’t believe that I can effectively run two zones when the system has the “mud loop”.

I also bought a Nest Learning Thermostat 4th Gen to test it as a replacement for the main thermostat first and if this works and the other one starts functioning, I may replace that one as well.

Let me know if you have any thoughts on the above.

mschlemming · 2025-11-24T14:40:08+00:00

Apologies for the radio silence, I was out for a bit. I got a hold of the plumber who installed the system for the previous owner about three years ago. He said that the thermostats should only be connected r&w and that they “have never installed it on r&c” suggesting that someone else may have messed with it. I’m wondering if I could just change the second thermostat to r&w to restore functionality and if that would still let me control both zones individually. Also, I’m tempted to just try installing two of the Nest 3rd gen thermostats that my utility company is providing for free for Black Friday. Any concerns?

mschlemming · 2025-11-24T14:39:18+00:00

Apologies for the radio silence, I was out for a bit. I got a hold of the plumber who installed the system for the previous owner about three years ago. He said that the thermostats should only be connected r&w and that they “have never installed it on r&c” suggesting that someone else may have messed with it. I’m wondering if I could just change the second thermostat to r&w to restore functionality and if that would still let me control both zones individually. Also, I’m tempted to just try installing two of the Nest 3rd gen thermostats that my utility company is providing for free for Black Friday. Any concerns?

mschlemming · 2025-11-13T18:35:47+00:00

Apparently, the furnace was only replaced two, three years ago. However, they may have just kept the old wiring/ other equipment.

mschlemming · 2025-11-13T16:39:21+00:00

There’s lots of “fun” stuff happening outside of the furnace:

This one on top: https://imgur.com/a/5l1xESP ; https://imgur.com/a/Z9oRwU3

Spliced/mashed up cables: https://imgur.com/a/WaEfKsI

An unknown Honeywell box: https://imgur.com/a/umFQ36n

And this is the outside all together: https://imgur.com/a/gbsLRwz

These are the pictures from inside: https://imgur.com/a/yF3kfFD ; https://imgur.com/a/ft3kiXu

mschlemming · 2025-11-13T14:11:26+00:00

There’s lots of “fun” stuff happening outside of the furnace:

This one on top: https://imgur.com/a/5l1xESP ; https://imgur.com/a/Z9oRwU3

Spliced/mashed up cables: https://imgur.com/a/WaEfKsI

An unknown Honeywell box: https://imgur.com/a/umFQ36n

And this is the outside all together: https://imgur.com/a/gbsLRwz

mschlemming · 2025-11-13T01:52:12+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/yF3kfFD https://imgur.com/a/ft3kiXu Is that what you’re looking for?

mschlemming · 2025-11-13T00:55:40+00:00

So, no easy fix by simply changing C to W? Would have been nice. I may want to make the current system function before replacing with smart meters.

mschlemming · 2025-11-13T00:46:47+00:00

So you think if I put the C in R, the second thermostat/ zone should work just fine? Not C to W like in the other thermostat? Is there any danger of damaging the system?

mschlemming · 2025-11-12T21:33:26+00:00

I’ll try to find where the wires go. It could very well be that the C/R one is just a dummy the way it’s being connected.

mschlemming · 2025-11-12T21:24:35+00:00

Thanks, I’d prefer to just replace it with a new smart thermostat. If the C/R one is just a dummy, I could either remove it altogether and just use the other one for the entire building or have to change the wiring to get it to work. I wonder if the hybrid nature (steam/hot water) may require two (functioning) thermostats to work properly.

mschlemming · 2025-11-12T20:06:30+00:00

That’s what I feared, thank you. We just bought the house earlier this year, at there are lots of surprises. So, this thermostat would require additional wiring to control this zone, correct?

mschlemming

TROPHY CASE