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Watch Where Your Installer Fits Motorised Valves

Mars · 2024-11-26T21:55:31Z

I’ve just had a frustrating experience with a Honeywell valve failure, and it’s left me wishing I’d been more involved in checking the placement of all components during installation. I empathise and apologise to my next heat pump installers in advance because we’ll be hellish clients! 😂 The valve was fitted behind the hot water cylinder, with less than 15cm of space between the wall and the cylinder. To say it’s a tight fit would be an understatement - it’s nearly impossible to access. To make things worse, there’s no isolation valve to shut it off, meaning we’ll likely have to drain the entire system just to replace it. All in all, this setup could have been avoided with a bit more thought during the installation process. Just more shoddy installation work. 🤠 So, here’s my advice: 1. Check Placement of Valves During Installation Don’t assume your installer will automatically think about future accessibility. Speak up and make sure components like zone valves or motorised valves are fitted in locations where they can be easily accessed for servicing or replacement. 2. Ask About Isolation Valves Make sure isolation valves are fitted wherever practical. They’re a small addition that can save you a lot of hassle down the line when maintenance is required. 3. Inspect Before Signing Off Before the installation is completed, do a walkthrough with your installer to confirm everything is in an accessible location. It’s far easier to fix these issues during the initial setup than to live with the consequences. It’s small details like these that can make a huge difference in the long term. Learn from my oversight, and save yourself the stress if something goes wrong in the future! Have you encountered similar issues? Please share.

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JohnR

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08/12/2024 2:07 pm

Something I'll flag up here is that heat pumps need diverter actuator heads and not the more common mid-position devices.

I'm aware of the difference because after my heat pump system was installed, I noticed that, when set to heat the DHW, it was also warming up the heating system. The installer's boss came and diagnosed the problem: wrong type of actuator head as that's what the plumbing suppliers sell by default. It was an easy fix once the correct part had been purchased.

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Transparent

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08/12/2024 2:33 pm

@editor -- stick your phone beneath the valve and take a photo of the label.

If you post the pic here, we can spend the rest of the day arguing over which part-number for the replacement head is the correct match for your valve.

Even if we narrow it down to a couple of possibilities, you could buy both for a lot less that the call-out fee you've just been quoted.
And, after all, two heads are better than none. 😉

Save energy... recycle electrons!

😂

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Mars

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Topic starter 09/12/2024 10:05 am

@transparent can't get my hand in to even take a photo. Laughable position.

And to compound issues we've woken up to a cold house two days in a row because of a "Major Defrost Failure" as the system delegated the defrost to the boiler which doesn't work.

The amount of shoddy installations has to stop!

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Transparent

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09/12/2024 10:25 am

Posted by: @editor

↑

can't get my hand in to even take a photo.

Have you got an inspection mirror?

This one from Amazon is £4.99

Posted by: @editor

↑

And to compound issues we've woken up to a cold house two days in a row

There's a book you need to read called Bodge Buster.

And there's also on online Forum where people discuss issues with heat-pumps and other energy-related problems.
If I find a link, I'll post it here!

This post was modified 1 year ago by Transparent

This post was modified 1 year ago 2 times by Mars

Save energy... recycle electrons!

😂

🤔

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Mars

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Topic starter 09/12/2024 10:15 pm

The irony of this entire situation isn’t lost on me @transparent: if we’d had a properly installed, reliable heat pump from the start, there likely wouldn’t be a Renewable Heating Hub website (or books), at least not created by me.

I wish my younger self, sans heat pump, had had these resources when committing to renewable heating six years ago.

I’m counting down the days until we can finally have our heat pump installation overhauled, which should be happening this spring. It’s been a long time coming, and I’m hopeful this marks the start of smoother, more efficient, times ahead.

This post was modified 1 year ago by Mars

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Transparent

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10/12/2024 10:59 am

You're contemplating staying cold until Spring?!

Is the reason that you can't get your hand to the valve because of the close proximity of the pipes,
or due to the wall to the left stopping you from extending your arm in deep enough?

Ie do you need a smaller hand or a longer arm?

Save energy... recycle electrons!

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Mars

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Topic starter 10/12/2024 4:01 pm

@transparent, we weren’t planning to wait until April to address this issue. Instead, we’re considering gutting our entire setup in the new year and working with installers who actually know what they’re doing, and getting a decent heat pump with better controls in. This will be a set up to share with homeowners that shows best/better practices.

Regarding this specific issue, we finally got it sorted. What really frustrates me is tradespeople, like the boiler repair guy from last week, showing up, making assumptions without testing anything, and then recommending unnecessary work. He was in and out within 10 minutes, leaving us with no real answers.

Today, we called an electrician recommended by our neighbour. He made a genuine effort to reach the valve, but it’s in the most ridiculous and inaccessible spot. After a fair bit of cursing, he took a more methodical approach. Out came the Fluke tester, and within minutes, he confirmed the valve was functioning properly and there was no need for Cirque du Soleil contortions to get it out. From there, we systematically traced the system, following the electrical connections.

It turned out the cut-out switch on the boiler had been triggered by a jammed circulation pump. After some trial and error and careful troubleshooting, we got the system running as it should.

What annoys me most is that this should have been identified during the initial call-out by the boiler repair "expert".

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👍

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JohnR

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10/12/2024 4:42 pm

FWIW, here's my cylinder after the pipework was finished and before the pipe insulation was added. The 3-port valve is very accessible. It's possible that the cylinder designer gave thought to the layout of the various pipe connections to minimise the risk of inconvenient positions. Overall, the cylinder and pipework uses a space about 90cm wide and 85cm deep. That was more than I had expected.