Water Zone Valve Botched Job!!

danjo-xx

Had a water zone valve and tank stat fitted about 2yrs ago.

Had a plumber out today who said:-


1. The Zone valve should have been fitted to the lower pipe with the curve that you see in the pic.

2. Zone valve was very hot and reckons because it was always 'on' and is wired directly back to live T on the immersion switch and should have its own isolating switch nearby.

3. Showed me the Tank Stat which was missing a back plate or metal strip and only the plastic edges of the unit were in contact with the tank.:eek:

heinbloed

Well, if there is a problem - ask (smiley).

Had a plumber out today who said:-


1. The Zone valve should have been fitted to the lower pipe with the curve that you see in the pic.
.....

If the PEX pipe seen on your picture is leading up to the attic you would have a 'fine' thermosyphoning effect - if a zone valve would have been fitted as your new plumber suggested.
Meaning a 24 hour draw of thermal energy going up the roof.
As it is at the moment the thermosyphoning would only work as long as the valve is open. When comperative cheap oil is burned instead of expensive electricity to heat the water tank.

Check the zone valve manufacturer's installation manual for the max. allowed temperature.

And employ heating engineers. A gravity valve to stop/reduce thermosyphoning is a must with energy efficient heating systems. Or better: get rid of the pipes and tanks installed in unheated spaces, here the attic.
And insulate your pipes. And so on....

danjo-xx

thanks for your reply heinbloed but with even with my little knowledge of plumbing I knew the zone valve was on the right line (feed).

I was about to get this oftec registered plumber to service my boiler but after his advice on sorting out this pitching problem I don't think I will let him next or near my boiler.

This is my second experience recently with 'oftec' registered plumbers and I am not impressed.

I wonder how up to date the Irish listings are on the oftec site??

Anyway I like your suggestion about getting a heating engineer in to access the heating system as a whole and see what he recommends.

Is there such a thing as a list of 'registered heating engineers' so I can avoid any cowboys.

I'v always fitted valves on the flow so why did he say it should be moved to the return, also you may be better off getting a sparks in to check the wiring, the valve should really be taking it's power fed from the same power source as the boiler and the valve should be bringing the boiler on(in a ideal world)

danjo-xx

gary71 wrote: »

I'v always fitted valves on the flow so why did he say it should be moved to the return, also you may be better off getting a sparks in to check the wiring, the valve should really be taking it's power fed from the same power source as the boiler and the valve should be bringing the boiler on(in a ideal world)

I know what you mean but a full control upgrade was not affordable by me. so just went for a simple zone valve on the water cylinder so as not to heat the water at same temperature as the rads as it can be too hot sometimes.

As it is a basic system does it really matter now that the power for zone valve is taken from the immersion switch.

I reckon from a safety point of view a zone valve doesn't need much power to work and taking it from the immersion doesn't comprimise safety in any way I hope.

If it were me I'd put on a switchable fused spur and label it, a good sparks would sort it easily and it would be tidyer, you have to protect fruit loops from themselves they could isolated the boiler assume the valve is dead and get a belt.

As for the cylinder stat it's self, does it regulate the temperature of the water to your satisfaction, if so then I'm sure it's fine but I'd still have it checked to be sure.

Micky Dolenz

That valve fitted on the flow or return makes little difference as long as it doesn't effect expansion of system. I see nothing wrong with position of motorised valve.

I'm surprised your plumber didn't pick up the most obvious fault in that picture. The is a valve fitted on your expansion pipe. A 367 at floor level. this is against regs. This valve gets shut down and your system will struggle if put into an over heat situation.

Gary is right about a sparks, get one to wire it correctly.

heinbloed makes a valid point about thermo-syphoning, I've often meant to explore it deeper and crunch some numbers on lose over a determined period.

danjo-xx

gary71 wrote: »

If it were me I'd put on a switchable fused spur and label it, a good sparks would sort it easily and it would be tidyer, you have to protect fruit loops from themselves they could isolated the boiler assume the valve is dead and get a belt.

As for the cylinder stat it's self, does it regulate the temperature of the water to your satisfaction, if so then I'm sure it's fine but I'd still have it checked to be sure.

If all it needs is a switchable fused spur then I can easily do that myself, what amp fuse would you recommend, 1,2,3 or 5amp. Not sure what you mean about fruit loops.

The cyl stat I've just learned last week..... the 'back plate' if thats what it's called is missing. In other words the metal strip of the stat is not in contact with the tank and only the plastic sides of the casing are touching. Have to get a new stat.

I'm fairly good at basic stuff like this so should be able to replace the stat myself.

danjo-xx

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

That valve fitted on the flow or return makes little difference as long as it doesn't effect expansion of system. I see nothing wrong with position of motorised valve.

I'm surprised your plumber didn't pick up the most obvious fault in that picture. The is a valve fitted on your expansion pipe. A 367 at floor level. this is against regs. This valve gets shut down and your system will struggle if put into an over heat situation.

Your kind of saying on one hand its ok but on the other it's not

Or do you mean the position of the valve been on the feed pipe is fine but as its also on the expansion pipe, its not.

Micky Dolenz

danjo-xx wrote: »

Your kind of saying on one hand its ok but on the other it's not

Or do you mean the position of the valve been on the feed pipe is fine but as its also on the expansion pipe, its not.

I'm not saying that at all. The flow and expansion while they may be shared are not the same thing.

Note the position of the motorised valve, It is on a branch off the expansion, note the tee that goes onto the expansion tank. If the MV is closed, the system can still vent via expansion pipe. If the valve at floor level is closed, it can not.

JohnnieK

danjo-xx wrote: »

If all it needs is a switchable fused spur then I can easily do that myself, what amp fuse would you recommend, 1,2,3 or 5amp. Not sure what you mean about fruit loops.

The cyl stat I've just learned last week..... the 'back plate' if thats what it's called is missing. In other words the metal strip of the stat is not in contact with the tank and only the plastic sides of the casing are touching. Have to get a new stat.

I'm fairly good at basic stuff like this so should be able to replace the stat myself.

That cylinder stat is a sunvic stat and that's the way they come. There is a metal plate up inside the body (if you take it off and look at the back of it you will see it) this expands and contracts with heat thus opening and closing the circuit. It is not a touch contact (not supposed to touch the side of the cylinder).

danjo-xx

JohnnieK wrote: »

That cylinder stat is a sunvic stat and that's the way they come. There is a metal plate up inside the body (if you take it off and look at the back of it you will see it) this expands and contracts with heat thus opening and closing the circuit. It is not a touch contact (not supposed to touch the side of the cylinder).

Listen thanks for that, the oftec plumber I got to have a look said there was part of it missing. :mad: