Second zone valve failure in 18 months - new heating system

ma11achy

Hi all,

I wanted to get the professionals' opinion on this.

I've had a second heating zone valve failure in 18 months on a heating system that was installed from new 18 months ago.

The last time a zone valve failed (upstairs), it leaked and tripped the breaker, but not before smoldering and nearly causing a fire in the hot press!

This time the faulty zone valve is behind a timber wall, which in turn is behind a fitted television cabinet (downstairs).
There will be considerable work required to access the valve and in turn more work to get the wall back to the way it looked in the first place.

I don't want to have to pay for any of this, as I believe (quite rightly) that the zone valve manufacturer is at fault - my plumber backs me up on this.

Anybody have any advice on what my course of action should be?

I'm thinking one or more of the following:

1) Phone call to zone valve manufacturer to explain the problem and ask them to cover any labour involved with getting at the valve through the wall, replacing it and patching up the wall again.

2) If no joy, go to the small claims court.

3) Call my insurance company

Cheers.

freddyuk

I am not sure a decent plumber would install a zone valve behind a wall! Most decent zone valves have a removable motor so in the event of failure you do not interrupt the wet system at all - just replace the motor. Modern valves fail often because the micro switch fails and these cost less than €1.
An integral valve when it goes wrong requires the whole system to be drained to replace it and therefore even less reason to install behind a wall. Or am I missing something?
My advice = get a decent plumber!

chuck eastwood

If it has leaked twice from the water side to the motor then the pressure could be to high. Dont be afraid to offened your plumber by getting another one and for the love of god det the valve moved. What make is it if you dont mind me asking

DGOBS

As with any device of this nature, I am sure it should not be installed behind a wall due to the increased temperatures it may experience in this situation.

What is the nature of the failure? motor/valve/microswitch?
What manufacturer is it? (some are slightly better quality than others)
Finally, is it wired correctly? Some installers wire them and they are 'powered' practically all the time, this leads to reduced working life and motor burnout

Anywhere they are installed make sure they are accessible, as they are a component prone to failure, try using the 'Sauter' brand, as they have a 'plug out' type lead so replacement is easy as no wiring is required

Hope that helps

paddymick

freddyuk wrote: »

My advice = get a decent plumber!

Thats the first thing to come into my head aswell...

I`ll bet theres alot more to it than a manufacturer fault in the valve.

dersawazzie

The first thing that came to my mind was if the system had been cleaned/treated correctly during commissioning.