Kingspan solar SC100 controller issues air in system

kingspoofer

I have a kingspan solar system installed it has the tubes on the roof and at ground level it has the controller SC100 and pump station . It has worked away no bothers for 2 years about 4 weeks ago we had about 4 good days of sun but the shower water temperature was low when I put my hand on the circulation pump it was extremely hot so couldn't leave my hand on it.
I spoke a collogue at work at they said the pump might be air locked. I opened the screw and air came out and then liquid. Then next day the i got the following fault in red and system stopped working "Volume flow fault" solar circuit:check hydraulics! Air in system?
I reset alarm and it worked away for another month.now this morning i got the same fault the sensor on the roof was saying 134 degrees and inside was only 20 degrees I cleared alarm and ran pump in manual and bleed air from pump again then it worked in AUTO.

I know that there is a manual bleed on the roof but not sure where to bleed the system downstairs ?and is it ok to do this at the pump ?Also cant understand how it worked ok for 2 years all along and then not so good now it looks as if there air in the system when the pump is running i can see through the sight glass I have read the manual and see there an
air separator can i bleed it from there ?

Also if the system does circulate the pump can it overheat and damage components? like the 134 degrees today was high and because of alarm no pump was working .

freddyuk

What pressure is in the system? Probably 0. You need to drain down the system, check for leaks and then flush and refill and re pressurise. Not really a DIY job to do it correctly. Shame Kingspan do not supply bypass kits which would alleviate most of these issues if the system was correctly installed in the first place.
Where are you based?

kingspoofer

The pressure on the system is 2 bar it has Harley dropped. Based in cork. Just wondering is there any place at the pump station I can bleed system ?

freddyuk

Post a picture of the pump station? Are you checking the pressure at night/cold??

kingspoofer

Cant seem to post pictures. I rang kingspan and they told me the only way to bleed system is to get plumber/service man out to do this.

Anyone know how much this will cost ?Roughly

creation mark

Have you had your system serviced since it was installed? It's usually 3 to 5 years. You may have a leak and/or just need the system re charged, expansion vessl pressure needs to be checked also.

Mark

Dozz

Hi kingspoofer, I was wondering if you got this sorted. Having similar trouble myself with the same system and Kingspan are saying that my sensor on the roof or controller need to be replaced. System is in since 2012

kingspoofer

Dozz wrote: »

Hi kingspoofer, I was wondering if you got this sorted. Having similar trouble myself with the same system and Kingspan are saying that my sensor on the roof or controller need to be replaced. System is in since 2012

Hi
The temperature sensors are I think pt1000 which basically means that at 0.0c it will read 1000 ohms . It either be 2 or 3 wire with a multimeter you should be able to check at controller box . One/Two wire be common and other should have resistance ..I got a solarrepair.ie grand crowd to deal with plumber left me down ..better off getting it serviced you need to change fluid ever 5 years ..basically I got my fluid changed and line repressured ..

Dozz

kingspoofer wrote: »

Hi
The temperature sensors are I think pt1000 which basically means that at 0.0c it will read 1000 ohms . It either be 2 or 3 wire with a multimeter you should be able to check at controller box . One/Two wire be common and other should have resistance ..I got a solarrepair.ie grand crowd to deal with plumber left me down ..better off getting it serviced you need to change fluid ever 5 years ..basically I got my fluid changed and line repressured ..

Thanks for that. I got the fluid replaced and line repressured by the original installer about a month ago.
That evening at about 930 (it was dark out) I noticed that the solar pump was still running and was still going at 5 in the morning.
Original plumber hasn't a clue what's going on.
Can you explain how I can test the sensor with a multi meter?

kingspoofer

Dozz wrote: »

Thanks for that. I got the fluid replaced and line repressured by the original installer about a month ago.
That evening at about 930 (it was dark out) I noticed that the solar pump was still running and was still going at 5 in the morning.
Original plumber hasn't a clue what's going on.
Can you explain how I can test the sensor with a multi meter?

Ok .so there is a way to run the controller in manually are you sure that switch is not pressed . So if you scroll up and down the controller you can see the temperature inside at tank and outside on roof in my system it has 2 temperature sensors PT 1000 they read in degree C on the indicator of controller obliviously if one is reading 500 or -50 degrees C which should not be possible you have an issue .If you goggle Kingspan controller model SC300 etc you can get a manual .To test the PT1000 First "TURN OFF POWER" open cover of controller and disconnect the PT1000 ( there two ) . So bascailly the PT 1000 is a variable resistor when it get heat the resistance increases is lineary its called a PT1000 as @ 0.0c it will be 1000 ohms .. So if you get your multimeter and set it to ohms and put one side of the sensor to one lead of sensor when disconnected and other to other side you should get a reading of say @ 20 degree C should be 1078 ohms roughly . If your getting something that off the chart it's probably your sensor is in trouble if not it must be controller .. IFyou download the maual for your model controller there a troubleshooting guide on it . Hope this help not a plumber or electrian by trade just deal with PT1000 etc in my line of work and had to do alot of readings and had to test the temperature sensors when I was fault finding my own panel . If you don't know which wire is the power and which is pt1000 ask someone who knows any electrical etc ..

Dozz

kingspoofer wrote: »

Ok .so there is a way to run the controller in manually are you sure that switch is not pressed . So if you scroll up and down the controller you can see the temperature inside at tank and outside on roof in my system it has 2 temperature sensors PT 1000 they read in degree C on the indicator of controller obliviously if one is reading 500 or -50 degrees C which should not be possible you have an issue .If you goggle Kingspan controller model SC300 etc you can get a manual .To test the PT1000 First "TURN OFF POWER" open cover of controller and disconnect the PT1000 ( there two ) . So bascailly the PT 1000 is a variable resistor when it get heat the resistance increases is lineary its called a PT1000 as @ 0.0c it will be 1000 ohms .. So if you get your multimeter and set it to ohms and put one side of the sensor to one lead of sensor when disconnected and other to other side you should get a reading of say @ 20 degree C should be 1078 ohms roughly . If your getting something that off the chart it's probably your sensor is in trouble if not it must be controller .. IFyou download the maual for your model controller there a troubleshooting guide on it . Hope this help not a plumber or electrian by trade just deal with PT1000 etc in my line of work and had to do alot of readings and had to test the temperature sensors when I was fault finding my own panel . If you don't know which wire is the power and which is pt1000 ask someone who knows any electrical etc ..

Thanks for that info kingspoofer. Greatly appreciated

kingspoofer

No bothers hope you get sorted .. There great until they have any issue .

Dozz

kingspoofer wrote: »

No bothers hope you get sorted .. There great until they have any issue .

Have just emailed solar repairs.ie there so hopefully we will get sorted.
Thanks again