On Mon, 08 Dec 2003 01:33:36 +0000 (GMT), Dave Plowman
wrote:

In article ,
Andy Hall wrote:
What's the best make? And possibly one that can be repaired when it starts
leaking?

I've got Invensys ones (Drayton), which I've had for 18 years

Crikey. Mine seem to average about 5. I've had several different makes,
but just the sheds own brands.

Looking on the Plumbcenter site, Drayton, Myson, Pegler etc. are all
at around £15 list. Last time I bought a couple, I managed to get
them down to £12 without too much problem.

Probably if you bought ten or so, you could do better than that.....


Approx 3 of them have had new heads about 5 years ago, the rest are
fine Ultimately all TRV heads fail and generally it's that they
become insensitive to temperature change and as you turn the control
the valve clunks on and off. Most manufacturers suggest about a 7
year life, so I am pretty happy.

Mine all start leaking. Can't say I've ever actually tried to repair them,
since draining down the system is the real pain rather than changing the
valve. One has just gone in a big way in the kitchen, so that's tomorrow
taken care of. But I'm considering changing the whole lot as it's a while
since the last one failed, and they're not all the same age.

If they're all of the same type, then there's a fairly good chance
that others will fail. As you say, draining down and replacing
inhibitor unless you keep the water, becomes a pain.

Given the situation, I think I'd bite the bullet and swap the lot in
one go. Once you get organised, it goes pretty quickly.



None of the valve bases have failed at all, and I don't know of anyone
who has had one fail. The neoprene gaskets are available for
Drayton AFAIK.

The heads can be bought separately but are not repairable AFAICS.

Not really a problem since they're so easy to change.

..andy

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