This house was built within the last two years. Three stories, with
bedroom and bathroom on the top floor. No loft space or tanks up
there.
The plumber was employed by the builder, and said to me that I ought
to have the plumbing looked at by a professional every five years or
so and in the the meantime all I needed to do was to keep the system
pressure around 1.0 bar, which he showed me how to do. I've since
found out that he told my wife to check the filter every so often, but
didn't tell her how to do it or where it was.
Now I could ring the builder and get the plumber's number and fetch
him round for a tutorial but, to be honest, he wasn't a nice guy, he
was sarcastic and abrupt.

If you are familiar with DHW/CH systems and you've got a few minutes
perhaps you could download
http://freespace.virgin.net/geoff.ba...res/photos.zip
(about 500K) which contains pictures of the contents of the utilities
cupboard.
Can you tell me what the various arrowed controls are, plus anything I
haven't flagged but you feel I ought to know about? I've labelled
those I think I know.

Geoff

"Geoff Bayes" wrote in message
...
This house was built within the last two years. Three stories, with
bedroom and bathroom on the top floor. No loft space or tanks up
there.
The plumber was employed by the builder, and said to me that I ought
to have the plumbing looked at by a professional every five years or
so and in the the meantime all I needed to do was to keep the system
pressure around 1.0 bar, which he showed me how to do. I've since
found out that he told my wife to check the filter every so often, but
didn't tell her how to do it or where it was.
Now I could ring the builder and get the plumber's number and fetch
him round for a tutorial but, to be honest, he wasn't a nice guy, he
was sarcastic and abrupt.

If you are familiar with DHW/CH systems and you've got a few minutes
perhaps you could download
http://freespace.virgin.net/geoff.ba...res/photos.zip
(about 500K) which contains pictures of the contents of the utilities
cupboard.
Can you tell me what the various arrowed controls are, plus anything I
haven't flagged but you feel I ought to know about? I've labelled
those I think I know.

Geoff

Hi Geoff,

This is an unvented system, and should only have been installed by a
competent person. The cylinder should be serviced once a year by a competent
person also. So the advice to have checked every five years is incorrect.

Have a chat with the builder who should be able to point you in the right
direction. Ask him also to confirm that he registered a Building Control
Notice.

Rgds

Steve

"Geoff Bayes" wrote in message
...
This house was built within the last two years. Three stories, with
bedroom and bathroom on the top floor. No loft space or tanks up
there.
The plumber was employed by the builder, and said to me that I ought
to have the plumbing looked at by a professional every five years or
so and in the the meantime all I needed to do was to keep the system
pressure around 1.0 bar, which he showed me how to do. I've since
found out that he told my wife to check the filter every so often, but
didn't tell her how to do it or where it was.
Now I could ring the builder and get the plumber's number and fetch
him round for a tutorial but, to be honest, he wasn't a nice guy, he
was sarcastic and abrupt.

If you are familiar with DHW/CH systems and you've got a few minutes
perhaps you could download
http://freespace.virgin.net/geoff.ba...res/photos.zip
(about 500K) which contains pictures of the contents of the utilities
cupboard.
Can you tell me what the various arrowed controls are, plus anything I
haven't flagged but you feel I ought to know about? I've labelled
those I think I know.

Geoff
A) Looks like a bypass valve. But I am not sure
B) A pressure reducing valve
C) A bleed valve.

I would be ****ed off if my CH/HW controller was stuck at the back of that
lot.

Adam

"Geoff Bayes" wrote in message
...
This house was built within the last two years. Three stories, with
bedroom and bathroom on the top floor. No loft space or tanks up
there.
The plumber was employed by the builder, and said to me that I ought
to have the plumbing looked at by a professional every five years or
so and in the the meantime all I needed to do was to keep the system
pressure around 1.0 bar, which he showed me how to do. I've since
found out that he told my wife to check the filter every so often, but
didn't tell her how to do it or where it was.
Now I could ring the builder and get the plumber's number and fetch
him round for a tutorial but, to be honest, he wasn't a nice guy, he
was sarcastic and abrupt.

If you are familiar with DHW/CH systems and you've got a few minutes
perhaps you could download
http://freespace.virgin.net/geoff.ba...res/photos.zip
(about 500K) which contains pictures of the contents of the utilities
cupboard.
Can you tell me what the various arrowed controls are, plus anything I
haven't flagged but you feel I ought to know about? I've labelled
those I think I know.

Geoff


It's a Heatrae Sadia Megaflo unvented ( mains pressure ) indirect hot water
cylinder, heated from a pressurised primary ( heating ) loop.

On Pic 1, you've already identified the main stopcock, the drain cock and
the fill loop. The fill loop is normally used to increase the primary
pressure to around 1 bar when cold. Check the boiler manual.

Item A I suspect is a bypass valve so the pump inside the boiler is not
dead-deaded in the event that all the radiator valves are closed. Item B I
don't know. Could be a pressure reducing valve. However, the megaflo's
pressure reducing valve is elsewhere.

Item C is an air bleed-off for the heating coil inside the megaflo.

The 2 metal boxes on the pipes near the bottom of the megaflo are a pair of
honeywell zone valves. The one closest to the camera is for the Hot Water.
The rear one will be for one of the heating zones. These valves are
controlled by the programmer, and allow the primary water to circulate in
the megaflo coil.

The grey box on the side of the megaflo covers 2 things ( hence the 2
wires ): The back-up immersion heater ( in case the gas system fails );,
and the tank stat and emergency cut-out both wired in series with the signal
from the programmer to the zone valve. In this way, even when the
programmer says it's time for hot water, if the tank is already up to
temperature, the zone valve remains closed and the boiler will not get the
signal to fire. The emergency cut-out is there to shut off the primary
heat source in case the tank stat fails.

Item D is the Megaflo's pressure reducing valve, and inlet shut-off. It
regulates the incoming mains cold water down to 3 bar.

In picture 8, the item in line with the cold supply going into the bottom of
the megaflo is the expansion relief valve, which discharges into the tundish
( black plastic open funnel type thing. )

The valve on the side of the megaflo which also discharges into the tundish
is the Temperature and Pressure relief valve. If this starts to discharge
intermittently, follow the instructions on the big label on the front of the
cylinder to re-generate the internal air volume.

The controller on the back wall appears to be a Horstmann "Channel Plus"
3-zone device, probably 2 heating zones ( upstairs / downstairs possibly )
and the 3rd zone will be the Hot Water.

--
Ron

On Sun, 25 May 2008 16:42:07 +0100, Geoff Bayes
wrote:

This house was built within the last two years. Three stories, with
bedroom and bathroom on the top floor. No loft space or tanks up
there.
The plumber was employed by the builder, and said to me that I ought
to have the plumbing looked at by a professional every five years or
so and in the the meantime all I needed to do was to keep the system
pressure around 1.0 bar, which he showed me how to do. I've since
found out that he told my wife to check the filter every so often, but
didn't tell her how to do it or where it was.
Now I could ring the builder and get the plumber's number and fetch
him round for a tutorial but, to be honest, he wasn't a nice guy, he
was sarcastic and abrupt.

If you are familiar with DHW/CH systems and you've got a few minutes
perhaps you could download
http://freespace.virgin.net/geoff.ba...res/photos.zip
(about 500K) which contains pictures of the contents of the utilities
cupboard.
Can you tell me what the various arrowed controls are, plus anything I
haven't flagged but you feel I ought to know about? I've labelled
those I think I know.

Thanks to everyone who replied, particularly Ron Lowe.
Would there be a filter on this system, as the installer allegedly
said?

Geoff

"Geoff Bayes" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 25 May 2008 16:42:07 +0100, Geoff Bayes
wrote:

This house was built within the last two years. Three stories, with
bedroom and bathroom on the top floor. No loft space or tanks up
there.
The plumber was employed by the builder, and said to me that I ought
to have the plumbing looked at by a professional every five years or
so and in the the meantime all I needed to do was to keep the system
pressure around 1.0 bar, which he showed me how to do. I've since
found out that he told my wife to check the filter every so often, but
didn't tell her how to do it or where it was.
Now I could ring the builder and get the plumber's number and fetch
him round for a tutorial but, to be honest, he wasn't a nice guy, he
was sarcastic and abrupt.

If you are familiar with DHW/CH systems and you've got a few minutes
perhaps you could download
http://freespace.virgin.net/geoff.ba...res/photos.zip
(about 500K) which contains pictures of the contents of the utilities
cupboard.
Can you tell me what the various arrowed controls are, plus anything I
haven't flagged but you feel I ought to know about? I've labelled
those I think I know.

Thanks to everyone who replied, particularly Ron Lowe.
Would there be a filter on this system, as the installer allegedly
said?

Geoff

Yes there is a filter in the system.
It is in the pressure reducing/stop valve on the Megaflow (can't remember
which letter on your pics, think it may have been D) These do get blocked
and reduce water flow.

Thanks to everyone who replied, particularly Ron Lowe.
Would there be a filter on this system, as the installer allegedly
said?

Geoff

Yes.
From the megaflo installation manual:


8.3 CLEAN THE STRAINER
The strainer is incorporated within the Pressure Reducing Valve housing of
the Cold Water
Combination Valve (see Figure 2). To inspect and clean the strainer:
i) Turn off the isolating valve on the Cold Water Combination Valve by
turning the black
handle so it lies 90o to the direction of flow.
ii) Open the lowest hot tap in the system to relieve the system pressure.
iii) Using a spanner unscrew the pressure reducing cartridge and remove the
moulded
housing. The strainer will be removed with the cartridge.
iv) Wash any particulate matter from the strainer under clean running water.
v) Replace the strainer and screw the Pressure Reducing Valve cartridge into
the moulded
housing.
vi) Close hot tap, turn on isolating valve by turning handle so it lies
parallel to the direction of
flow. Check for leaks.


--
Ron

On 27 May, 17:05, "Ron Lowe" ronATlowe-famlyDOTmeDOTukSPURIOUS
wrote:

the angled thing with the grey plastic cap, abpve the drain cock, is
also a pressure reducing valve; made by Caleffi I think and usually
pre-set to 3 bar. If you look at the plastic cap, I think it says
"pressure reducing valve with filter". It has a wire mesh strainer on
the filter and you'd need to dismantle it to clean it; soak it in
kettle descaler if it has lime-scale on it. Two PRvs & strainers will
add unnecessary pressure losses.

But the thing marked D is the unvented water heater's pressure
reducing valve; you don't need two and you must keep D, so I'd bin the
Caleffi, unless there's another reason for keeping it. The capped off
port on top of D is, I think, the connection for the equal pressure
cold supply. Check the manual. If you don't use this, the cold is at
mains pressure and some showers & mixing taps can't cope with an
unbalanced H&C supply.

And the heating pump is a bronze pump, usually used only for domestic
hot water; most odd. Why would they do that?

I think I'd check the pH of the heating system water and ensure there
are inhibitors in it.