The trouble with all these instructions on the links you supplied is that they are for the latest models and not the ones we have: i.e. for the Alpha +, whereas we have just an Alpha, and for different Drayton trvs from the ones we have which look like the one you showed in your photo.
Motorised valve stuck
- Thread starter patagonia
- Start date
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We finally managed to get a heating engineer round to look at our stuck motorised valve. He wasn't familiar with theSiemens one we had and didn't seem to know how to get the head off so I told him I had some instructions taken down from here but by the time I had been to get them he had managed to smash off the tongue(s) and still couldn't get the head off. He said he wasn't sure whether one cd still get replacement heads and would find out. He said he had fixed the valve manually so that it was open but I notice that it is no longer firing the boiler. That was Monday and we have heard nothing from him so am about to chase. Not very encouraging. Does anyone know whether the tongues are part of the head or will we now have to replace the whole valve which will mean draining down? He also said that some of the pipes in the cellar were too high and might get airlocked during any draining down/flushing process. How is it that Corgi engineers don't all operate by the same principles? I can feel another nervous breakdown coming on.
same as builders, garages, dentists, lawyers, accountants. you got good ones and bad ones. the good ones are busy with regular customers. sorry if this sounds harsh, but that is how it works. if your system had been serviced annually, you would not have this problem. when i service systems that are properly maintained, it is usually a fairly quick job. because i do not have to spend ages trying to undo things that are rusted together, i can afford to spend time on preventitive measures, like checking floatvalves, gatevalves, inhibitor levels and what have you. that in turn means that IF there is a problem, i will be there within hours and solve the problem the same day. basically the same way your car goes to the garage twice a year even if it aint broken
bengasman - we never managed to get the installer of our new boiler back to service it or deal with the other problems, probably because he knew he hadn't done a proper job. However, we have had the boiler serviced regularly by others. It wd seem that installers often don't want to do servicing and those who service boilers don't want to get involved in the rest of the system.
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We are now starting to freeze. If I press down on the valve, the boiler will fire and the pump will start running but if I take my hand off, the valve jumps up with a bang and both the boiler and pump stop. Is it safe to try to tape the valve down till we can get the plumber back; apparently he is not working today and is uncontactable and the girl in the office doesn't know whethr he has ordered/tracked down a replacement head or not. Still don't know whether the tongues he smashed off are part of the head or the valve.
If it gives you heat and hot water for the evening then do it.
9 days with a faulty zone valve
. Drain your system tomorrow, (plenty of info on here), remove offending valve and with power off cut the lead prior to it entering wiring box, (that way you will know which wire goes where). Now take valve to local plumbers merchants or heating parts suplier and ask for same or its equivolent, fit new valve and inhibitor/protector to system and refill and bleed air then try running heating/ water.9 days, I mean come on, yellow pages not out in your neck of the woods.
Your wife would be able to do all that, would she? I had already established where I could get a replacement head or valve though they have to be ordered, in case the plumber came b ack and said they weren't available. I have tied down the valve head so we have some heating downstairs again. Water and upstairs valves OK. It still makes a horrendous banging if we turn the hall thermostat on but fires the boiler and pump when turned off anyway. If I don't hear from the plumber tomorrow, I'll have to get hold of the valve head and see if I can do it myself, or try to get someone else in.
Patagonia, what does my wife have to do with it?. In answer to your question, infact yes she can along with several other pluming and electrical tasks My post had no intension of provocation, my appologies if it seemed so. Though lets face it you know the problem, you know the repair so whats taking so long. It aint parts cause they are next day if not sooner, and it aint compotent plumbers.
It seems you have done all you could, and are the victim of plumbers who do not understand the principle of customer service. I am sorry to have drawn the wrong conclusion and wish you luck in finding a good one. You may find it hard to believe, but they do exist.
clf gas -
I'm obviously more of a delicate flower than your missus. I am OK at decorating, making curtains, stripping furniture, changing plugs etc. but at the age of 71 and with arthritic knees I find the prospect of clambering about in the unboarded loft and draining down the system of a very large house just a little daunting. I left messages on the voicemails of umpteen plumbers when the problem arose and only two had the courtesy to call me back, one of whom didn't do power flushing and the one who came smashed the valve and that was on Monday. Actually, I can't think of any of my female (or even male) friends who know as much as I now do about heating or who would have had the nous to tie down the valve head so that at least we have some heating, so don't be too hard on me.
I'm obviously more of a delicate flower than your missus. I am OK at decorating, making curtains, stripping furniture, changing plugs etc. but at the age of 71 and with arthritic knees I find the prospect of clambering about in the unboarded loft and draining down the system of a very large house just a little daunting. I left messages on the voicemails of umpteen plumbers when the problem arose and only two had the courtesy to call me back, one of whom didn't do power flushing and the one who came smashed the valve and that was on Monday. Actually, I can't think of any of my female (or even male) friends who know as much as I now do about heating or who would have had the nous to tie down the valve head so that at least we have some heating, so don't be too hard on me.
Madam Patagonia
If only I where nearer to you I would be honoured to repair your system, sadly I live in Lancashire.
Iam sure some of the regulars on here live close to you.
Anyone in the Herts area on here who could help this Lady, come on fellas put your name forward, over a week with a problem and no compotent engineers is taking the preverbial.
If only I where nearer to you I would be honoured to repair your system, sadly I live in Lancashire.
Iam sure some of the regulars on here live close to you.
Anyone in the Herts area on here who could help this Lady, come on fellas put your name forward, over a week with a problem and no compotent engineers is taking the preverbial.
clf-gas -
How kind. And they say chivalry is dead. If I were living in Lancs. or Yorks (where I come from) I don't think I'd be having these problems. You might like to know you have spurred me on to ordering the MRH for the valve (which our plumber said his suppliers had told him was no longer available) and a replacement valve for a trv and I'm going to have a go at fitting them myself. However, that still leaves me with all the other problems with our system to deal with. Today, I noticed that the boiler kept stuttering on and off in a most peculiar way. I don't know whether that's to do with this dodgy tied down valve top or sludge or sluggish circulation.
How kind. And they say chivalry is dead. If I were living in Lancs. or Yorks (where I come from) I don't think I'd be having these problems. You might like to know you have spurred me on to ordering the MRH for the valve (which our plumber said his suppliers had told him was no longer available) and a replacement valve for a trv and I'm going to have a go at fitting them myself. However, that still leaves me with all the other problems with our system to deal with. Today, I noticed that the boiler kept stuttering on and off in a most peculiar way. I don't know whether that's to do with this dodgy tied down valve top or sludge or sluggish circulation.
What's supposed to happen is thatthe programmer/thermostat opens the valve, then a switch inside gets closed mechanically by the movement, which turns the boiler on.
Your switch is being held closed by your tying down, so if that's not doing the job perfectly it could account for the boiler noises.
If your Siemens valve model is older than the one you've bought, I'm afraid it won't fit, and the whole valve would have to be changed. I would avoid draining down much of a big system though, as refilling can take all day - there are ways...
got a simplified pic of S plan somwhere... ummm....
Your switch is being held closed by your tying down, so if that's not doing the job perfectly it could account for the boiler noises.
If your Siemens valve model is older than the one you've bought, I'm afraid it won't fit, and the whole valve would have to be changed. I would avoid draining down much of a big system though, as refilling can take all day - there are ways...
got a simplified pic of S plan somwhere... ummm....
We had the kettling noise before the valve stuck. It's now in the manual position - open - and if I hadn't tied it down we wouldn't have any heating downstairs.
Siemens tech. chap told me that their RMH (replacement motor and housing) will fit our number valve; we shall see. The plumber we had round said he would have to drain down to replace the whole valve; are you referring to freezing the pipe? It's 28mm so might be difficult. My worry is that the problem is not just in the motor and housing unit but might be with the valve body but the plumber was just going to get a top if he had been able to. It would have been nice if he had told me at the beg. of the week when he ws told not available instead of waiting for me to chase him y'day. He couldn't get the head off but Siemens told me that once one has released the tabs all you have to do is pull out the plug with the wires on and then plug in the new one and clip it down. You can't get your hand down behind the pipe to push the slide in place but I'm hoping to be able to do that with a screwdriver. If it doesn't work we'll have to get a new valve. I gather that the new ones are smaller and easier to fit and you don't need to drain down to replace them if they fail.
Siemens tech. chap told me that their RMH (replacement motor and housing) will fit our number valve; we shall see. The plumber we had round said he would have to drain down to replace the whole valve; are you referring to freezing the pipe? It's 28mm so might be difficult. My worry is that the problem is not just in the motor and housing unit but might be with the valve body but the plumber was just going to get a top if he had been able to. It would have been nice if he had told me at the beg. of the week when he ws told not available instead of waiting for me to chase him y'day. He couldn't get the head off but Siemens told me that once one has released the tabs all you have to do is pull out the plug with the wires on and then plug in the new one and clip it down. You can't get your hand down behind the pipe to push the slide in place but I'm hoping to be able to do that with a screwdriver. If it doesn't work we'll have to get a new valve. I gather that the new ones are smaller and easier to fit and you don't need to drain down to replace them if they fail.
Dear Patagonia,
Since you are changing the whole valve any make will do. Not many merchants stock many makes with 28mm connections. The wiring code is the same for all makes I have come across. Certainly the same between siemens and honeywell.
Pipe freezing is an expensive business and often fails.
A full drain down of an open vented system like yours is a very long job, the refill can take a very long time to get the system working properly again.
I prefer to suspend the system. You cap the open vent above the feed and expansion tank and you put a cone shaped rubber bung into the cold feed towards the bottom of the tank either on the side or the bottom.
Then you make sure any automatic air vents are shut.
Then you drain water out until it stops flowing, maybe after a bucket of water, it varies. IMPORTANT shut the drain off.
Now you put a towel under the valve and change it, not a drop will be split if you have followed the instructions to the letter.
Since you are changing the whole valve any make will do. Not many merchants stock many makes with 28mm connections. The wiring code is the same for all makes I have come across. Certainly the same between siemens and honeywell.
Pipe freezing is an expensive business and often fails.
A full drain down of an open vented system like yours is a very long job, the refill can take a very long time to get the system working properly again.
I prefer to suspend the system. You cap the open vent above the feed and expansion tank and you put a cone shaped rubber bung into the cold feed towards the bottom of the tank either on the side or the bottom.
Then you make sure any automatic air vents are shut.
Then you drain water out until it stops flowing, maybe after a bucket of water, it varies. IMPORTANT shut the drain off.
Now you put a towel under the valve and change it, not a drop will be split if you have followed the instructions to the letter.
DIYnot Local
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