Triton Opal ...Heating. Advice required.

[d1saster]

Hi everyone, this is my 1st post. My Triton Opal 9.5 Kw used to be set around 6 to give good pressure at the desired temperature. Now I have to set it to around 9 and little pressure (which I know will drop as the temp increases). Pressure is OK with cold only.
On having a quick look I noticed on the PCB the connections above Z2 & Z3 are charred. Does anyone know what these are and if replacing the PCB would solve the problem? A new PCB is £41 from showerspares.co.uk. or a new shower from around £100. Thanks in advance.

 

[NewOrder]

Don't know the first thing about showers buit have you checked the pump is working?

 

[Space cat]

A quick look at an illustrated spares list for this shower shows that it has two heating elements. If one isn't working you'll get the symptoms you describe. A quick way to check this is to watch your electric meter. If the shower is working at full power you should clock up a unit (1kW.hr) in just over six minutes. (This will be easier to see if you have everything else switched off. )

If you aren't drawing full power, either an element has failed or else some switch or relay isn't closing when it should. In the first case you'll need a new heating tank. In the second, you might be able to replace the offending part without buying a whole new PCB.

 

[d1saster]

Thanks for quick replys. Pump is working and seems to be drawing full power!
Re drawing.... http://www.shower-spares.co.uk/triton/triton_opal.htm

Could Z2/ Z3 (small coils) be the offending switches on dia #9 PCB? Thanks.

 

[Lectrician]

It could be one of the elements, one of the micro switches or coils firing the elements, or a high resistance joint near to your charred bits you describe.

If you can work a multimeter, you should be able to decide which of the above it is.

 

[Space cat]

seems to be drawing full power

If you're sure its consuming the full 9.5kW then there's only one place for all that power to go; into the water. It would follow that you're getting all the flow you can have at the temperature you want.

In addition to the electric meter trick, you can find out whether any instantaneous electric water heater is doing its stuff by measuring the flow rate and the inlet/outlet temperatures. Here's how:

Your outlet temperature will be somewhere around 40°. Your inlet temperature varies with the seasons but 10°C would be a reasonable guess - or you can use a thermometer. The important bit is the temperature increase, 30°C in this example.

Now for the clever bit. It takes a one kilowatt heater 4.2 seconds to raise the temperature of a litre of water by 1°C, so it will take that same heater 4.2 x 30 = 126 seconds to raise it by 30°C. But your heater is 9.5 kW so things will happen 9.5 times faster; your litre of water will be up to temperature in 126 / 9.5 = 13.26 seconds.

So there you have it. If you can fill a one litre jug in about 13 seconds, your shower is working as well as it can without breaking the first law of thermodynamics.

 

[GaryMo]

Thanks for quick replys. Pump is working and seems to be drawing full power!

Your 9.5kW electric shower has a pump?