Are there schematics publicly available for the wiring on the PCB of a Baxi Solo 3 PF ?
I'm a bit confused by the wiring I have on my existing installation. At the front there are two sets terminals which are both wired directly together; there's also an SL terminal which is wired straight to the incoming live. Previously on the group I'd been informed that this boiler incorporates a pump overrun capability. For that I was expecting to see a PL terminal .. perhaps it is hidden ?
My MkI Solo PF has a connector block with 7 connections on it:
I would expect the Series 3 to be very similar in this respect.
From previous posts, it is clear that yours has hitherto been wired up in a highly non-standard fashion!
Anything like what you see here ? I fired up some pictures to a gallery of dodginess.
Indeed, so I'm getting it sorted :)
I've got a picture there of my cylinder, which is connected up just like the rest of the radiators are. I assume that it should be okay to get the plumber to stick the three-position valve such that the port for HW sits where the t-junction for the cylinder is ? Is it important for the valve to be placed in any particular position relative to the rads and the boiler ? I'm guessing not as long as it is near to the pump.
Cheers..
As confirmed by your piccis! Whoever did it clearly didn't understand how it's supposed to work. If you're going to power the pump elsewhere and not control it from the boiler (wrong anyway!) there's no point in connecting anything to the pump output terminals - just SW, N & E will do. The cowboys didn't even use the strain relief straps!
If going for a Y-Plan system with a 3-port valve, the valve needs to go after the pump but before the circuits divide - indeed it's the valve which does the dividing. You can't put it as a straight replacement for your existing tee without re-jigging the pipework. The input is the 'upright' of the T (when fitted the normal way round) and needs to face the pump. In your case, that would be horizontal - leaving the two outputs facing vertically up and down.
A better bet would be to replace the tee with an elbow, and put the valve at the top of the vertial section where the next elbow is currently - and then take the CH output down to join up with the existing pipe. That would result in having the actuator above the valve - which is the usual way to do it.
I don't think I would personally use plastic push-fit pipe in that particulat application. Copper pipe with compression or solder joints would be much more rigid, and would support the pump and valve adequately without any further supports.
Yes, that was the first thing I noticed when I took the cover off.
I'm planning to do what you advised a few weeks ago, and just run a five-core into the boiler carrying the mains in, switched live in, and pumped live out. I assume I only need to connect the pump's L terminal up to the pump itself on my wiring centre (ie ignore the pump N and E terminals provided on the boiler as shown).
Thanks. I was aware that I could not just drop the valve in place of the T. I had guessed that there would need to be re-jigging so that all the pipes would fit properly while the actuator was still accessible.
Is it reasonable for me to assume that the water is travelling from the pump towards the camera in the picture, ie the flow into the cylinder is the first thing connected into the system ? In that case I an assuming that the T is the right place to actually put the diverter valve (though agreeing that it needs to be reorganized a bit to keep things tidy).
Yes, that is just what I had in mind.
The existing pipes are are certainly a bit floppy so this makes good sense. I suspect some of the pipework in here will be replaced while the job is being done.
Yes, the pump can get its N & E from elsewhere - provided they all ultimately connect back to the same FCU.
Ordinarily it would be 'reasonable' - God knows in your case! . There should be an arrow on the pump body which indicates flow direction. If it's wrong, turn the pump round! Although some people suggest it's ok to the put the 3-port valve in the return, the instructions which come with some valves say expicitly that they must be in the flow pipe. This is *usual* anyway.
I think that will be fine. When I do this, the whole thing is going to run off a spur I'm taking from the immersion heater, so everything will be pretty common.
Indeed you're right - the arrow points in the direction that we expect. Brilliant. This job is going to be a lot easier than I expected. Replace the boiler wiring, install three-port valve and reroute plumbing, then hook it into the wiring centre. I'm hoping it'll be done within two relatively easy-going days, though that's probably tempting fate ;)
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