Lesson for the day

[Tim Lamb]

Following the recent house move and the onset of colder weather, I began to take more interest in thermostat settings and actual room temperatures.

Individual stats and underfloor piped heat ought to give good control if the doors are kept shut. Not so!

Initial thought was to blame the electrician for mixing up the stat/valve connections. I was wrong!

After unloading what seemed like 500 bath towels from the airing cupboard and removing the shelves, I discovered that any stat. calling for heat started the pump and put hot water through the entire system.

Those with manifolds controlled by wax energisers will probably know these are secured by knurled threaded sleeves. Now to me, knurling implies tighten by hand. The instruction book asks for these to be tight without further specification.

So out with the Chinese water pump pliers.... there is clearly some compressible seal as repeated tightening gained at least 2 full threads and probably represents 50% of the valve movement.

We will see what the next cold/windy day brings but I take back any miss directed thoughts about the electrical profession:-)

[Andrew]

Are these the new fluffy towels that SWMBO has insisted on buying 'for the new house' ?. (even though the originals were just fine).

[Tricky Dicky]

I fitted programmableTRVs last weekend and got to say the results have been dramatic with much better individual controls and the temperatures have been far more accurate. Previously our 2nd reception room was difficult to heat because of the number of windows it tended to cool quicker. It was OK in the heating phase but once the heating went into maintenance mode you could feel the difference between the main lounge where the thermostat was. Moving the thermostat into the cooler room did make a difference but due to the coarseness of the temperature settings on the mechanical TRVs the main lounge either became like a sauna or a cool box. The programmable TRVs have ?heat on demand? and the result is I can heat up any individual room to the temperature I want without heating the rest of the house, can even get Alexa to set the heat where she stops arguing with me.

Richard

[Brian Reay]

I'd be interested to learn how you find these work in the longer term. We have a Hive system and conventional TRVs (which predate the Hive system). I'm considering replacing at least some of the TRV heads with SMART ones which work with the Hive system to fine tune the various room temps.

So far, it SEEMS the Hive system has allowed me to reduce my heating bill considerably - enough to pay for the Hive system (about £120) in a year. I need to check this over a couple of years to be sure.

[Tricky Dicky]

Brian the ones I installed are the Hive TRVs having already had Hive Active Heating for some time. I do not know if they will save me on heating costs and to be frank I was more concerned with comfort. Potentially, I suppose I could make some savings although I will be pumping more heat into the 2nd reception room that will probably be offset by better control in other rooms. An example of the possible savings are when watching late night TV in bed if it felt cool and we boosted the heating for an hour it involved heating the whole house, I can now just boost the room I am in.

Richard

[ARW]

It's easier to get them tight when calling for heat on that zone as the heads are in the on/open position. If it's like the UFH systems I have wired up they are actually just little servos that have an on/off operation ie plunger on the manifold fully open or fully closed - assuming that they are screwed on tight enough-).

Let us know how you get on.

[Tim Lamb]

Pass.

I suppose in 50+ years of marriage and raising a family they tend to accumulate.

More interestingly, has anyone ever been allowed to use an apparently old/tired towel for something useful like wiping the oil off an engine?

[Jeff Layman]

Old tea towels, yes. As to ordinary towels, The Management keeps a supply for major water spills, washing machine leaks, etc.

[Tim Lamb]

2 wire only and take several minutes to operate fully. Easy enough to set the stats to call for heat but the thought of all those towels is a bit daunting.

[Andrew]

That's what "baby-gro's" are for. ex MOT tester neighbours daughter has twins (at the age of 42 !!) and she supplied a never ending supply of baby attire that they rapidly grew out of, and he used them for wiping up oil when servicing cars. Quite absorbant.

[Andrew]

Worn out brushed-cotton sheets are excellent for any decorating or diy work that involves oily hands. Just tear off a square piece and use for cleaning brushes with white spirit etc.

[ARW]

I wonder if we are describing the same item but using different terminology?

The heads I have wired up are also only 2 wire. Now the words "takes several minutes to operate fully" is not what I expected!

Care to name or photograph your set up? Get her to move the towels:-)

You either have something I have never seen before, something that I misread in your post or we have just got a bit mixed up.

[Andy Burns]

The actuators I've seen for fitting at the manifold do seem to say they operate slowly

[Tim Lamb]

Hmm.. 3 minutes, energise to fully open. Line Neutral feed. White,rectangular plastic cover with a window showing red closed/ black open.

The one in the downstairs coat cupboard is more accessible:-)

I think it is a polyplumb thermal actuator.

Possibly an Uponor manifold.