The motorised valve on my hot water cylinder has stopped sending out signals to the boiler to switch on.
I'm told a replacement power head is available, and can be fitted without affecting the water.
As is the norm for these things, the airing cupboard has been built around the plumbing and it's almost impossible to get at. I can get the top cover off but how do I remove the rest of the power head?
There are two versions of the V4043, the earlier one didn't have a head you can replace without draindown (you can buy an adapter to convert it). On the later versions ensure the lever on both old and new are set to its manual and undo the two captive fixing screws. If water starts to leak you have the old version and need to get the adapter plate and drain down partially.
FWIW I now have a few dead V4043 actuator heads, with either failed motors or failed microswitches. So for the last 2-yearly replacement operation, I did some swapping of parts - it's worked so far ...
I feel these aren't the most reliable things on the planet.
Thanks folks for your replies. This thread had sunk a long way down the list what with all the spam in the way. Why can't the thread title be limited to just one line? OTOH when you see one of these stupid long titles you know it's going to be spam.
As to my V4043, after major deconstruction of the airing cupboard and use of a mirror and torch I can see in the top. Getting a screw driver in is another matter. It actually looks like it's going to be easier to drain down and remove a whole section of piping with the valve attached.
I had one of the old ones with 3/4" BSP connections fail recently. I'd looked into the adapter plate route, but none of the merchants I spoke to were familar with them and I didn't want to find myself halfway through the job with only half the parts, so I'd decided to put a new 22mm compression one in by replacing some pipework.
When comparing the old one and the new I started to suspect that the new valve was essentially the adapter plate and power head plus a modern compression body. Turned out his was correct, which saved heaps of time by allowing me to refurbish the old body in situ (so no plumbing except application of a couple of cans of freezer spray). It was also handy cost saver as being a commodity item the whole new 22mm valve cost somewhat less from eBay than the more specialist adapter plate and head from elsewhere.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.