Heating / Hot water Issue

[thevillage_Brian]

Hi All,

I had an issue with my heating / hot water over the last few weeks. Initially I thought it was a problem with the boiler as it wasn't firing when I set the HW or CH to active on the panel in the kitchen.

I had a plumber take a look and he figured out the problem was with the Siemens switches in the water tank press. The switches are silver boxes attached to the pipes in the press that should kick in once you knock on the red light on the kitchen panel (there's a box each for the HW and the CH in the press).

Both of these switches have now stopped working (I don't know if it was a coincidence that they both stopped working at the same time). I can manually start the CH/HW but it means switching on the red light in the kitchen AND using a screwdriver on the pipe/box in the press....same routine to knock it off. Not ideal......

The plumber tells me the Siemens switches alone cost €200 each, not including installation. Has anyone come across this before and if so how did they get it resolved?

Any advice appreciated.....

 

[suzzanne from fair city]

yeah im a plumber myself motorized valves are expensive,you could go with a cheaper brand than seimens i suppose , its not like they last ,,,,,,,,(seen as they are dead)

 

[suzzanne from fair city]

oh and the fact they are both gone sounds more like an electrical fault like a fuse blown or something

 

[patrickvillage]

Hi Brian,

I had the exact same problem during the cold snap last year and Topper may be right, as my problem was a blown fuse. Look in the hot press and find the immersion heater switch with the red right. Go below that and to the left and that is the fuse box for the boiler control. I changed that fuse and all works perfectly now. Even tighten the fuse as it may have gotten a knock from something in the press. Try this before you go spending hundreds on it.

Hope it works out for you

 

[thevillage_Mac]

Hi Brian,

I am experiencing the exact same problem at the moment....did you get yours sorted??

Thanks!

 

[thevillage_Brian]

Hi Mac,
Sorry for the delay in replying. I've been away quite a bit over the last few months so I haven't got around to sortiing this out yet would you believe. Have been surviving with the screwdriver!

Have you got sorted?

I will get to this in the next few weeks and report back here with how I get on....

 

[thevillage_Brian]

I finally got around to looking into this.

To replace the two motorised port valves in the hot press, I've got a quote for €350 for this (€150 for the 2 valves and €200 for the labour).

Has anyone had to replace these valves before and does the price sound reasonable?

Any advice appreciated.

 

[thevillage_Mac]

I finally got around to looking into this.

To replace the two motorised port valves in the hot press, I've got a quote for €350 for this (€150 for the 2 valves and €200 for the labour).

Has anyone had to replace these valves before and does the price sound reasonable?

Any advice appreciated.

Hi Brian,

I got a quote of around 180 to replace one valve. the problem for me was that it not the complete valve that was not working but the motorised control part(actuator) that open/closes the valve. If your valve still opens/closes manually then it probably the actuator only that is at fault. I sourced a replacement actuator through a UK website (http://www.heatingcontrolsonline.co.uk/siemens-dva25-czv222-actuator-p-308.html). Cost about 50euro delivered and I fitted it myself so I did save a few quid. If you're not up to fitting yourself you could try someplace like tradesmen.ie to get a quote.