motorised valve problem. any idears?

[J 71]

Hi folks,

Cutting a very long story short it appears the two motorised valves in my S plan have conked. A BG engineer has confirmed this for me, the problem is that he can't fit the new valves until the power coming into my home is upped to 240v because at the moment he said it is closer to 230v thus meaning that it would be pointless fitting them yet because they rquire the full 240v to work properly, leaving me with no heating or hot water until i have sorted things with my elec supplier. Does anybody have any experience of this problem and if so could you tell me if the engineer is correct in what he says plus how did you go about fixing it?

many thanks in advance,

J 71.

 

[safc]

You sure you got that right ? What make of valves are they ? 230volt will do the job.

 

[wards]

ask the bg guy to spud it,usually works for them

 

[Puddle]

I think the British gas bloke is on medication
properties on 240v have a tolerance that can take them down to 230V
the motorised valves will work ok on 230v 50Hz,in theory maybe slightly slower opening but you will not notice
And anyway surely he could of done something to get you going
Give them a ring back and ask for a superviser to visit,or maybe they are just trying to use every and any excuse in the book not to carry out their repair responsibilities
You may have to do what so many customers have to do when covered by British gas,pay your premiums and when you need a repair pay for a private plumber to do work on top

 

[oldplumber]

I expect BG is the electricity supplier anyway so now your really been seen off

 

[J 71]

we queried this with them because we have our elec with them but they said we must contact the 'actual' supplier ouselves, no surprise there then eh?!

 

[payney1974]

Sorry this will be no help to you but this thread has made me laugh after a long hard week at work. THANKYOU.

 

[J 71]

I expect BG is the electricity supplier anyway so now your really been seen off

You sure you got that right ? What make of valves are they ? 230volt will do the job.

ask the bg guy to spud it,usually works for them

Sorry this will be no help to you but this thread has made me laugh after a long hard week at work. THANKYOU.

thanks mate, i'm only up the road from you so if your any good at this sort of thing i might be trying to contact you!

 

[stevetheplumber]

Hi folks,

Cutting a very long story short it appears the two motorised valves in my S plan have conked. A BG engineer has confirmed this for me, the problem is that he can't fit the new valves until the power coming into my home is upped to 240v because at the moment he said it is closer to 230v thus meaning that it would be pointless fitting them yet because they rquire the full 240v to work properly, leaving me with no heating or hot water until i have sorted things with my elec supplier. Does anybody have any experience of this problem and if so could you tell me if the engineer is correct in what he says plus how did you go about fixing it?

many thanks in advance,

J 71.

european standard is now actually 230 for some reason if everything else in your house is working on the voltage how can he say the valves wont work either youve misunderstood what his said or he is not up to doing the job
if your motorised valves are honeywell or clones of there are levers on them you can hook open temporaly to give you some heat and hot water albe it with little temreature controll

 

[payney1974]

i know you say the 2 zone valves are broken but what was the fault? ie: no HW, no CH or nothing at all?

 

[J 71]

I understand everybody who's replied being a bit confused, thats exactly why i posted the query on here in the first place. Based on the bg engineers request to get our power into the house checked we've had our elec supplier send a spark out tonight and he's confirmed we have got a slight drop in power but not enough to prevent the valves from being fitted. Apparently our local sub is down so we're sharing with a neighbouring area, when i checked the voltage myself on Tue it read 230v which i know is correct. The spark who came out tonight said their tolerance is 230v plus10% and minus 6% going as low as 212v before they consider it a problem. Based on this i'm giving the bg engineer the benefit of the doubt for now as i didn't see his readings but i can't help thinking he just did'nt fancy the job at 2.30 on a Friday afternoon! Anyway he's been re-booked to come round tomorrow and finish the job so watch this space.

i know you say the 2 zone valves are broken but what was the fault? ie: no HW, no CH or nothing at all?

Sorry mate but i'v tried to post a detailed account 3 times now of the whole problem but for some reason when i go to post it it tells me i need to log in when i have already done so, very frustrating!!

 

[rod A]

hi ,could it be just one of switch cuicuits in the m/ valve[ ie micro switch ] ??

 

[RoryD]

Find it difficult to believe a BG engineer would make such a diagnosis!! Do you think you have that right mate?

 

[payney1974]

I understand everybody who's replied being a bit confused, thats exactly why i posted the query on here in the first place. Based on the bg engineers request to get our power into the house checked we've had our elec supplier send a spark out tonight and he's confirmed we have got a slight drop in power but not enough to prevent the valves from being fitted. Apparently our local sub is down so we're sharing with a neighbouring area, when i checked the voltage myself on Tue it read 230v which i know is correct. The spark who came out tonight said their tolerance is 230v plus10% and minus 6% going as low as 212v before they consider it a problem. Based on this i'm giving the bg engineer the benefit of the doubt for now as i didn't see his readings but i can't help thinking he just did'nt fancy the job at 2.30 on a Friday afternoon! Anyway he's been re-booked to come round tomorrow and finish the job so watch this space.




Sorry mate but i'v tried to post a detailed account 3 times now of the whole problem but for some reason when i go to post it it tells me i need to log in when i have already done so, very frustrating!!

Think you've got it right with the old Friday afternoon scenario!

 

[rod A]

hi , good point, possibly not.''

 

[fireblade]

BG excuses are never ending but at least it gives everybody a good laugh some body needs to write a book on this any way i need to go out to brocken down boiler but i don't think i will be able to fix it because the moon is in the wrong position

 

[J 71]

Find it difficult to believe a BG engineer would make such a diagnosis!! Do you think you have that right mate?

Trust me i'm telling you everything he said, i'm a maintenance engineer so i can solve most probs myself but if i'm a bit unsure then i dont mind swallowing my pride and calling in the 'experts', as i'v said before i'v posted this prob on here because it just didn't make sense and i wanted the opinions of others.

YESSS! Central heating and hot water back up and running. The same bg engineer returned to do the job, he replaced the wireless receiver so why we had to go down the road of motorised valves i'll never know now as i'v never been able to be at home when he came.
Thanks for the interest in my post folks, at least all the head scratching can stop now!

 

[RoryD]

Ahhhh! A wireless receiver!! that's clearly what he meant, but the plonker musta said valves

 

[fuzzy]

The usual problem with motorisd valves is the motor inside. This can be easily be overcome by simply operating the manual lever on the side of the valve. That will be a tempory solution and then you need to either swap the motor which can be tricky or just swap the valve head, 5 coloured wires, easy enough.

if its not the motor its the switch, i cannot ever recal coming across this though, a new valve head would also fix this.

If not that theres no power at all, check there is power on the grey cable in the 10way connector block. If you are competent to do so obviously, that will ensure you have a permanent live to the valve which is required for the switch. The brown cable is for the motor, check thats live why your at it, this is a switch live though, just work your way through it. if you dont know electric get someone else to do it

 

[Puddle]

Trust me i'm telling you everything he said, i'm a maintenance engineer so i can solve most probs myself but if i'm a bit unsure then i dont mind swallowing my pride and calling in the 'experts',

Maybe after this experience,you will get a 'expert' in next time,you will find very few in BG uniforms
Unless you are looking for a 'expert' to recommend a new boiler or power flush

 

[david williams]

sounds like the fault was bg guy on drugs

 

[J 71]

Maybe after this experience,you will get a 'expert' in next time,you will find very few in BG uniforms
Unless you are looking for a 'expert' to recommend a new boiler or power flush

To be honest Puddle the only reason i used them was because when i moved into my house 3 years ago the boiler,programmer,mot valves etc were recently fitted prior to me purchasing the house, they (the previous owners) were also kind enough to pay for some extended homecare plan which covers the boiler etc until April 20th 2010, bonus! If i had to call anyone in believe me they'd be the last people i'd call,especially as they tried to wriggle out of honouring the agreement because my name was'nt on the origonal policy. Their next move was to offer me reduced rates on repair costs as i'm a Duelfuel customer, cheeky gits, just as well i'm capable of fighting my corner because i dread to think what answer an old dear would get! Anyway, i see using them akin to taking your BMW to the local BMW dealership for a routine service ££££££££££££££££££!!

 

[RoryD]

Maybe after this experience,you will get a 'expert' in next time,you will find very few in BG uniforms
Unless you are looking for a 'expert' to recommend a new boiler or power flush

And you'd know about experts then?

 

[migoplumber]

RoryD, your post above to me sounds like a bit of an insult to puddle and doubting his capabilities or judgement ?
i'd like to suggest you read through a few more of his posts and still see if you feel this way. puddle is very competent and always offers good advice.
forum rules also state insulting another member is a bannable offense.
please reread forum rules, read the post again, read your unsubtle reply again. and restate the point you wanted to make another way. many thanks.
consider your bottom spanked. behave please.

 

[stevetheplumber]

RoryD, your post above to me sounds like a bit of an insult to puddle and doubting his capabilities or judgement ?
i'd like to suggest you read through a few more of his posts and still see if you feel this way. puddle is very competent and always offers good advice.
forum rules also state insulting another member is a bannable offense.
please reread forum rules, read the post again, read your unsubtle reply again. and restate the point you wanted to make another way. many thanks.
consider your bottom spanked. behave please.

oow i love it when you get all masterfull

 

[migoplumber]

masterfull no. full of respect to everybody who deserves it - i asked roryd an hour ago to sort his post out by private message, he decided to go offline instead. he will now be banned for 3 days to have a rethink ?
its just not nice to be unpleasant to other members - especially for a difference in opinion.

 

[t4cno]

Hi mate sorry im a bit late to get back to you,would defo go with the Renault Master, It has the 2.3ltr DCI engine with either 100,125 or 150 bhp engine, comfy drive and never seem to see them in the workshop except for routine servicing so overall a good reliable van, t4cno

 

[Puddle]

And you'd know about experts then?

After reading your posts RoryD,I see you are closely linked to British Gas and if you have taken my comments personally,I apologize and although I do not share the same sentiment,I do respect your loyalty and would except in reality there any many good engineers working for and sub contracting to British Gas,including a few 'experts'
I look forward to your return and future positive amicable debate