Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: Field Marshal Dr. Opti on 10 November 2024, 15:00:13
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Leaking like a bastard. Obviously been repaired many times before .....but not by me.
What exactly am I looking at here?
What is the function of the blue box?
(https://i.ibb.co/vYZR4SZ/use-image.jpg)
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Looks like an ancient three way valve. Hot water only, central heating only, or both.
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Looks like an ancient three way valve. Hot water only, central heating only, or both.
Yep..... I've found quite a few videos on you tube. Looks like the 3 way valve comes complete the 'box unit' and wiring that then has to be connected to a wiring box.
I mean, how hard can it be to change? ::)
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Looks like an ancient three way valve. Hot water only, central heating only, or both.
Yep..... I've found quite a few videos on you tube. Looks like the 3 way valve comes complete the 'box unit' and wiring that then has to be connected to a wiring box.
I mean, how hard can it be to change? ::)
Let us know when you've done it :)
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Looks like an ancient three way valve. Hot water only, central heating only, or both.
Yep..... I've found quite a few videos on you tube. Looks like the 3 way valve comes complete the 'box unit' and wiring that then has to be connected to a wiring box.
I mean, how hard can it be to change? ::)
Let us know when you've done it :)
Looks like the 3 way valve complete with box and wiring cost around £70-£80 from Screwfix. So not too bad.
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Avoid the Danfoss ones, else you'll be doing it again in 2-3 years.
Easy enough job, but you need a partial or full drain down - use it as a good excuse to put cleaner in it before draining, and getting the right amount of inhibitor in after you're done.
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It's commonly called a diverter valve, but it does what Stemo describes.
The large blue/black plastic electrical bit usually unclips and pulls off the mechanical (copper/brass) valve, allowing you to operate the valve manually.
However, if it's leaking water, then it's the copper/brass bit that needs changing. It's not obvious from the photo - if your valve has been inserted properly using screw compression fittings, then it may be a job you can tackle yourself. However, it does look like someone has been in there with solder and a blow torch. If any of the fittings have been soldered up then you'll probably need to get someone in that knows what they're doing to replace it.
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Would this do the trick? I am assuming that my pipes are 22mm.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/drayton-27101sx-3-port-motorised-valve-22mm-compression/81844? (https://www.screwfix.com/p/drayton-27101sx-3-port-motorised-valve-22mm-compression/81844?)
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Yes although I would be advising getting a Honeywell one if you can as they seem to be the only reliable ones around these days
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Also, with the Honeywell ones, you can very easily swap the motorised head (the part that most commonly fails) while leaving the rest in place, avoiding the need for a drain down.
This may also be possible with Drayton, but I have no experience with them.
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Also, with the Honeywell ones, you can very easily swap the motorised head (the part that most commonly fails) while leaving the rest in place, avoiding the need for a drain down.
This may also be possible with Drayton, but I have no experience with them.
There seems to be no way quick release way I can remove the blue plastic box. No release mechanism.
Although it is more than 20 years old so probably 'not a thing' back then.
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Also, with the Honeywell ones, you can very easily swap the motorised head (the part that most commonly fails) while leaving the rest in place, avoiding the need for a drain down.
This may also be possible with Drayton, but I have no experience with them.
yep....can be removed to aid 'spannering' ;)
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Yes although I would be advising getting a Honeywell one if you can as they seem to be the only reliable ones around these days
Yup, since using Honeywell, I haven't been replacing mine every 3-5 years :y
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I suppose I'll need to invest in some sort of olive cutter. I doubt the old olives will yield easily......unless somebody knows of a surefire method of removing them. :)
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I suppose I'll need to invest in some sort of olive cutter. I doubt the old olives will yield easily......unless somebody knows of a surefire method of removing them. :)
I have both an Olive Cutter and an Olive Puller but for many years I just cut a diagonal cut in the Olive with a junior hacksaw. Don’t go too deep though, you just need to go deep enough to get a flat blade screwdriver in the slot and then twist the screwdriver to split the Olive. Clean up the pipe with a bit of wire wool and it’s job done. :y
Just for reference, the old blue 3 way valve controller were generally produced by Switchmaster, and they were sold as a one piece item, so the electric part was a non-replaceable part.
I use the Honeywell 3 way port valve whenever I change one.
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I suppose I'll need to invest in some sort of olive cutter. I doubt the old olives will yield easily......unless somebody knows of a surefire method of removing them. :)
I have both an Olive Cutter and an Olive Puller but for many years I just cut a diagonal cut in the Olive with a junior hacksaw. Don’t go too deep though, you just need to go deep enough to get a flat blade screwdriver in the slot and then twist the screwdriver to split the Olive. Clean up the pipe with a bit of wire wool and it’s job done. :y
Just for reference, the old blue 3 way valve controller were generally produced by Switchmaster, and they were sold as a one piece item, so the electric part was a non-replaceable part.
I use the Honeywell 3 way port valve whenever I change one.
I may try this. :y
The problem I have is the 3 large nuts refuse to undo despite a drenching with WD40 and a lot of heat.
If I push any harder I could easily crack, bend or rupture the copper pipe. Dilemma. :-\
I'm wondering if I should cut the whole thing out and replace the shagged copper pipe with plastic.
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Have you tried holding the port valve with pipe grips whilst turning the nut with a spanner. I sympathise as I know that some compression joint nuts can put up a fight. :y
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If the olives aren’t damaged you could try reusing them with a bit of jointing compound. Also, if you know your system and you still have a header tank, you can create a vacuum by sticking a rubber carrot in the header inlet and bung the vent loop pipe to avoid a drain down. It’s obviously safer to drain down and it also gets rid of some of the crap in the pipe work, but for time saving the bung and carrot do work. :y
Your main issue is removing the old one though.
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Looking at the state of those pipes, it's going to get messy :o
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Would anyone think me rude if I asked if Mrs Opti could make a short video of the process. Purely for educational purposes, of course.
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I suppose I'll need to invest in some sort of olive cutter. I doubt the old olives will yield easily......unless somebody knows of a surefire method of removing them. :)
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Or you could " bite the bullet" and get somebody in who knows exactly what they're doing..👍
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I suppose I'll need to invest in some sort of olive cutter. I doubt the old olives will yield easily......unless somebody knows of a surefire method of removing them. :)
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Or you could " bite the bullet" and get somebody in who knows exactly what they're doing..👍
Now there's a novel idea. It'll never catch on ::)
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Would anyone think me rude if I asked if Mrs Opti could make a short video of the process. Purely for educational purposes, of course.
;D ;D ;D
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If it were me I'd get some 22mm copper pipe and some speed fit elbows / couplers and cut all the old fittings away.
By the time you've pulled, heaved and twisted to try and get the nuts and olives off the valve you'll probably create a leak at one of the solder joints anyway. Just spend the extra £20 now and save yourself the trouble of going back to it.
If you use speed fit with copper pipe you don't need to buy inserts either, they just go straight on the pipe.
Alternatively you could use the speed fit plastic pipe and some inserts as it's easier to cut,.and gives you a bit of flex if you can't/don't line things up just right. Copper is less forgiving
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Surely Opti must have long finished this little job by now. I mean, a straight swap part for part and a few wires to change, just how hard can that be. ;D
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If it were me I'd replace it with a pair of 2 port valves as they are much more reliable.
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Surely Opti must have long finished this little job by now. I mean, a straight swap part for part and a few wires to change, just how hard can that be. ;D
Oi, don't disturb the Field Marshall.
He's currently midway through a YouTube DIY course on how to plaster a ceiling while he waits for the industrial dehumidifier to arrive ;)
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Surely Opti must have long finished this little job by now. I mean, a straight swap part for part and a few wires to change, just how hard can that be. ;D
Oi, don't disturb the Field Marshall.
He's currently midway through a YouTube DIY course on how to plaster a ceiling while he waits for the industrial dehumidifier to arrive ;)
;D ;D :y
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If it were me I'd replace it with a pair of 2 port valves as they are much more reliable.
Trouble is you then need to also add a bypass of some sort to support pump run on
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Well, I've had a quote of £180 provided I supply the new parts myself. :-X
Plumbers can't be short of a bob or two. ::)
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Well, I've had a quote of £180 provided I supply the new parts myself. :-X
Plumbers can't be short of a bob or two. ::)
Bet they don't drive around in £40K beemers ::)
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Well, I've had a quote of £180 provided I supply the new parts myself. :-X
Plumbers can't be short of a bob or two. ::)
Bet they don't drive around in £40K beemers ::)
No, 40k vans............and lets be honest, its not a 'challenging' job >:D
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Next quote £240 including VAT.....but using parts supplied by me.
Probably less than an hour of work for a competent spanner man. :-\
It's not leaking that much, and Mrs Opti's best chrome cake mixing bowl is catching all the water for now. :)
I'll keep my powder dry for now. ;)
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https://www.screwfix.com/p/sentinel-internal-leak-sealer-1ltr/99730
:-X ;D
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Leaking like a bastard. Obviously been repaired many times before .....but not by me.
What exactly am I looking at here?
What is the function of the blue box?
(https://i.ibb.co/vYZR4SZ/use-image.jpg)
Not leaking that much, now it's going to cost money ;D
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Next quote £240 including VAT.....but using parts supplied by me.
Probably less than an hour of work for a competent spanner man. :-\
It's not leaking that much, and Mrs Opti's best chrome cake mixing bowl is catching all the manky water and chemicals for now. :)
I'll keep my powder dry for now. ;)
I'm sure Mrs Opti's cakes will taste even better in future! :)
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Well, I've had a quote of £180 provided I supply the new parts myself. :-X
Plumbers can't be short of a bob or two. ::)
You’ve got to decide if it’s within your capabilities. If it’s not, be honest with yourself and just pay a tradesman to sort it for you. You’ll soon forget about the money and be glad that you personally didn’t have the hassle of repairing it. :y
Honeywell 3 port motorised mid valves are around £128. That would be the finished job cost if you do it yourself as no sundries are required (drain down would require Fernox upon refill of system). I’ve done enough plumbing over the years to have enough tools, pipe and connections to get myself out of the shit should something go wrong on a job like yours, but if you haven’t it could end up messy.
You need to be confident enough to drain down or isolate that area of the system, which means understanding how your system works.
The valve nuts need to come off regardless, and your valve has spanner flats next to each port nut which can minimise pipe twist so that’s a bonus.
You require basic electrical knowledge to swap the valve wires over. You require enough knowledge to fill and bleed the system once you have replaced the motorised valve.
It’s a relatively straightforward job to some but if any of the above worries you, just sit back and let a plumber do it. :y