Towerstat will not turn boiler off

[darkmagi]

As the title above states I have a problem with my boiler turning off, I have a towerstat rf transmitter & receiver fitted to my linea 28 which will switch the boiler on where it sits on the wall in my livinroom which is about 7 feet away from the boiler in another room but it will not switch it off, The fan symbol on the transmitter turns off but the boiler just keeps running, if I take the transmitter off the wall & put it right up next to receiver turn the temp on the transmitter up until the fan symbol comes on then turn the temp down so the fan symbol goes off it will turn the boiler off, it will turn it off & on with no problems as long as the transmitter is within 1 foot of the receiver but I seem to have a problem if i move them apart more than 1 foot.

The towerstat was fitted about 2 years ago & has worked fine all that time it just seems to have been over the last few days there has been a problem.

Any help would be gratefully received.

Thanks in advance. Tom:

 

[Agile]

Its obviously a RF reception problem.

But changing the transmitter batteries would be the best first step.

They must be proper Duracell as cheap ones don't provide the peak current needed during transmission.

Tony

 

[darkmagi]

Thanks for the reply Tony, I tried a pair of rechargeable battery's which I had recharged overnight for about 6 hours before using them but they still don't seem to have made a difference, I will try a pair of new battery's when I get home & let you know how I get on.

 

[Agile]

That's a typical DIY problem caused by a lack of knowledge about batteries!

Rechargeable small cells have a lower voltage than dry cells, a nominal 1.2v compared with 1.5v.

Its often assumed that cheap zinc/carbon cells sold for £1 for 10 in the £1 shops are just as good as proper alkaline batteries like Duracell.

Obviously I don't know exactly what is wrong in your case but fitting the proper battery is the best first step.

Tony

 

[darkmagi]

Hi Tony,

Just a quick update, I fitted 2 new Duracell Ultra Power Batteries but the problem is still the same, The thermostat will turn the boiler on but will not shut if off unless im within 1 foot of the receiver, I also noticed that any slight & i mean VERY slight tap to the front of the receiver causes it to turn the boiler off but the light on the front of the receiver remains on, Im assuming i have a faulty receiver with a dry joint or several dry joints.

Im thinking i will just have replace the thermostat & receiver do you have any advice on which to buy, I would like a wireless thermostat & a receiver which can fit in the place of the old one which sites in the boiler front.

If you have any other ideas as to what i can try to fix the problem or any advice on a new thermostat & receiver i would be very gratefull. Tom.

 

[DP]

It is a little difficult to say if the rechargeable batteries are definate no no. Higher current delivery would mean the terminal voltage would be stable at 1.2 volts per cell to suddenly drop to much lower voltage when charge stored comes to an end. [2.4 volts against 3 delivered by dry cells is not much different (I have in fact popped a single new cell alongside dry cells having a last gasp in these programmers)]. In fact the drop is sudden. If rechargeable battery is used in a torch, one minute you would be walking with path in front illuminated, next you would be in darkness.

Rechargeable cell is not suitable in applications like clocks, remote controls, timers etc. as it discharges far quicker than a dry cell.

Get yourself a decent programmer from likes of Danfoss or Honeywell. You cannot go wrong.

 

[Agile]

What you have described is not totally logical as it initially implied the RF signal was too weak and the TX needed to be beside the RX unit to turn it off.

But now you have described a situation which seems as if its a RX fault. In fact it would be the usual fault of the mains reducing capacitor losing value. But that would not make it operate any more reliably by bringing the TX unit closer.

If its the usual capacitor fault on the RX unit then it is a simple fault to repair by anyone with a little electronics knowledge.

There are many RF programmable stats on the market and the Drayton and Danfoss are usually considered the better ones. Salus are rather cheaper but don't have a reputation for high reliability although that is not borne out by objective tests.

Tony

 

[darkmagi]

Thanks for the reply & Advice Tony, To make it even more illogical for you after finding that the tx unit only works close to the rx unit I thought I would leave it on the wall next to boiler but this morning I noticed that if the rx unit is too close to the rx unit the boiler turns off after about 2 minutes but the fan symbol on the tx unit is still on the screen, if I start the boiler up with the unit & move it further away from the rx unit it runs for about 10 minutes then does the same thing, I'm going to have a look at some of the tx/rx units you advices about & see which one i think will do the job I want.

Thanks again. Tom

 

[Agile]

If you wanted the bother then I would pay the postage for you to post the old unit to me when you have replaced it as I love diagnosing unusual electronic faults!

But you would need to email me from my profile details. You double click on my Agile forum name.

Tony

 

[darkmagi]

Happy to post it to you if you pay the postage as it will not be any good to me, I will email you my email address & you could pay for the postage through PayPal if you want to do it that way, if you do diagnose the fault would you keep me up to date as it would be nice to know the fault & the fix incase it ever happens again. Tom

 

[Agile]

Sure but whatever the fault is will probably be specific to that design and not relevant to any other make/model.

Unless you planned to replace it with exactly the same type if available.

Many of the current models have many more facilities now.

Tony

 

[suhaylpatel]

Hi,

I have 2 Towerstat RF switches, 1 for downstairs and 1 for upstairs.
Downstairs is working completely fine.

The upstairs switch comes on at the set time but when it reaches the set temperature or reaches the end of the set time, the thermostat goes off but the boiler doesnt.

Any idea why this could be?

Read more: //www.diynot.com/forums/plumbi...urns-bolier-off.382313/#2930401#ixzz2kRaAOUgY

 

[DazBarber]

As the title above states I have a problem with my boiler turning off, I have a towerstat rf transmitter & receiver fitted to my linea 28 which will switch the boiler on where it sits on the wall in my livinroom which is about 7 feet away from the boiler in another room but it will not switch it off, The fan symbol on the transmitter turns off but the boiler just keeps running, if I take the transmitter off the wall & put it right up next to receiver turn the temp on the transmitter up until the fan symbol comes on then turn the temp down so the fan symbol goes off it will turn the boiler off, it will turn it off & on with no problems as long as the transmitter is within 1 foot of the receiver but I seem to have a problem if i move them apart more than 1 foot.

The towerstat was fitted about 2 years ago & has worked fine all that time it just seems to have been over the last few days there has been a problem.

Any help would be gratefully received.

Thanks in advance. Tom:

Hello.

Did you resolve your problem? Ours is doing the same (well, almost - I can put the transmitter about 10 feet away and it works but it no longer turns off the heating from the lounge which is about 18 feet away).
Thanks,
Daz

 

[Whitespirit66]

I regularly replace budget Towerstats, Salus, etc RF stats because they often start playing up whilst still in the first flush of youth. They're not known to be quality, and if changing batteries and checking bonding between stat and receiver don't solve problem, not normally worth wasting time on.

Plenty of better quality units out there, eg. Drayton, Honeywell, Danfoss.

 

[DazBarber]

Oh dear. If it's a gonner, I'm thinking about Hive.