2 port valve fault

[Achy]

My 2 port valve seems faulty, in that the heating is permantly on.

The lever on the side is floppy... if I give the power head a whack the boiler turns off and the lever rises.

It says on the side of the power head that it is a 'normally closed' system.

So.... where could the fault be ?

Sticking valve ?
Dodgy power head ?

If the power head was faulty wouldn't the valve stay closed, meaning I wouldn't get any central heating ?

Thanks for any help !

 

[twgas]

maybe that the heat is causing it to stick so that it only happens when it's on/hot.

 

[Achy]

I assume if the valve is sticking that I'd have to drain the system down to replace

If so... anyone know any decent plumbers in the North Kent area ?

 

[Agile]

It coud be that a squirt of WD40 on the cogs inside the head is all thats required.

But it may be necessary to remove the head if its a later type to free up the operating shaft.

It might also be that the motor is on the point of seizing up. A drop of 3 in 1 oil on the bush under the small cog might delay the total seizure.

Tony


PS you should edit the title to say Fault and not Vault!

 

[Achy]

Fault/Vault Thanks !

All I could see after taking off the cover was the motor. (I didn't see any cogs) I haven't got round to removing the motor yet.

I take it the motor comes apart quite easily to put some "3 in 1" in ?

I'm relatively happy to spend the £35 on a new power head... it's the thought of replacing the valve, draining, flushing etc etc that makes my credit card tremble.

I figured I'd pull the head apart and spray the whole lot with oil, if that doesn't work then try replacing the head, then if that doesn't work... call out the pro

 

[Agile]

I dont advise taking anything apart! Its very fiddly.

Just try spraying WD40 into the area under the motor where the cogs are.

If access is very difficult use the tube and poke it in through the hole at the end with the lever.

Tony

 

[Achy]

Thanks for that.

I've read that it's more likely to be 'something' in the power head than the valve itself sticking, as the valve just opens and closes... thats it's job.
Where as motors and electrics are things more likely to breakdown.

Does this seem to make sense?

 

[Agile]

A professional cannot work on the basis of whats "more likely" !

We encounter all sorts of faults, some common and some very rare!

All I can say is that faults in the head are more common than seized shafts but we meet them all.

The most common fault is an open circuit motor. The next most common fault is a seized motor.

Probably after that comes the seized shaft but that is about equal placing to worn cogs/mechanism.

Tony

 

[Achy]

The worn cogs/mechanism - would they be in the valve bit or the head bit ?

So don't sit on the fence Do you think a spray of WD40 and a DIY replacement head would be a "good bet" to cure my problems ?

Don't worry, I wont be back on here tomorrow morning about 'bad' advice

 

[Agile]

I dont advise taking anything apart! Its very fiddly.

Just try spraying WD40 into the area under the motor where the cogs are.

If access is very difficult use the tube and poke it in through the hole at the end with the lever.

Tony

 

[uselessFCUK]

... if I give the power head a whack the boiler turns off and the lever rises.

Percussive maintenance used to work great on old tellys... not sure it's advisable on valve heads!!!

How long have you been bullying it? ... you may have scarred it for life.

You could grab a new one instead of faffing around. By all means tinker... take it apart, grease it up and put it together, take pride in fixing it.

Everything seems to be throw-away nowadays... disposable maintenance is a thing of the present.

 

[Achy]

Valve Update !

I took the head off, and the manual lever/cogs seem to be a bit knackered, in that I push the lever down and it misses some cogs etc.

So I replaced it with a TFC Tower Val 222MV, only took a few minutes to replace, and it opens the valve with the thermostat and timer .... as you would expect.

BUT !

I doesn't seem to be calling for heat... seems to be wired correctly, but my boiler just isn't happy taking orders from it !

Am I missing something obvious ?

I'm suspecting a faulty model.... there were not instructions in the box (which the guy in the shop selling it seemed surprised) and there was a tiny bit of the blue cellophane type wrapper stuck on one corner of the head ... as if it had been peeled off but ripped.

I'm going to take it back today... unless someone has any ideas about it being something else...