Gledhill Torrent Direct T210 DE - integrated expansion tank

[r0by]

Hi,

I moved into a flat which has the following "Gledhill Torrent Direct T210 DE" thermal storage store to provide hot water:

http://www.plumbnation.co.uk/site/g...ledhill-torrent-installation-instructions.pdf

I've been plagued with issues for the last 8 months.

The most of the problems are related to the integrated expansion tank which has a problem with the ball valve mechanism to control the water entering the tank.

It's been replaced/fixed three times. Every time it has problems it causes water to go out via the overflow pipe.......the bad thing is the overflow pipe isn't that great and causes water to leak into the flat below.

The last time it went....it was so bad it quickly filled up the tank and was overflowing from the top.

What can be causing it? The first time I was told I live in a hard water area and this could be the cause but for the same issue to happen twice more there must be something more that is causing it....

The water pressure is quite high but it's the same for the other 30/40 flats and it doesn't seem like anyone else is having problems.

Any ideas as to what is causing this issue would be greatly appreciated.

Rob

 

[picasso]

Turn off the supply to the expansion tank and see if you still have problems, from what you have described I would think there might be a problem with the coil inside the store, you can leave the supply off as long as the level does not drop too low ie when there is no water in the expansion tank,

If the water over flows you know the coil has a hole in it.

 

[r0by]

I've turned off the feed into the expansion tank and the water doesn't increase. If I turn it on then then it comes out like a tap at full pressure.

Sorry for the following stupid question but why do I need to let water in there from the mains if it's just gets water from expansion? What is the risk of leaving it off completely?

 

[picasso]

Sorry for the following stupid question but why do I need to let water in there from the mains if it's just gets water from expansion? What is the risk of leaving it off completely?

the feed to the expansion tank just fills up as the water evaporates, it only has to be on a trickle, if you left it off the water level would eventually drop so low you wouldent get any hot water but this could take months, try turning the feed to the ballcock right down until its just a trickle when you hold the arm down.

 

[r0by]

So as long as the expansion tank has even a litre of water then it should be fine?

The problem is that the ballcock is blocking not the valve it's only been a month since it was replaced and it was fine.

Maybe it's the coil leakign slowly and that's quicker than the evaporation. I guess I just have to monitor the tank. If it's risen after a few days then it must be a hole in the coil and I'm stuck!

 

[picasso]

turn off the feed to the expansion tank and if the water continues to rise you need a new store, it will work fine with just a litre of water in the ex tank.

 

[r0by]

I'll monitor it and see how it goes.

If I do need a new tank do you recommend anything better than a gledhill torrent as this is supposed to be 3 years old and I've had nothing but problems!

 

[picasso]

you need someone to come and have a look, the developers had a habit of putting these stores in the middle of flats making it nearly impossibe to put any thing else in.

 

[r0by]

yeap your right it is a bit of a tight space I'd try to keep it going for a while if it's not too bad.

Would pouring some of this stuff into the header tank help against limescale with one of these and how much would I need:

http://www.uk-plumbing.com/fernox-f1-central-heating-protector-500ml-p-42333.html