Megaflo pipework vibration and noise and Aqualisa Showers lost pressure

[mattgod69]

Hi all

I have a traditional heat only boiler and a Megaflo providing high pressure hot water to my house. I also have three Aqualisa quartz digital showers.

We did occasionally get the odd noise from the cupboard containing the Megaflo when the showers were first turned on. This was very random and does not happen all the time.

However recently, when one of the showers were started to be used there was apparently a loud noise, possibly a bang, annoyingly I was not there. However since then, all three showers have stopped working properly. Pressure to the hot and cold taps around the house is fine and no different from normal.

Also, there is a very loud vibration and rumbling noise coming from the Megaflo, normally first thing in the morning, which was particularly bad this morning. There is also a rumbling noise occasionally when you use one of the hot taps which are not necessarily first thing in the morning but it is not as loud or severe as the shower does not normally last that long.

All the showers are all working but the shower control boxes make a lot of noise and seem to be struggling to mix the water. My plumber has checked the cold supply to the control box and there is nothing obviously wrong (there is water flowing out) If the showers are turned up very hot then there is less of a problem and the pressure is slightly better. When the temperature of the shower is turned down, the shower goes up and down in pressure, hardly working at all. My plumber has replaced the main pressure relief valve just above the cold supply isolation, this did not sort out the problem.

Aqualisa said they could service or replace the showers. At the moment I have them booked into replace two of the showers (both are expensive but I thought that it was worth replacing as one of the showers due to be replaced was installed in 2008, the other was 2017) but I am still not convinced that the problem is with the showers and not something else, so I could be in the same situation with the showers after spending a lot of money on replacements! The third shower was also done is 2008 but I will probably leave this for the moment as this ensuite is due for refurbishment.

Nothing seems to be wrong with the Megaflo although I am currently resetting the air gap see if that helps, although there was no water dripping from the overflow to indicate a problem with the air gap. However, the tank is taking some time to reset the gap, I am not sure how long it should normally take. This has not improved the situation.

I am wondering if the loud bang that was heard was the pressure relief valve.

I am not sure if this is connected or an issue but I did have a UPS Battery and NAS unit in the garage phone me a few weeks ago around the same time as the problems with the showers occurred. I do not know if there was a spike in electricity but I am wondering if this happened and potentially knocked out the processing units on all three showers... I can say I am not sure if this is linked or even connected and I am not sure there was even a spike but I did have the units fail and I know there is no electrical supply to the showers.

I have done everything else obvious including turning off the showers at the mains, I am not sure if there is any other way to reset them.

Does anybody have any ideas as to what could be causing a problem?

Many thanks in anticipation and for reading this long post!

Matt

 

[Johntheo5]

Any problems/noise if you open a HW/CW mixer tap?
Is there a balanced cold take off from the combination valve or after the PRV (pressure reducing valve) if no combination valve installed.
Is there a non return valve on the Megaflo HW outlet?

You say the PRV (pressure relief valve) wasn't lifting, that could still be 40L of water, (300L cylinder), to be drained off when remaking the bubble, you shoud shut the cold feed to the Megaflo, open a HW tap and then open the PR&T relief valve on the Megaflo and keep it open until you hear gurgling, might take a good while if most of the water is draining down through it, if you havn't a balanced cold then it might never stop if there is cross over between a hot and cold mixer and there is no NRV on the Megaflo, you would then have to close the mains cold in and investigate the (if) cross over.

 

[mattgod69]

Any problems/noise if you open a HW/CW mixer tap?
Is there a balanced cold take off from the combination valve or after the PRV (pressure reducing valve) if no combination valve installed.
Is there a non return valve on the Megaflo HW outlet?

You say the PRV (pressure relief valve) wasn't lifting, that could still be 40L of water, (300L cylinder), to be drained off when remaking the bubble, you shoud shut the cold feed to the Megaflo, open a HW tap and then open the PR&T relief valve on the Megaflo and keep it open until you hear gurgling, might take a good while if most of the water is draining down through it, if you havn't a balanced cold then it might never stop if there is cross over between a hot and cold mixer and there is no NRV on the Megaflo, you would then have to close the mains cold in and investigate the (if) cross over.

Thanks for the response.... occasionally, there is a noise when operating the hot tap, but nothing like when using the shower. I'm not sure of all the exact technical aspects of the installation and which valves are where.... (I am a surveyor not a plumber!) but I attach some pictures I have taken this morning. I have also got a video demonstrating the noise but the file is huge and I don't think of you to post on here? Many thanks for your thoughts though. Matt

 

[mattgod69]

Here is a link to the video i recorded this am: Megaflo Noise Hopefully is can be downloaded ok! Matt

 

[davidparker]

Hi all

I have a traditional heat only boiler and a Megaflo providing high pressure hot water to my house. I also have three Aqualisa quartz digital showers.

We did occasionally get the odd noise from the cupboard containing the Megaflo when the showers were first turned on. This was very random and does not happen all the time.

However recently, when one of the showers were started to be used there was apparently a loud noise, possibly a bang, annoyingly I was not there. However since then, all three showers have stopped working properly. Pressure to the hot and cold taps around the house is fine and no different from normal.

Also, there is a very loud vibration and rumbling noise coming from the Megaflo, normally first thing in the morning, which was particularly bad this morning. There is also a rumbling noise occasionally when you use one of the hot taps which are not necessarily first thing in the morning but it is not as loud or severe as the shower does not normally last that long.

All the showers are all working but the shower control boxes make a lot of noise and seem to be struggling to mix the water. My plumber has checked the cold supply to the control box and there is nothing obviously wrong (there is water flowing out) If the showers are turned up very hot then there is less of a problem and the pressure is slightly better. When the temperature of the shower is turned down, the shower goes up and down in pressure, hardly working at all. My plumber has replaced the main pressure relief valve just above the cold supply isolation, this did not sort out the problem.

Aqualisa said they could service or replace the showers. At the moment I have them booked into replace two of the showers (both are expensive but I thought that it was worth replacing as one of the showers due to be replaced was installed in 2008, the other was 2017) but I am still not convinced that the problem is with the showers and not something else, so I could be in the same situation with the showers after spending a lot of money on replacements! The third shower was also done is 2008 but I will probably leave this for the moment as this ensuite is due for refurbishment.

Nothing seems to be wrong with the Megaflo although I am currently resetting the air gap see if that helps, although there was no water dripping from the overflow to indicate a problem with the air gap. However, the tank is taking some time to reset the gap, I am not sure how long it should normally take. This has not improved the situation.

I am wondering if the loud bang that was heard was the pressure relief valve.

I am not sure if this is connected or an issue but I did have a UPS Battery and NAS unit in the garage phone me a few weeks ago around the same time as the problems with the showers occurred. I do not know if there was a spike in electricity but I am wondering if this happened and potentially knocked out the processing units on all three showers... I can say I am not sure if this is linked or even connected and I am not sure there was even a spike but I did have the units fail and I know there is no electrical supply to the showers.

I have done everything else obvious including turning off the showers at the mains, I am not sure if there is any other way to reset them.

Does anybody have any ideas as to what could be causing a problem?

Many thanks in anticipation and for reading this long post!

Matt

Sounds like a pressure issue, possibly caused by the Megaflo or a sudden spike affecting the Aqualisa units. The loud bang could have been the pressure relief valve activating. Since the showers struggle to mix water, it might be a faulty blending valve or a supply issue. Try fully resetting the Megaflo’s air gap and checking for debris in filters. If there was an electrical spike, it could have affected the shower control units too. Might be worth getting Aqualisa to inspect before replacing the units.