Mid port actuator fell-off ! Now my Suprima 50 wont work....

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Hi all,

My Potterton Myson ACT322 Actuator has been 'buzzing' for a long time now although working perfectly. It made such a noise that it used to wake my daughter up in the adjacent room. I decided, in my infinate wisdom, to loosen it and et voila the vibrating stopped. I noticed the other day that it had now fallen off onto the floor!!! The actuator fits to a 'D' shaped connector so I had to twist that connector around before it would sit inside the actuator. problem is now that my Potterton Suprima 50 boiler wont light up. The green light flickers and goes off.

Question is, how should the 'D' type nipple be set? It can turn anti-clockwise but only clockwise so far. Is this causing some kind of air/pressure problem in the system?

NOTE : This has happened a couple of times recently and I just powered the boiler off at the wall and back on again and it would fire up OK. Last week though I had to do this 4 times before it would fire up.

ANY advice would be greatly appreciated! I attach some pics :

yqfkwy.jpg

yqqpne.jpg

yqqpnd.jpg
 
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Nice pics, a lesson to anyone else trying to communicate a problem.

The valve you have is quite old, and may be ready for replacement (now branded Danfoss), however you should be able to squeeze some more life out of it by turning the brass 'D' shaft around several times to clear it of the crap which is causing it to stick. The design is such that it should turn fully around, without any stops, so it won't be damaged doing this. Once it turns easily by hand it's ready to go. Refit the actuator (correct way up!) and it should work for a few weeks or months.

MM
 
Thanks for the quick reply MM. The Brass 'D' shaft does rotate by hand anti-clockwise but only so far clockwise. How far should I turn it manually and in which direction before I re-seat the motorised actuator. By turning the shaft am I actually loosening anything?

Also, do you think that this could be causing the problem with the boiler not firing or does it point to something more sinister??...

Cheers!
 
You said it "fell off" !

However the actuator is held on to the back plate by two long screws.

One of the screws is visible in the first picture so I dont see how it could have fallen off unless the thread in the back place has been stripped. That would be very unusual.

The head only is available but at almost the price of a full valve!

Tony
 
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The reason that it fell off is that I unscrewed both of the screws . That was the only way that it would stop annoyingly vibrating. :oops: I suspect that it then gut pulled off with folks reaching into the cupboard to yank out dried clothes. :(
 
If you removed the screws then you should not be surprised that the head fell off!!!
 
I have now ordered a new actuator BUT please can someone advise what position the D-type spindle should in. Obviously it needs tomatch up to the actuator but does it matter if it has been turned 360 degrees one way or the other prior to fitting? In other words, what does the d-type spindle actually do and is there a risk of unscrewing it??? Thanks!
 
it shows you what position the spindle should be in on the metal plate that the spindle pokes through, as shown in the last pic
 
Just line it up with the head and position it gently. If it slides over easily and you can hold it in place without much effort, you are there. Tighten screws firmly but without force
 
I think that this type has a unidirectional motor that moves 90° or 180° according to the function requested.

But I might not have remembered correctly!

Tony
 
I thought they were the normal spring-return type operation. I've got half a dozen, but not here...
 

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