pressure reducing valve cartridge 3.5 bar

[Burt Stormberger]

Hello everyone

I have a Centrestore unvented cylinder. Every now and again, the water pressure and flow rate at the taps drops right off.

I read the trouble shooting in the user manual and followed instructions to clean the filter in the pressure reducing valve. Each time I remove pressure reducing valve cartridge, the filter appears clear, but the small plastic half-sphere on the end of the cartridge is not attached to the cartridge.

Reseating the half-sphere and refitting the cartridge solves the problem and pressure is back to normal.

I'm assuming the issue is this half-sphere detaching itself from the cartridge and blocking the outlet pipe of the valve body. Is this correct? Am I right to believe that the half-sphere should be attached to the cartridge at all times.

Could I glue it in place to stop it from coming off again?

Thanks
Burt

 

[muggles]

You shouldn't be working on this at all - it's a controlled service and only suitably qualified people with the relevant G3 qualification are permitted to work on unvented cylinders

 

[Burt Stormberger]

Thanks Muggles!

The steps I have taken to clean the strainer are in the user section of the installation and user manual, so surely I, the user, can perform them.

Surely if they were some kind of black art that only a G3 plumber knows about through training, they wouldn't need to write the steps in the user manual and risk the uneducated following them.

The cartridge doesn't seem to be adjustable at all; is there a safety risk to removing it, cleaning the strainer and replacing it as per the user manual?

Thanks
Burt

 

[muggles]

The risk is that the cartridge could be damaged and not function correctly. A professional would have the necessary pressure testing equipment to ensure that it was still functioning after the service. As yours appears to be broken, it would be a good idea to have it replaced

 

[Burt Stormberger]

Thanks Muggles, appreciate the advice.

Burt

 

[Madrab]

Need to be careful when it comes to unvented HW. There is really only one area of an unvented system that a user can safely perform and that's usually only if the cylinder has an internal expansion bubble and needs regenerated. Everything else needs specific quals to do.

Funnily enough, I serviced one of the units about 4 months ago, as such I still have the MI on my system. Granted I may have a different MI than yours but I did have to re-check and it does say: -

USER INSTRUCTIONS
WARNINGS

IF WATER ISSUES FROM THE TEMPERATURE/ PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE ON THE CENTERSTORE CYLINDER SHUT DOWN THE BOILER. DO NOT TURN OFF ANY WATER SUPPLY. CONTACT A COMPETENT INSTALLER FOR UNVENTED WATER HEATERS TO CHECK THE SYSTEM.

DO NOT TAMPER WITH ANY OF THE SAFETY VALVES FITTED TO THE CENTERSTORE SYSTEM. IF A FAULT IS SUSPECTED CONTACT A COMPETENT INSTALLER.

The Pressure Reducing Valve is part of the combination valve which is part of one of the key safety features of the system.

The strainer section, on the same page (Pg 13) is part of the maintenance section and it states on the previous page that the maintenance (strainer cleaning, safety valve checks, Expansion vessel checking) must be performed by a competent person. Competent in this case means qualified I'm afraid.

This is just about you and yours safety, these units can end up potentially dangerous if not looked after or serviced properly.

 

[Burt Stormberger]

Thanks Madrab

I had a look again at my manual and it's ambiguous to say the least whether this fits in the 'user' section or not.

It makes me wonder why they list these steps in the manual at all. A competent qualified G3 engineer would know the basic steps that are listed in the troubleshooting guide without having to read it. All that putting them in the manual achieves is that it makes people like me think that they can follow them - just like the user troubleshooting section of any other applicance.

If the troubleshooting steps for 'lack of hot water pressure' were 'call a G3 engineer' rather than 'remove and clean strainer' I would never have done it!

 

[Madrab]

Of course @burtstormberger1 and I completely agree with you.

Some manuals have 2 completely different sections, one for installation and servicing and the other that is specifically for the end user and make it clear the former should only be performed by a qualified professional. To do it any other way, especially for something that could be potentially dangerous, is IMO fraught with issues and can easily cause confusion.

Their excuse is that each one can have subtle differences and needs it's own manual and as it contains the benchark and servicing information then that's why they are there. Even when most work in exactly the same way and have to meet the same standard for installation.

In my view unvented cylinders don't get the visibility they should as far as user information and safety is concerned and it will take the loss of life and the subsequent government intervention (Like the leccy Part P in England) for someone in the HSE to sit up and make it mandatory to have these serviced yearly by a qualified engineer, along with the boiler.