Problem with Honeywell wireless room thermostat

[wilkinsjohns]

I'm trying to solve this problem for my Dad, who has just had a new heating system installed, he's in his 70s and shouldn't have to be messing around with this:

My Dad has the heating programmed to come on at 6am but it never comes on in time, the earliest is usually around 7-7:30am. They have had many engineers come out but no-one can solve the problem. They seem to have narrowed it down to the wireless room thermostat a Honeywell room unit HCW80 which has a relay module HC60NG. Both units have been replaced to no effect. The room unit is in the hall and the last piece of advice was to move around the room unit to see if it works any better!

Hope someone can help

John

 

[bengasman]

your dad should have had only one engineer back; the installer.
a new system should work properly, that is what you pay for, provided that the installer was actually corgi registered.
keep getting him to come back until the problem is solve. he created the mess so he should clear it up

 

[namsag]

I take it the obvious is not being missed and the room is actually not hotter at that time than what the stat is set to come on at or it has some form of temp optimiser built in

 

[EliteHeat]

It's possible that another RF unit nearby is having some effect on your dads receiver.

The symptoms of it working sometimes, but not others, certainly fit. If this is the case it should be possible to alter the addressing scheme to counteract this.

 

[wilkinsjohns]

Thank you for your replies.

Bengasman, my Dad has called the company that fitted the new system on at least half a dozen occasions and they have always sent someone out - I don't think it's ever been the same person twice though, they are definitely corgi registered because it was done through the government "warm front scheme". They don't seem to know what they are doing though and one even said that he doesn't understand the wireless thermostats!

Namsag, the room is definitely cold when it is meant to come one because my Dad has been downstairs at the time the heating was meant to have activated, but thanks for your suggestion.

Elite heat, could the rf inteference be coming from the house next door, or something in his house? Also how would one go about altering the addressing scheme - is it something only an engineer could do?

Many thanks for your replies anyway

John

 

[EliteHeat]

Well I haven't fitted one of these, but every other RF system that I have installed has got dip switches in the transmitter and receiver that can be reset to suit the environment.

The MI's will tell you everything you need to know.

 

[snb]

http://europe.hbc.honeywell.com/products/pdf/en1b0344-ge51r1105a.pdf

the above link will give you the instruction to re teach the unit.

How far from the stat to the receiver box and how many walls does it have go through? they don't like more than 6 walls or much more than 25m.

Is the time set correct on your heating programmer? check that it is not am or pm. Had a few that were 12 hours out.

 

[wilkinsjohns]

Eliteheat, the only switches that are mentioned are ones that limit the amount you can manually change the temperature on the thermostat.

Snb thanks for the link. I looked through the manual and it mentions not being near large metallic objects. The relay module is actually wired upstairs near to the cylinder in an airing cupboard. I don't actually know why it's upstairs and not with the boiler in the kitchen, but it definitely doesn't pass through more than 3 walls, and is only a few metres away. Also my Dad doesn't have wireless internet, or even a cordless phone, so I don't know what could be intefering. The programmer is set properley, and my Dad has checked the room temp with a thermometer when it was supposed to come on and didn't and it showed a low temp which the heating should have turned on.

Do you think the metal cylinder could be intefering (although it is insulated)? Thanks again for your replies.

John

 

[wilkinsjohns]

Also forgot to say, the engineers that have been have done the "re-teach" to no effect.

John

 

[D_Hailsham]

Well I haven't fitted one of these, but every other RF system that I have installed has got dip switches in the transmitter and receiver that can be reset to suit the environment.

The MI's will tell you everything you need to know.

Honeywell RF devices do not have dip switches. They are self-adjusting but I don't know how, though I suspect it is similar to the system used by car keys, i.e a code sequence. They also work at a different frequency to most other wireless stats and other devices - 868.3MHz - so the probability of interference is negligible.

 

[D_Hailsham]

The relay module is actually wired upstairs near to the cylinder in an airing cupboard. I don't actually know why it's upstairs and not with the boiler in the kitchen

Probably upstairs because the wiring centre (junction box) is there which connects the cylinder thermostat motorized valve etc together.

The programmer is set properly

Did you check it or have you relied on the engineer's word?

Do you think the metal cylinder could be interfering (although it is insulated)

Could be. Unfortunately the insulation won't prevent interference if it is happening.

How far apart is the cylinder and the receiver?
Is the receiver inside the airing cupboard or outside? (I have a similar set up to you, the receiver is outside the airing cupboard above the picture rail, so it is not noticeable and away from fiddling fingers, with the control unit downstairs in the hall. There is only the floor between and I have never had any problems.

If the heating is not coming on at the right time I can't see why that should be due to a fault in the thermostat, unless it is wired incorrectly. Does the boiler go ON when you turn the stat UP and OFF when you turn the stat DOWN?

Which timer do you have?
Which boiler?
Is the HC60NG wired correctly?

 

[wilkinsjohns]

D_Hailsham,

Did you check it or have you relied on the engineer's word?

My Dad has checked the programmer (in fact he had to have a new one because it kept powering off) and the two red leds light up at the correct time the heating is meant to switch on, so it can't be the programmer.

How far apart is the cylinder and the receiver?
Is the receiver inside the airing cupboard or outside?

It's in the airing cupboard about 40-50cm away from the cylinder.

Does the boiler go ON when you turn the stat UP and OFF when you turn the stat DOWN?

Yes it does. In fact, at the time the heating is meant to come on, if you manually move the dial on the wireless thermostat a small amount up or down, it seem to trigger the unit into action and the boiler comes on.

Which timer do you have?

It's a Darfuss, don't know the model number, my Dad couldn't find it

Which boiler?

It's a Baxi solo FE

Is the HC60NG wired correctly?

It's funny you should ask that, one of the things the engineers did was move the relay unit more than 30cm away from a power socket, saying that it might be causing the interference. The electrician that moved it said he wired it "like for like", it wasn't the way he normally wired it. My Dad has told subsequent engineers this, and they have replied that if the heating does come on (even at the wrong time) then it can't be the wiring.

Hope this information helps, thanks for your time

John

 

[swbjackson]

Is the hot water set to come on at the same time as the heating? Looking for faults with the room stat could be a red herring. If the system is wired incorrectly it's possible that the heating won't work when the hot water is turned off at the programmer.

Mike

 

[namsag]

Think its got to be a case of going round there early in morning . seeing if the led on the stat is calling and whether it is communicating with the base unit .
That will give you a far better idea what is happening very strange if its only doing it at that time of day and not throughout its on period

 

[gas4you]

I had a batch of Honeywell CM67's that were faulty. They would not operate in the morning either.

Checked all the installer set up etc, but in the end replaced them all with Siemens.