three way valve

[stevethebiker]

Hi guys, here's a question and a half !!
while doing a decorating job i closed the valves both sides of a rad to pop it off. no probs there, but while off there was a drip from one valve and the system leaked a gallon of water over 18 hours.( a topfed system not pressurised)
on the morning that i closed off the rad the c.h. electrics fused and the upshot was the lady is having to pay £250 for a new three way valve.. draining down etc..
Could this have been caused by me, how and to what degree ?
bear in mind that this happened on the morning i closed the rad valves, not on re-filling, though this was done properly.

your best and most honest answers please as i want to play fair with this client.

 

[chrishutt]

Did the water that leaked out get onto any part of the central heating control electrics? If not, it's hard to see how that could be the direct cause. Really we need a more detailed explanation of the cause of the damage.

 

[stevethebiker]

no, the rad was ground floor, the room stat is the only part of the electrical system i was any where near, i had to strip wall paper but it mainly came off dry, with just a bit of sponge work, so no real clues there, unless a drop of water got int the stat, but what would that do with regard to the valve??

 

[chrishutt]

Based on the limited information that you have been able to give, I would guess that the fuse protecting the CH system controls was not of the correct rating (it should be 3 amp) and therefore did not protect other components when something caused a momentary short circuit (possibly you dripping water into the room stat). But that it just a guess!

You should ask the customer for a report from the electrician or engineer who dealt with the problem. This should state what components were damages and why. If the reason for the fault is not clear, I don't think it's fair for anyone to assume that you were directly responsible.

 

[ChrisR]

A room stat's job is to provide mains to the 3 way valve. Getting water in it might make a fuse blow, but can't possibly give the 3 way any problem.

Losing a gallon of water shouldn't harm a system like that. It should be replaced from the feed tank which has a mains supply. The boiler could cook if run empty, but 3 way's operate dry perfectly happily.

There's no possible way I can think of, whereby anything you did contributed to the problems.

 

[pierrot]

8) cant imagine why the whole 3 way would need replacing, usually you would just replace the motor or the actuator head.

 

[corgigazza]

Serviced a fire on friday customer rang up three hours later to say he now had no c/h syncron motor in 2 port valve had gone, before i left the rads were working as I bleed one rad for customer, so **** happens no fault of the installer.

Out of interest the rad did have a trv on also did it, if I remove a rad I always cap the end.

 

[stevethebiker]

Thanks for the help guys, in the end we split the billl just to stop her turning on the waterworks..
the engineer just left a very vague receipt, so no real clue as to what had gone, if anything..
ah well, onwards and upwards, as they say..