TRV with timer?

I can't see that the Danfoss unit offers any advantage over the Rondostat (which is the same as the unit from Westfalia above).

Apart from being uglier :LOL:
 
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Ok the Rondostats arrived yesterday and they fit straight on to the existing radiator valves. However, the pin in the timer that acts on the valve did not have sufficient travel to reach the actuator on the valve. You therefore have to use a small plastic adaptor sleeve that lengthens the travel. You need to accurately measure the difference between the old thermostatic valve and the new timer valve and cut the adaptor to the right length. This needs accurate measuring and is quite fiddly to do. However, once you have the measurement (5.5mm in my case) you can quickly cut the remaining adaptors for the other valves. I have fit the first 2 downstairs and will see how they go. They are very easy to adjust and the timer is a breeze to set.
I'll report back in a few days for anyone that's interested.

 
Ok it's been a few days since the rondostats have been fitted and I'm in a position to give a proper opinion.
At first, they appeared straight-forward to fit and indeed they are really. But what became apparent it that you need to make sure that the little plastic adaptor is VERY accurately cut to length. You need to ensure that, when the rondostat is fully open (asking for maximum heat) that the moving pin (actuator) on the timer unit is only just (or if possible, not quite) touching the pin on the radiator valve. You can check this by shining a torch through the holes in the side so that you can see the proximity of the timer unit pin and the pin on the radiator valve.
Once correctly installed, they do work and work well.
 
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Thanks for that, very interesting, I will get a few in and offer them to our customers!

We would only fit them to Honeywell VH200 valves, so they will go straight on without adaptors/adjustment.
 
Since they are powered by the battery and that will be working very hard then does anyone knoe how long they may last!

Tony
 
Since they are powered by the battery and that will be working very hard then does anyone knoe how long they may last!

Tony
I don't know how long they'll last - I'll let you know when they give up the ghost.
But, I'm curious; what makes you think that they will be working very hard?
 
But, I'm curious; what makes you think that they will be working very hard?

Batteries have very little power capacity in real terms. I doubt they will power many movements.

A most stupid novelty I saw last week was a jacket with built in warmer, not powered by a car battery but by dry cells. Firstly the heat produced will be very limited and the cost very high.

An AA cell would probably power a 100 watt bulb for less than one minute!

Tony
 
Batteries have very little power capacity in real terms. I doubt they will power many movements.
I used to have a battery powered pepper mill - it got used a hell of a lot and the batteries in that lasted for ages (2 years if I remember right). I would think that a new set of decent batteries would last a fair while, but time will tell. Of course, what I save on my gas bill should far and away cover a few sets of batteries every once in a while.

An AA cell would probably power a 100 watt bulb for less than one minute!
How would that work then? :confused:
 
Bond theme;;;;; Aha, Mr Agile, that is where you are wrong!

A HR80UK valve head (very similar to rondostat) - which has to power its own RF comms as well as the motor - lasts typically 2 years, and we are seeing this with our installed base.

Without RF comms, I imagine Rondostat will last a bit longer still. :LOL:
 
Well if it lasts that long its very good.

Do any of you know if the normal TRV action is powered by a thermostatic element as in an ordinary TRV? With the battery only switching the valve on/off ?

Or, as I had expected, that every TRV action requires the battery to provide the motive power for every turn down of the flow as the room warms up?

Tony
 
An AA cell would probably power a 100 watt bulb for less than one minute!

Tony

Pretty good guess Tony! I make it around 2 minutes.

gcol, watts are the product of voltage and current. You can either have a 1.5Volt 100Watt bulb that would take 66Amps(!) Or you could build (in theory at anyway) an invertor circuit to boost 1.5V up to 240V and given 100% efficiency it could power a regular 100Watt bulb - but still draw 66 Amps from the battery. Given a typical 2000 ma/h battery 2/66 = 0.03 Hour or 1.8 minutes. Of course a conventional 1.5V battery wouldn't be able to deliver 66 Amps, but there are special types that could.
 
An AA cell would probably power a 100 watt bulb for less than one minute!

Tony

Pretty good guess Tony! I make it around 2 minutes.

Given a typical 2000 ma/h battery 2/66 = 0.03 Hour or 1.8 minutes. Of course a conventional 1.5V battery wouldn't be able to deliver 66 Amps, but there are special types that could.

You have assumed the battery is 2000 mA/H. I assumed 1000 mAH as thats typical of the rechargeable batteries. Makers of dry cells are very reluctant to quote the capacities!

I have to say I only roughly guessed from my head anyway! Nice to see my guess is about 80% correct!

Tony
 
Every movement of the valve is motored, there is no capsule. The unit uses a thermistor sensor and is accurate to 0.1C.
 

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