Vaillant vrc700 models

[BarryCambs]

Hi all. Quick question - what is the difference (if any) between a VRC700/4 and a VRC700/5?

Is the /5 just a later version?

Thanks, Barry

 

[ScottishGasMan]

From memory it's just the number of heating zones it can control, think its something along the lines of the /4 could do 5 zones and the /5 could do 9 zones.

If you're buying one though you want the current version which is the VRC700/6 which has an improved override feature. The others when on timer, if you alter the temperature using the knob on the front, it overrides it for 6 hours from the last time someone touches the stat, and its not a straightforward job getting it back onto the auto setting (timer) the /6 has a different set up where altering the temperature brings up a different screen with a dialouge informing you that its on an override for x hours at x temperature, with a nice cancel button you can just press to bring it off of override and back to regular timed setting.

 

[BarryCambs]

Thanks for a really comprehensive reply! Very much appreciated

 

[Milleniumaire]

Hi Barry, just wondered if you got your VRC700 installed? Did you get the latest version at the time, which it was suggested was V6? How does the temperature override work?

I purchased a VRC700 (along with other stuff) back in February and only last month was it installed as part of my bathroom refurbishment/CH upgrade. I have V4 and I really don't like the way the override works, which is just as ScottishGasMan has described. Vaillant seem to have chosen some arbitrary time period of 6 hours for applying the temperature change, OR you can make the temperature change permanent, so that it stores it and always uses it. Both options are much worse than simply applying that temperature until a) it is manually changed again, or b) it hits the next programmed temp change, which is how my old VRC430 used to work.

 

[BarryCambs]

I did get a version 6 and it works well alongside a 834 Green IQ boiler. I had a vr430 at the old house which was nice and easy to use, but this one works well too. It did seem to take a few days to settle down, but I'm very happy with it.

Turning the knob to increase the temperature brings up a dialogue saying it will override for 6 hours and giving the option to make the change permanent. After 12 seconds, the display reverts to normal but with a message to say the setting is overridden. The left hand button now says 'Cancel' so you don't have to go back into any menus if you want to go back to normal, so all nice and simple.

With the old VR430, if you changed the temp, it would reset back to normal at the next point the timer programme changed. The only thing that's caught me out with this is it seems to override the timer setting too, so if you increase the temp a couple of hours before bed, the boiler will stay on for another 6 hours!

 

[Milleniumaire]

With the old VR430, if you changed the temp, it would reset back to normal at the next point the timer programme changed. The only thing that's caught me out with this is it seems to override the timer setting too, so if you increase the temp a couple of hours before bed, the boiler will stay on for another 6 hours!

Hi Barry, thanks for your response it is very useful.

The override feature of the VRC700 has also caught me out a couple of times in exactly the same way as you! I was woken up by the sound of our boiler at 02:00 in the morning as our bedroom is above the garage. I immediately realised what had happened and had to trundle off downstairs to cancel the override. Grrrr!

I think the way the override works is the worst feature of the VRC700 and much preferred how the VRC430 would revert to the next programmed temperature. That makes much more sense to me than applying the override for an arbitrary number of hours! I've also had to explain to my family NEVER to make the override temperature permanent. Why would you, it's an override, so why do Vaillant think this is a useful function!!!!

I also hate the fact that you can only set two temperatures with the VRC700 (desired and setback). We used to have ours running at a slightly lower temperature during certain daytime hours when nobody was at home, but we can't do this anymore.

In my opinion, the above two "flaws" are reasons why the VRC700 is not as efficient as the VRC430 was at managing temperatures.

 

[BarryCambs]

I too was a bit surprised that unlike the 430, it's on or off. I've put some cheap Eqiva bluetooth TRVs in the bedroom so I can turn them off during the day and they work brilliantly!

Like you, I think the controls on the 430 were better, so not sure why they felt the need to change them.