Russdl

@Temp thanks for the suggestion. I’ll wait and see what the supplier has to say.

@PeterStarck thanks for that. When @PeterW mentioned the overflow going direct to outside that fired up a vague memory from before taking receipt of the water softener and being told the overflow would have to go direct to the outside, I was dead against the idea and checked with the supplier who said it wasn’t necessary. Im just waiting to hear back from him to see if your kind of set up is what he would advise.

Now I realise that it is so wrong I’ll get hold of the supplier who was going to install it and have a chat with him. regarding the overflow pipe having to go external I do recall asking the supplier about that and it doesn’t have to, but I think that is where one of the tundishes that @andy linked to comes into play. I’ll update when I have some clarity.

M3 Minimax. A Harvey clone as I understand.

Yep, did that and drew a blank but my Googling skills have been found wanting in the past. It would appear not, but also not difficult to install in a non compliant fashion. I’ll endeavour to find all the rules and redo it myself. @andy the tundish solution sounds like it will be the easiest for me to go with, I’ll see what I can find out regs wise.

@andy thanks for those links, most useful. I think I’ll have to undo what has been put here and start again with this new found knowledge. If that’s what I think it is, there is no ‘F’in installation manual. The water softener supplier was going to install the softener but the plumber on site said he would install it. So the supplier left the building, along with his installation knowledge.

Yep it’s going into that SVP behind it. The pipe coming through the wall is from the kitchen sink (that has a U bend before coming through the wall). I thought of squirty foam but hadn’t cleared it in my head how I would stop the foam dripping down the pipe and blocking the 90 degree bend at the bottom. Will one of those Hep type traps, fitted vertically work?

It’s a bit pongy on occasions in our plant room. After a quick sniff around it would seem to be that the waste in the image below is the source but how do I seal that up? Is there a grommet thingy or do I need a HepVo type trap? The two pipes going in are from the water softener.

I think I’m going to steal that and use it as my own. We do get asked the ‘when will it be finished’ question almost daily.

Would that procedure work for a system that is already in operation? Ours has been up and running for a few weeks and I want to add some inhibitor to it. Can I just follow the above procedure or will there be more to it as we have a full, bled system at the moment?

@epsilonGreedy I've read through the unfortunate stories in the old thread. I shall endeavour to prevent the machine moving by hook or by crook. Or by both.

We are looking to do the same thing. The boss spotted these Alba Interiors I'm more inclined to go down the 'bodge it up myself' root and the link that you posted @Adam E has what can only be described as a video tutorial of how to do it ?

@PeterW I do have a hot glue gun. Should I use that in preference to the CT1?

The LED strip is in but if I put the chunky heat shrink stuff over the soldered joint the LED strip will no longer fit in the channel. My electrician wants the joint protected. Can I just surround it in clear CT1?

@Onoff it’s been unfinished for a good long time for reasons best not gone into here. It is now much closer to finished, water softener in, accumulator in, still have one dead Wilis heater but the system works fine on the one serviceable Wilis. Plumber No1 didn’t often show up, months between visits and we couldn’t put up with it any longer. Plumber No2 couldn’t fit me in. Plumber No3 could and he has got everything up and running. No’s 2 & 3 had opinions which they expressed and I repeated them here. The electrician who did most of the first fix but then stopped working for plumber No1 was back as part of his solar PV day job and he diagnosed the knackered Wilis heater. And expressed an opinion. Things are moving forward nicely now after many months in the Doldrums. @PeterW Thanks for your comments earlier, taken on board.

You make a convincing points Peter. At the stage when I was convinced it was absolutely the wrong pump I had planned to change it. The plumber who told me that it was the wrong pump also told me that the pump in the Willis circuit was a crap pump so I was going to replace the reported ‘crap’ pump the current Wilo and get a bronze Wilo for the hot return. Has the plumber sold me a dummy or is it a crap pump? (Water softener pipes in the way. I’ll get a better picture in a bit) I should add, he wasn’t trying to sell me a replacement pump.

@SeanCrowley It’s not a stupid question, the stupid question is the one you don’t ask. I’m guilty. We have done the same as you are planning. As already mentioned, water is easy. In our case we turned it off at the meter, and started digging a hole in the plot where we thought it must be running. We found it quickly enough - it was miniature, 3/8th” iirc - and got some adapters to connect it to some MDPE and set up a standpipe T’ed off to a shed with a toilet and sink in it. BT or whatever they are called now turned up relatively quickly to remove their cable but if they hadn’t I suspect a site accident could have removed it as effectively. Gas took a while, but was not a big problem, we’re not using it anymore so it was a simple disconnect. Shortly after ours was disconnected a house nearby was demolished and the whole house was raised to the ground save for a tiny bit of wall with the gas meter attached (I guess they got bored of waiting?) I was quite astonished to see that but they didn’t seem to generate any problems for themselves by doing that. Electrikery. If you can plan ahead well enough, unlike me, then you can request a service alteration and set up a temporary building supply. If you’ve planned well enough then you won’t need to move that temporary supply, just connect it up to your new house when the time is right.

Again, that shows what I know. I thought Wilo were the manufacture of that pump?

I called up, gave the tech guy the part No. (it seems they call it a Star No?) and asked if it was suitable for a hot return circuit. I reckon he was punching that part No. into his computer, and computer said 'no'. He told me I needed an SB60, as I explained exactly what it was for he said the much cheaper SB30 would be more than sufficient. I couldn't comment further on his competency or otherwise I wouldn't do that, I was the heretic after a standard light switch in a downstairs WC (not literally). I like change unless there is a good reason not to. I appreciate your explanation as to how things have evolved in the manufacturing process, had I had that information last night I either wouldn't have called Wilo this morning, or if I had I would have been much better informed. As I said and @PeterW highlighted, this is in potable water supply, so trying to minimise use of the inhibitors ?

Clearly indicating how little I know about these pumps. The impeller body is black plastic or some such thing. I understand what your saying but Wilo say it’s not the correct one. All the pumps on the Wilo website that are specifically for domestic hot water recirculating loop have a bronze impeller body. The tech guy told me I had the wrong one and I feel obliged to go with that advice.

@Onoff I’m afraid I have no clue and as information has become conflicting I’ve come down on the side of the Wilo tech guy. Like I said, this all started after three separate commentators told me it was the wrong pump. I wouldn’t have had any idea.

It’s not a plastic body. It’s cold and scratches just like any alloy would and there is definitely something ferrous inside (magnet sticks with ease). I’m minded to stick with the Wilo tech guy on this and not the eBay resellers. Maybe the Wilo guy is wrong but with this conflicting info I’ll stick with him. Regarding the hot return pipes. I’ve got that wrong. I’ve been reminded that the pipes are plastic coated copper and I agree the solution to turning it on and off is elegant.

Quick update. So the consensus on here and the www is 'bronze pump' for the hot return. I didn't want to speculate further so I called Wilo to get some answers. Wilo technical confirmed that it is the incorrect pump for a hot return circuit and that after time I would get rusty water from the taps and finally a pump failure. Why on earth would the very knowledgable and highly skilled plumber fit the incorrect pump to our hot return circuit? He must have known what he was doing? The list price of the incorrect fitted pump is £120. The list price for the correct pump is £548. (That £548 is the list price for a Wilo SB60, a Wilo SB30 would probably do what is required with ease and can be had for £162)

That would appear to be the consensus and makes sense to me. But do I actually want a corroding pump in my potable hot water return. I'm sure it's not going to kill me and probably not event kill the taps but for how many years would I be running rusty hot water in to the sink before the pump finally fails? Neither can I which seems odd. Is it likely to be a discontinued model? ~~~ Googling this issue led me to this separate concern. Can I use Hep2O in a continuously operated re-circulating system? No. Continuously operated re-circulating systems (Secondary Hot Water Circulation/Ring main installations) are very different from conventional hot water supply and central heating systems found in domestic properties, for which Hep2O products have been tested. Thats from the Wavin site, and Hep2O has been used in our hot return loop. As ours won't be continuously operating I think we're in the clear but it was going to be initially. I didn't really want a hot return circuit but the plumber cajoled me in to agreeing to one and came up with a simple solution to only make it run when the bathrooms are occupied.

@TerryE Wow. Thanks for that explanation. I’m going to have to read it again and again though before it sinks in!