Russdl

On the subject of hot returns, 3 times now I’ve been told that the pumped fitted in out hot return loop is incorrect. The first to tell me was an electrician so I kinda ignored him, the next two were plumbers so I had to pay a bit more attention. They all say that the pump in the picture below is for a heating circuit and should not be used in a hot return circuit. They tell me I should have a bronze pump for the hot return. I know nothing of these things, can anyone shed any light on this?

Our set up has twin Willis heaters, and it was quite by chance that I realised one wasn’t working, and hadn’t worked since installation however with just one Willis heater working the UF heating worked perfectly. Probably a stupid question coming up: Looking at my energy consumption when the one heater was on, it was consuming a steady 3kW. It’s dialled down to a max of 35 degrees and the UFH thermostat was set to 22 degrees. Could I have get more heat into the slab if both were working but the thermostat stays at 22 degrees? It seems to me that one Willis heater was doing all that was needed to be done. If both were working where would all that extra energy go?

The reset button wasn’t the issue but I took the cover off to be sure.

sorry for the delay responding, work stopped play. Here are images of above and below.

@Onoff I’ll bow to your and the electricians superior knowledge, like I say, we’re not having conventional switches, they will either be outside the room or Quinetic. It’s just not what I wanted ‘tis all.

Knowing nothing about the subject but being convinced by John Wards explanation, and spending a good deal of my time in continental Europe where it is common place, (as are the plug sockets in bathrooms) is the reason why I asked for normal light switches. As I recall JW only referenced previous regs after explaining the current ones? Anyways, the answer was I wasn’t going to get standard light switches and I seem to recall a good explanation from the electrician as to why I couldn’t. No idea if the explanation came from Section 701 that you mention. So we won’t. Still don’t understand, but hey ho.

No clue. If that is what I need to do, and it is the case then there are certainly a couple of obvious locations for isolation valves. Green rings in image below, any reasons why I shouldn't get the replacement plumber to put a couple in?

I'd read the posts. I insisted. s'not my fault that I'm crap at Googling! Thanks Peter. Pretty sure it's not that but I'll recheck, as I said it wasn't the first 'Willis heater Rodeo' for the electrician who checked it.

Octopus do a 3 phase smart meter, well at least down these parts they do.

@joe90, I wish he was my electrician and we do know him fairly well from first fix days but sadly he was just 'passing through' and dealing with another, unconnected, issue we've had. I do have a multimeter and I reckon I can test it. Buggered if I can find the replacement I'd need though if I confirm that is the problem. Some thorough Googling has turned up nothing that cost less than the whole unit so far, but my Googling skills have always been less than proficient.

Good spot, it had been on for 3 days before I worked out it wasn't working. When it became obvious the LH one wasn't working, I left it off. That sounds even simple enough for me to do, thanks. As it happens we had an electrician in the house for a totally unrelated reason whilst I was away last week. The good lady asked him to take a look at the suspected defective Willis heater and he declared it dead, no mention of the thermostat specifically being dead just "it's dead". The electrician as it happens is well versed in Willis heater UFH having worked with the installer of our system in the past.

@joe90 That looks like it may be the thing, they look very similar but I wonder if it's worth the faff? Any idea how I check to see if that really is the bit that is screwed? Well outside of my skill set which is why I got a 'pro' in to do all that stuff in the first place...

Can you give me more clues? How would I do that?

We have aluclad 7016 on the outside, I wish we had gone darker with 9004. Inside its a pale timber. Looking at @PeterStarck pictures, I wish we had gone RAL9004 inside and out.

I really think this is the best way to heat a passive house (kudos to TerryE, I think he was the inventor?). My Willis heater UFH was recently commissioned and within a few days the trades were asking for the heat to be turned down. We have no controls for it so it was turned off. A week later, in freezing conditions it was still pleasantly warm inside. We do have a problem though as the left hand of the two Willis heaters doesn't work, and evidently from my energy usage it never has, so I guess it was never tested. Who would have thought. There is a peak in consumption as they were turned on on the 27th Jan but not enough of a peak to suggest that both heaters were working, probably just the RH Willis heater and the kettle. The following day it's just one Willis heater and the odd bit of kettle action. It's not the reset button on the bottom, so it needs to be replaced. I think I've found the exact model and as @TerryE pointed out, they are so cheap I may as well get a couple of spares. I guess it's going to be easy to replace. How do I go about replacing it without filling the whole system with air again - or is that inevitable? I also need to get some inhibitor in the system, should I do it when I replace the defective Willis heater or should I run the system for a few days to make sure all the air is out before I put the inhibitor in?

@Onoff aint that the truth!

A bit of an update. I did as briefed, filled the holes around the boss with CT1 and used the pipe thread sealing goo from Screwfix. The good news is that if there are any leaks then they will appear on the outside face of my tiles and not behind the tiles. The bad news is that I know that for certain because the pipe thread sealer is bright green, and relatively runny. When I checked back on my handiwork this morning there was a great big green dribble from behind the the shower arm down the bright white grout between the tiles. I don't think I used too much, just followed the instructions of a continuous bead around the thread but the evidence would suggest there was definitely more than required. Fortunately it has almost completely cleaned up with some big old wet wipes.

Not quite what you're asking but John Ward debunks the bathroom pull cord myth, Zone 3 doesn't exist, but I couldn't convince my M&E team that I could have a normal light switch in the bathroom/WC. Apparently there is a 'best practices' book that prevents electricians following the Regs.

@JFDIY thanks for the top tip however I’ve got the nuts and it’s in ?

I will, mainly because I don't know otherwise.

??? I'm using that liquid thread sealer from Screwfix. Seems to be working.

@Onoff that Toolstation bit would work out just fine I reckon. I can live without the hex end (I'm surprised that they don't appear to be easily obtainable) and just use a couple of nuts.

That's a shame. They were very helpful when I had problems with my supplier/installer and sold to me direct. I can’t comment on the product itself as many months down the line it’s still not been commissioned by said (non)supplier/installer and partly because of that we have had to go our separate ways.

Preferably. I think so.

Another question if I may. One of these brass things that goes from the boss to the shower thingy is missing and I’m buggered if I can find it by Googling. Can anyone tell me what is it called so I can narrow down my search?