Russdl

An interesting theory regarding the transit damage leading to the PCM failure Jeremy and gives me a glimmer of hope that mine may survive as it was in good order when it arrived - as far as I could see… That slow heat up is interesting as well.

@SteamyTea that’s something I’d considered. We know some people have had issues with their Sunamps bulging (ours is perhaps a little plumper around the middle than when it was delivered, but not obviously so). Does the PCM expand and contract or just expand. If it is expansion and contraction then that may well cause a crack in the PCM containment vessel.

@Jeremy Harris that’s excellent news, let’s hope the current model has some subtle modifications to prevent a repeat failure! We’ve got a few years left on our warranty and I’ll be paying closer attention to our Sunamp in the future. It’s kind of easy to forget it’s there as it quietly goes about doing its thing (or quietly spilling its guts). Out of interest are they going to fix the damage caused to the house or have they swerved that one?

Excellent news Jeremy and well done Sunamp if you’re reading this 👍🏻

As you had so much input to Sunamp in the early days I’d be gobsmacked if they didn’t honour the 10 year warranty, even if the paperwork isn’t quite in line. 🤞🏻

@Jeremy Harris It should have a 10 year warranty on the PCM. Sunamp Warranty (pre June 2024)

Good to see you back @Jeremy Harris even if your Sunamp tale has me nervously looking into the utility room to check our Sunamp hasn’t gone pop! Im just up the road from you and more than happy to lend muscle to help you get the beast up the stairs, it’s the least I can do, your post etc were HUGELY helpful and informative for our build. Hasn’t your PCM core got a 10 year warranty? I’m pretty sure mine has.

Same as the above, our new plaster was pretty shiny, didn’t do anything to it apart from mist it 50/50 with some Wickes paint (specifically New Plaster Paint iirc?) No issues 4 years on.

Well done for fixing it but That can’t happen can it? Seems utterly bizarre.

It was a local metal fabricator but I’m pretty sure he didn’t fabricate them himself. He knew someone that did and supplied them to me.

We have porcelain tiles on pedestals. The ground underneath is anything but level and the pedestals we’ve used are from 50mm to 300mm high to give us a level patio. No grout required, water pours through the gaps. Jet wash it once a year and it still looks as good as new. As with @Andehh our tiles are the same inside to out. Slippery little bastards with frost on them.

I’ve just built a garage, slightly larger than your proposal but also within a meter of the boundary so had to be fireproof. Ours is single skin blockwork (clad in Rockwool EWI) and I used ‘C’ Section steel purlins for the flat roof and then plasterboard underneath. BCO were happy with that.

Welcome on board Alex. I’ve no idea what a DYI guy is (ok, maybe I do) but you’ll surprise yourself with what you’ll be able to achieve with the help of all the talented help available on here.

@runcyclexcski that looks better than the picture you painted in my head. Ours looked similar after about 3 months. I would say it’s unlikely to be just from your neighbours fires unless your MVHR intake is right next to someone’s chimney. Air is generally dirty, there would be no rain without dirt and that’s dirt of any description - pollen, volcanic ash, salt particles, even soot. It’s certainly worth getting your own filter material but don’t get too wound up about it, it’s doing what it’s supposed to do.

😃

‘K’ not ‘k’?

It certainly makes a difference, just having the sun show it's face reduces our heating requirements, the PV is an added benefit.

Southern England 22.7kWh today. It's been a bloody long time coming!

What level of insulation and air tightness are you aiming for? If you’re aiming for high levels of insulation and air tightness then you’ll almost certainly discover that you don’t need a wood burning stove so have a ‘Plan B’ for your focal point and save a bucket load of cash into the bargain.

For sure, but dirty from soot in three weeks?? They must be right next door to some dark satanic mills if it is soot.

Some interesting observations but are you sure the intake filter is darker through soot? That seems a bit wild after just 3 weeks. My hunch would be mould is starting to grow considering the wet conditions you describe.

Until I gave it a bit of thought a few minutes ago I would have said “nothing” but now having given it a bit of thought I’d say “air curtain”. Like I say, it’s always been like that, the supply has always been slightly higher than the extract. I have no reason to doubt the data the machine is giving me so perhaps the manufacturer thinks it’s a good thing? Standing by for the contrary views.

Absolutely no idea, it’s what the Brink is reporting and I’ve no reason to question the accuracy thus far. As for the “why” that’s the way it operates and always has but being slightly ‘over pressure’ seems like a good thing to me. Isn’t it? We’re quite airtight but not a sealed box. I haven’t given this a huge amount of thought until now but surely that slight over pressure will act as an air barrier to any small air leaks we have - ensuring the air leaks out and not in - so we’d be giving away a little bit of pre warmed cold air instead of welcoming in the little bit of cold air that hadn’t been pre warmed.

Our supply is always slightly higher than extract, so theoretically we are slightly over pressured.

This quite interesting video about Octopus put me right.