DeeJunFan

Got another quote today, he reckons 3 men 4/5 days. That sounds a lot more like it. Also he is pushing us towards Sienna from Tobermore, its a more traditional size paving stone at 27 per m2 compared to 6.5 of the Mayfair flag per m2. Question now would be what would people suggest, larger format for the larger area? Or does anyone have any issues with smaller paving stones with weeds/algea given we have a lot of trees close by. Cheers Damian

For me there will be no digging out and sub-base will be done. Guy will be mixing screed and laying slabs only

Hello there, Been talking to a guy about laying some patio. We have 130m2 in an L shaped patio. No steps nothing to cut around just the edges. He reckons it will take 2 people 3 weeks to lay it, so 240 man hours. Ground will be prepped by tarmac company levels and drainage done. Patio layer will mix a screed of patio sand and cement and lay 600x400 slabs on top. There will be 1 row of silver 1 row of charcol as a boarder and the rest in silver, no circles etc. Thoughts? Thanks Damian

Sounds good. Do you need a buffer tank or mixing valves etc with that? Or does it have 2 heat outputs? Also we have a fairly big house about 3500 sq/f so that might change things slightly. Cheers

Get on to big Arlene, she will get you another few years RHI no questions asked.

I can put the tank behind the garage so that bit would be ok. Its more the big tank in the utility room i wouldnt be so sure about if i need a big buffer. The owner is a decent fella and he knows his stuff. I have spoken to 2 plumbers who have worked with them before and they reckon they are the best heat pumps around.

Hi Guys, Some of you will have read my tale of woe regarding my ASHP breaking down and now needing to be replaced. I'm investigating my options in regards to replacing the ASHP but i'm still not 100% sure i'll be able to afford it. My back up option is to leave the ASHP behind and get a Gas boiler and storage tank fitted. The boiler is much cheaper and in terms of upkeep and maintenance the knowledge base is much wider so would buy me some peace of mind. Our current pluming setup is ASHP feeding directly into the UFH manifolds, these are controlled by 2 zone stats (Upstairs/downstairs). we are generally heat DHW with immersion but this would change if we went with gas. But we have a 7 day programmable controller that can allow the ASHP to feed zone 1, 2 or DHW so shouldn't be any issue to get the boiler to feed the tank. The main query i would have is would we need to install a buffer tank to ensure we didn't short cycle the boiler? i dont think i have ever heard of Water from a gas boiler going direct to the floor. I know there will need to be a mixing valve to cool the water to a suitable temp for the floor but do we need to consider anything else? Cheers D

Just a bit of an update. I wasn't overly happy with the Cool energy figures or the information given/not given. I asked for COP and was ignored. I spoke to the Rep and he has quoted me over £4000 to install a £2000 heat pump which i wasn't all that impressed with. I have spoken to the owner of Red Heat pumps here in Northern Ireland http://www.red-limited.com/ They seem to have one of the most advanced heat pumps i've seen on the market and i'm awaiting a quote from them for getting a new unit. They have also sent out one of their fitters to assess our current plumbing setup to ensure that anything that has been done internally didn't affect the performance and therefore life expectancy of the existing unit. I had spoken to the owner a few months ago as he was looking for my company to build him an app for the heat pump. But i may be forced to consider moving away from ASHP and going to gas, we are way to remote for mains gas so it would be getting a storage tank installed and paying a standing charge for the privilege. But the budget just wont go to anything too crazy for a ASHP replacement. I'm going to start another thread to brainstorm the gas route. How easy would it be to swap out and ASHP with a gas boiler and any other changes we may need to make to our setup to prevent short cycling etc. Cheers D

I asked for some follow up details and they sent me this .

It seems there is something to it but wildly overstated by the guy. The 11.8 is slightly more powerful that the IVT 9kw. I haven't paid much attention to this type or rating before. It's more like COP ratings in other heat pump documents.

Just had a chat with the cool energy agent for Ireland. He said that the 9kw ivt heat pump would be equivalent to their 17kw because if how they perform their power rating. Is this sales BS or a real consideration?

Yes i got the power setting table and i was trying to get the spark to setup some kind of power selection but it was on the long finger. The Cool energy one comes with a digital controller so it should be easier to manage. I'm just feeling a tad unlucky to have the compressor go after such a short time.

The way the IVT is setup is effectivtly runs at 100% all the time so apart from the softer start you dont get much use out of the inverter on the unit i have. They do mention a "Reduced current soft start module" in the specs of the unit.

And have you heard anything about the units? I have messaged them and they give a 1 year warranty on all parts and a 5 year warranty on the compressor.

Yes the no guarantee is my big issue. And i've been told the price of the refrigerant has gone up something in the region of 300% in the last few months given its going to be phased out for new appliances. Propane appears to be the new refrigerant of choice.

And that would confirm that it may have water in it? Or would it be more to do the warming of the compressor? I'm still trying to get my head round all this.

And do you think it would be wise to try the vacum and re-gas procedure or just dump the unit and get a replacement? I'm torn between spending anymore than i have to on this unit incase something else goes wrong. Also if i purchase the Cool energy unit there could be another can of worms.

Got this message from the Electrical forum @ProDave suggested. Its seems more straightforward but could still be an expensive enought procedure with no guarantee of success. Quote " Obviously moisture in the isolator could cause earth leakage problems but occasionally you get internal moisture problems with refrigeration systems. All refrigeration systems should be moisture free internally and with colder refrigeration systems such as cold-rooms or freezers parts of the refrigeration system on the low pressure side runs well under freezing point and if there's even a small amount of moisture in the system it freezes and causes blockages. With air conditioners it's possible to have moisture in the refrigeration system that goes unnoticed because the evaporation temperatures are usually a few degrees above zero Celsius so the moisture can migrate around the system without freezing and causing blockages. If there is moisture it can cause low insulation with the compressor windings as well as damage to the compressor valves. With moisture problems, replacing the compressor will only maybe improve the leakage problem because the oil in the compressor that's being removed is hygroscopic and will contain at least some of the moisture that's causing the problem. There may however still be enough moisture elsewhere in the system for the problem to reoccur at a later date. Before replacing the compressor I'd suggest your contractor should pull a deep vacuum on the system for at least several hours and repeat the electrical tests. If the test results improve significantly he should replace the filter/dryer and regas the system. "

Yes i think this is the current consensus. I have been looking around for a replacement unit and came across these guys. Not sure if anyone has any knowledge of them. https://coolenergyshop.com/collections/inverter-heat-pump/products/cool-energy-inverter-6-18-7kw-stainless-heat-pump-ce-ih6-18

I didn't leave it on very long because there is a strange humming (almost sparking) noise coming from the unit. This is the LED display codes. So i was seeing H6 which is heating mode but Solenoid valve not on. and now getting 08 which looks like Off Compressor warm up

Resistance tested them i think the compressor was the only thing insulation tested. The fan itself is connected by a very small wiring loom so not sure how you would have tested anything else. Thanks Damian

Thanks @PeterW Ill fire you over a PM now . I was expecting a letter and then a number but it reads 08 to me which is a strange one. Fan is (was moving without issue) Cheers Damian

Very possible.

It doesn't list 08 as a fault. There are 2 U8 faults. So either fan motor or refrigerant circuit temp. I'm not holding out any hope for it just very strange.

You don't know the half of it. This is a mere inconvenience at the moment. @ProDave and @dpmiller the plot thickens somewhat. My father came down this evening and insisted on changing the isolater and when the heat pump started up I was expecting the same startup process as earlier this evening H6 code and fan to start up etc and then trip. But this time the code 08 was displayed on the PCB display and the fan didn't start up there was a strange humming sound coming from the board and nothing tripped. The insulation test was just standard voltage so I didn't think it would change anything in terms of the function. But there you go.