Urgent MVHR help needed

[Onoff]

8 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Not all mvhr units are over complicated with computers and communication protocols.  Mine is basically a 4 speed fan, with volt free contacts to select the speed, and simple timer and relay logic for selecting boost speed.

 

Fair enough, the ones that are though? With more brown outs expected in the UK etc.

 

I'm telling you it's all a Chinese ploy to sell more units, first take over the utilities, then engineer power disruptions! ?

 

Edit: Sorry, read MVHR as ASHP for some bizarre reason. I meant MVHR.

Edited November 14, 2019 by Onoff

[Onoff]

2 minutes ago, Simplysimon said:

it was the successor to the clay tablet, don't you read history?

 

That'd be on a Kindle then would it?

[Simplysimon]

Just now, Onoff said:

 

That'd be on a Kindle then would it?

what's a kindle?

[Pocster]

6 minutes ago, Simplysimon said:

what's a kindle?

Used to make fire long before fax machines

[vivienz]

55 minutes ago, PeterW said:

Looks like the power trip has spiked the main board - was this weather related (power outage)..?

 

No, I don't think so. The weather is quite benign here today.

 

 

[Nick1c]

Sorry to hear about this. Have you asked the installer if they have any ideas?

[Onoff]

I wonder if theres any recourse back to the electricity supplier? They have statutory obligations under the ESQCR 2002 (Electricity Supply Quality Continuity Regulations).

[dpmiller]

I vote for sh*t happens, and there's a dodgy capacitor or backup cell somewhere which has been hiding, waiting for a power fail.

[vivienz]

8 hours ago, Nick1c said:

Sorry to hear about this. Have you asked the installer if they have any ideas?

 

I'm waiting for a reply today.

 

24 minutes ago, dpmiller said:

I vote for sh*t happens, and there's a dodgy capacitor or backup cell somewhere which has been hiding, waiting for a power fail.

 

Agreed. Brief powercuts are not infrequent around here and I'd rather have a system that's robust enough ti withstand them than try and pursue the DNO every time there's a power failure or surge.

[joth]

Sorry if this was already asked but Is there anyway to disconnect the control panel from the unit? Seems the controller should be optional and without it connected it should fallback to just moving air around at a default rate.

 

Also interested what brand that is? The controller looks rather elaborate, the fact the main unit doesn't fail gracefully if there is a comms problem talking to it is a bit of a design shortfall

[Onoff]

53 minutes ago, vivienz said:

Agreed. Brief powercuts are not infrequent around here and I'd rather have a system that's robust enough ti withstand them than try and pursue the DNO every time there's a power failure or surge.

 

The unit should cope with the normal variations on the 230V supply. Any abnormal variation isn't down to the unit but the incoming supply itself. They're likely all similar brand to brand.

[vivienz]

1 hour ago, joth said:

Sorry if this was already asked but Is there anyway to disconnect the control panel from the unit? Seems the controller should be optional and without it connected it should fallback to just moving air around at a default rate.

 

Also interested what brand that is? The controller looks rather elaborate, the fact the main unit doesn't fail gracefully if there is a comms problem talking to it is a bit of a design shortfall

 

The unit is an ecocent air from earthsave products. The controller isn't brilliant, to be honest, as when the power is shut off (as it was frequently during what has been done of the second fix electrics) it doesn't automatically come back but has to switched on manually at the control pad.

 

I don't know of any way to bypass the electronics but there is nothing on the unit to suggest you can. I should add that this wasn't a DIY install.

[Russdl]

@vivienz I hope Paul (I think that was his name) from Earthsave Products gets you up and running asap,  it is a real concern that the Eccocent Air can't pick up from where it left off after a power outage.

 

Any other MVHR users prone to power cuts had any similar issue?

[vivienz]

I'm going to speak to earthsave this morning and then see if I can arrange any necessary repairs, assuming the original installer of the system doesn't get back to me with a sensible solution.

 

I will update on what earthsave say about it.

[MikeGrahamT21]

If I remember right MVHR units use old fashioned COM style communications, these generally require that one end is powered on and operational before the other end is switched on.

 

I would guess that the MVHR unit needs to be on and fully booted (give it a couple of mins to do this), before the control panel is turned on, essentially so it has something to connect to, it may only try once and then fail if it can't connect.

[Ed Davies]

2 hours ago, joth said:

The controller looks rather elaborate, the fact the main unit doesn't fail gracefully if there is a comms problem talking to it is a bit of a design shortfall

 

It's not 100% clear but it looks like it's the main unit which has failed and the controller is just moaning that it can't get a sensible response out of it.

[Ed Davies]

3 minutes ago, MikeGrahamT21 said:

If I remember right MVHR units use old fashioned COM style communications, these generally require that one end is powered on and operational before the other end is switched on.

 

There are all sorts of possibilities depending on what the manufacturer felt like. The mention of modbus_rtu on the error screen points to differential async serial comms of some sort. Whatever, it'll be down to the details of the protocol whether it matters which end is switched on first - for any sensible Modbus implementation it shouldn't matter. At worst switching the controller off and on, with the main unit on, should recover if it's a simple protocol error.

[vivienz]

31 minutes ago, Ed Davies said:

 

There are all sorts of possibilities depending on what the manufacturer felt like. The mention of modbus_rtu on the error screen points to differential async serial comms of some sort. Whatever, it'll be down to the details of the protocol whether it matters which end is switched on first - for any sensible Modbus implementation it shouldn't matter. At worst switching the controller off and on, with the main unit on, should recover if it's a simple protocol error.

 

Due to the way the system is wired, that's easier than it sounds.  The main unit can be switched off independently, but the only way to switch off the control panel is via the consumer unit, which also switches off the main unit.

 

Earthsave have called me back today and they are going to arrange for one of their technicians to get to me as soon as possible, but no indication of when that will be as yet.  Hopefully not too long as the temperature upstairs in the house is cooling rapidly without any heat being redistributed by the MVHR and the upstairs UFH isn't connected either.  Thank goodness we kept hold of our old oil filled radiators - ugly but very effective and simple to use!

[MikeGrahamT21]

Pop the control panel off of the wall, should be a screw or two underneath, and it'll just lift off, couple of seconds then put it back, that should do the trick.

[MikeSharp01]

17 hours ago, Simplysimon said:

It was the successor to the clay tablet,

Yes between papyrus and instagram.

[Adrian Walker]

@vivienz Hope you're all sorted now.

[vivienz]

On 18/11/2019 at 08:11, Adrian Walker said:

@vivienz Hope you're all sorted now.

 

Not there yet. Earthsave have been having a look at the errors/code and think the most likely cause is installer error in the form of a loose connection wire. I'm waiting for a local electrician to confirm when he can come out to check the connections.

[Adrian Walker]

44 minutes ago, vivienz said:

 

Not there yet. Earthsave have been having a look at the errors/code and think the most likely cause is installer error in the form of a loose connection wire. I'm waiting for a local electrician to confirm when he can come out to check the connections.

 

You sound frustrated.  Fingers cross

[PeterW]

1 hour ago, vivienz said:

 

Not there yet. Earthsave have been having a look at the errors/code and think the most likely cause is installer error in the form of a loose connection wire. I'm waiting for a local electrician to confirm when he can come out to check the connections.

It was working before though ..? If it has worked then unlikely to be a wire as it wouldn’t have worked previously as you said. It is more likely the BUS card has developed a fault and it cannot talk to the controller. 
 

It’s one reason I don’t like the complex units as there is a lot of industrial ModBUS level stuff going on that is overkill for what should be a fairly simple set of connections. 

Edited November 20, 2019 by PeterW
ModBUS not CANBUS

[vivienz]

22 minutes ago, PeterW said:

It was working before though ..? If it has worked then unlikely to be a wire as it wouldn’t have worked previously as you said. It is more likely the BUS card has developed a fault and it cannot talk to the controller. 
 

It’s one reason I don’t like the complex units as there is a lot of industrial ModBUS level stuff going on that is overkill for what should be a fairly simple set of connections. 

 

Perhaps. Earthsave have only said that they think the above is the most likely problem, but the installer is denying liability too, so until I get it checked out I am caught in the middle. It looks like I can get someone out on Monday morning. Not ideal but at least it will determine where the fault is.