Hi All, my supply vents are giving very little air to them. I have an anemometer and have balanced the system myself upon commissioning 2 years ago.

 

I checked all vents and my extract vents are bang on from the flow rates on commissioning, but the supply vents are producing very little. 

 

I have taken off the spigots from the MVHR unit and the machine is producing very good supply and extraction. So i know the problem is within the ductwork.

 

I can feel a breeze coming thru the false/drop/void ceiling that my ducting runs thru.

 

Does anyone have experience in the best way to find a disconnection of ducting, without tearing pieces out of the ceiling to find the particular spot?

Edited January 18, 20233 yr by Keno

7 minutes ago, Keno said:

Hi All, my supply vents are giving very little air to them. I have an anemometer and have balanced the system myself upon commissioning 2 years ago.

 

I checked all vents and my extract vents are bang on from the flow rates on commissioning, but the supply vents are producing very little. 

 

I have taken off the spigots from the MVHR unit and the machine is producing very good supply and extraction. So i know the problem is within the ductwork.

 

I can feel a breeze coming thru the false/drop/void ceiling that my ducting runs thru.

 

Does anyone have experience in the best way to find a disconnection of ducting, without tearing pieces out of the ceiling to find the particular spot?

What size are the ducts - how long the troublesome ones?

 

Could just be a pressure drop due to too long/insufficient sized ducts.

 

 

ducts are 6" diameter and have been working perfectly for 2 years, this has only happened in the last 2 weeks.

 

I can feel a breeze coming from the drop/false ceiling were the ducting enters, the breeze stops when i turn the machine off, so its a leak somewhere.

Edited January 18, 20233 yr by Keno

Were the joints sealed/taped? Is be surprised they would become disconnected. 

 

Possible blockage?

7 minutes ago, Keno said:

ducts are 6" diameter and have been working perfectly for 2 years, this has only happened in the last 2 weeks.

 

I can feel a breeze coming from the drop/false ceiling were the ducting enters, the breeze stops when i turn the machine off, so its a leak somewhere.

Oh I missed the bit about them being OK. 

 

Yes, sounds like something popped.

 

I'd be tempted to get one of those cheap mini-cams or USB cams and shove it down the vent on something to do an inspection.

 

14 minutes ago, Carrerahill said:

Oh I missed the bit about them being OK. 

 

Yes, sounds like something popped.

 

I'd be tempted to get one of those cheap mini-cams or USB cams and shove it down the vent on something to do an inspection.

 

Yeah, I was thinking a cheap endoscope on Amazon to try and see the problem.  I dont fancy cutting out the plaster board to fix the problem. 

any possibility of Mice [other rodents are available] ?

 

 

6 minutes ago, Blooda said:

any possibility of Mice [other rodents are available] ?

 

 

Due to the breeze I'm feeling, it seems like a disconnection.

1 minute ago, Keno said:

Due to the breeze I'm feeling, it seems like a disconnection.

They can chew through quite a lot once they get going, They seemed to like the taste of our Armacell pipe lagging. ☹️

Just an update and close to this if anyone else finds they are in the same boat.

 

I purchased an endoscope from AMZN and used it to view the inside of the ducting but I could see no breaks in the ducting.

 

I cut a hole in the plasterboard ceiling and stuck my head up to have a look. About 4 feet from where I cut I could see a "junction box" where the supply spilt off into 4 different ducts. The bottom of this junction box had been dislodged and the air wasnt going anywhere. I had to cut a second hole to access and glue the bottom lid back on.

 

In the picture the 2 pieces of timber are holding the lid up to let the glue dry after repair. I will also use airtight tape as a backup to the ducting glue.

 

This job was a right pain in the ass to locate fix and repair the ceiling. I did it myself but Im sure it would have cost a good bit if I had to call in an expert.

 

The crowd that put in the ducting weren't great and in the end all we had them do was the ducting. I did a diy on the purchase and installation of the actual MVHR and vents, which turned out to be a good decision based on this junction box failing only 2 years of use by shoddy workmanship.

 

Hopefully this can help someone if they run into the same problem.

 

 

9 minutes ago, Keno said:

Just an update and close to this if anyone else finds they are in the same boat.

 

I purchased an endoscope from AMZN and used it to view the inside of the ducting but I could see no breaks in the ducting.

 

I cut a hole in the plasterboard ceiling and stuck my head up to have a look. About 4 feet from where I cut I could see a "junction box" where the supply spilt off into 4 different ducts. The bottom of this junction box had been dislodged and the air wasnt going anywhere. I had to cut a second hole to access and glue the bottom lid back on.

 

In the picture the 2 pieces of timber are holding the lid up to let the glue dry after repair. I will also use airtight tape as a backup to the ducting glue.

 

This job was a right pain in the ass to locate fix and repair the ceiling. I did it myself but Im sure it would have cost a good bit if I had to call in an expert.

 

The crowd that put in the ducting weren't great and in the end all we had them do was the ducting. I did a diy on the purchase and installation of the actual MVHR and vents, which turned out to be a good decision based on this junction box failing only 2 years of use by shoddy workmanship.

 

Hopefully this can help someone if they run into the same problem.

 

 

That truly is a right pita to fix ! - I wouldn’t fancy that ; be too busy swearing tbh . Good on you though 👍