Keno Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 (edited) 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, 2023 by Keno Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrerahill Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keno Posted January 18, 2023 Author Share Posted January 18, 2023 (edited) 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, 2023 by Keno Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 Were the joints sealed/taped? Is be surprised they would become disconnected. Possible blockage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrerahill Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keno Posted January 18, 2023 Author Share Posted January 18, 2023 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blooda Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 any possibility of Mice [other rodents are available] ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keno Posted January 18, 2023 Author Share Posted January 18, 2023 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blooda Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 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. ☹️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keno Posted February 3, 2023 Author Share Posted February 3, 2023 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. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pocster Posted February 3, 2023 Share Posted February 3, 2023 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 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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