DIY Vent Axia Sentinel Kinetic install

[FrazK]

Morning, first post on here. Read lots of posts and I'm finally about to start my install. 

I've picked up a Vent Axia Sentinel Kinetic cheap from eBay and it will be going in my dormer bungalow. I'm slowly renovating the place room by room and the more I seal drafts up the more condensation I find. 

My main concern is getting the ducting downstairs, I'll have to box it in a couple of rooms to reach the rear of the house but the front three rooms will need to go down the roof. I've got some flat ducting that I can route down above the plasterboard but in the cold roof. My plan is to remove the plasterboard when I get round to renovating the hall and landing then I will be able to insulate the ducting. 

Does this sound ok? Or should I leave those rooms until I can insulate the ducting?

Thanks

 

[Eric]

Welcome to the forum.

 

That is a good unit you have got, you could insulate the pipe work, I bought oversized insulated flexible duct and put the pipe through this then laid insulation over the top.

[FrazK]

Thank you. And thank you for your reply. Unfortunately there's not enough room for any insulation, I'm squeezing some flat 204mm x 60mm ducting down a 75mm gap between plasterboard and roof. I'll be renovating the landing next year so it will just be for this winter but I'm worried it will at least cause the air to cool and we'll be blowing cold air around or at worst the air will condensate and cause other issues. 

[JohnMo]

Look at cascade ventilation as alternatives to the normal way of doing things. You can do everything bluMartin or Fresh R do, with a normal MVH unit.

 

https://sinfonia.passiv.de/?q=node/130

https://designbuybuild.co.uk/cascade-ventilation-an-innovative-way-to-ventilate-efficiently/

https://www.paulheatrecovery.co.uk/cascade-mvhr/freeair-plus-active-transfer-vent/

 

Also look at coanda effect MVHR outlets terminals.

[FrazK]

Thanks JohnMo. But I've already got all the equipment and I can wait till next year to fit those rooms if necessary. 

[FrazK]

I've gone for it and installed down the roof void, it's only for one winter hopefully. 

Next question now I'm nearly done installing duct work, can I boss straight into the side of a 4" waste pipe with the drain from the MVHR? There won't be any smells come back up? It's by far the easiest route and means I won't have to worry about getting the pipe outside. 

Thanks

 

[Eric]

As long as you use a waterless trap.

[FrazK]

3 hours ago, Eric said:

As long as you use a waterless trap.

Thank you Eric, much appreciated. 

[gregcope]

I have a waterless trap and drain into a soil vent pipe via a boss.   This works well and has not been an issue and worked without freezing (my previous set up did in -5C).

You will need to clean it occasionally as the filters are not 100% efficient, so place it somewhere reasonably easy to get to!   Ask me how I know.

 

Even if these do leak, the condensate drain is on the extract side so will vent smells outside.

[FrazK]

I've fit a kind of spring loaded trap from screw fix, I'm sure the spring is failing already so will definitely be leaving it easy access, thanks. 

[FrazK]

Got my system all installed now just need to balance it all. It's far from a perfect system, I'm sure the efficiency is very low, mostly due to the ducts running uninsulated down the roof void but also uninsulated connections in the attic that I still need to sort out. 

Still I'm very happy with it, it's been running nearly two weeks now and the house just feels fresher and less stuffy. 

I bought the unit used reconditioned off Ebay for £320 and spent less than £500 on all the ducting, vents, connections etc. Just need to decide if I should upgrade the filters now. 

I've bought a cheap anemometer off Amazon for the balancing, I'm sure it'll be far from perfect but hopefully enough to roughly balance the system. Anyone tried it before? Am I just wasting my time? 

[Coanda]

16 minutes ago, FrazK said:

 

I've bought a cheap anemometer off Amazon for the balancing, I'm sure it'll be far from perfect but hopefully enough to roughly balance the system. Anyone tried it before? Am I just wasting my time? 

I balanced mine up with the aid of an anemometer bought off ebay, a plastic bucket with a hole cut in the bottom and a sponge seal around the top. 

 

I had to add a speed controller to one of the fans as it was more powerful than the other.

 

I wasn't too difficult.

 

I've got some mods to do so I'll be doing it all again soon.

[FrazK]

Mine looks very similar to yours. I went with a plastic pop bottle but it's too small so was trying to work out what else I could use, I like your bucket idea! 

 

[Coanda]

I had the bucket left over from drilling the ceiling holes.

 

I put my hand up through the hole with a sealer and held the drill inside while I drilled the holes, the bucket caught the dust.