Servicing a Vent Axia Sentinel Kinetic Plus B

[Jeremy Harris]

The front panel on our Genvex MVHR is easy to remove for access, although it's pretty heavy, as it seems to be lined with some sort of very heavy rubber foam (at a guess it weighs around 20kg or so).  I take it off about once a year, and that gives easy access to both fans, the heat exchanger and the stainless condensate tray.  The latter has 15mm drain pipes at either end, that link together before feeding to the waste pipe.  Every time I've had it apart it's been spotless inside, with the exception of the intake chamber, before the filter, which is always filled with dead flies, spiders etc.  Next time I remove it I'll take care to look more closely at the drains, in case there's something similar growing in there. 

 

I wonder how much effect temperature has on this?  On our unit, the drainage tray is right at the bottom of the unit, and the fans are right at the top.  The heat pump sits on a plate above the drainage tray, and under the heat exchanger, so I suspect the drainage tray may stay fairly warm.  I've seen this sort of bio gel/mould growing in the drain on our old fridge/freezer, so maybe it grows better in cold conditions?

 

 

[Stones]

A previous MVHR unit I had was like that, hinged at the bottom, with two robust toggle / latch fixings at the top.  Easy access inside and condensation collection was simply a tray at the bottom with outlet.  Easy to see, clean and maintain.

 

I've just emailed Vent Axia to see what they say, in particular for the best method to clean the drain outlet, and if they have replacement fixing arrangements to replace the woeful bolt and spire nut combination. 

[Stones]

14 hours ago, Jeremy Harris said:

 

I wonder how much effect temperature has on this?  On our unit, the drainage tray is right at the bottom of the unit, and the fans are right at the top.  The heat pump sits on a plate above the drainage tray, and under the heat exchanger, so I suspect the drainage tray may stay fairly warm.  I've seen this sort of bio gel/mould growing in the drain on our old fridge/freezer, so maybe it grows better in cold conditions?

 

 

 

Not sure, our unit is in our (cold) loft, albeit housed in an insulation hut.  I am considering moving it to the warm side of the house (cupboard space immediately below where currently located).  In the longer term that would make maintenance easier so perhaps worth doing.  Not sure whether this would have prevented the issue above.  Thinking about it, we had biojelly grow in the drain of our EAHP (last house).  That room was always 21C.  I suspect therefore that the growth occurs as a result of temperature changes / differential between the condensate water temp and the air surrounding.

[oranjeboom]

I guess that you also insulated the condensate drain pipe? Any chance that insects could have gotten up the pipe and caused the blockage over time? 

 

Also, where does it drain to?

[Pete]

On 10/02/2020 at 11:52, Stones said:

 

Not sure, our unit is in our (cold) loft, albeit housed in an insulation hut.  I am considering moving it to the warm side of the house (cupboard space immediately below where currently located).  In the longer term that would make maintenance easier so perhaps worth doing.  Not sure whether this would have prevented the issue above.  Thinking about it, we had biojelly grow in the drain of our EAHP (last house).  That room was always 21C.  I suspect therefore that the growth occurs as a result of temperature changes / differential between the condensate water temp and the air surrounding.

How did you get on with contacting Vent Axia as we are going to purchase our MVHR unit soon and not sure I want one of these unless your siting of the unit had so.ething to do with the mould build up. TIA

[Stones]

On 27/05/2020 at 16:41, Pete said:

How did you get on with contacting Vent Axia as we are going to purchase our MVHR unit soon and not sure I want one of these unless your siting of the unit had so.ething to do with the mould build up. TIA

 

Apologies for the delay.  When I did speak to them, they said it was just one of those things that can happen.  The cold loft location may have been a factor, but equally, it may not given my unit was housed in an insulated box.